Looking for any information on Robert Wetherall, b. 1804, Magherafelt, Co Antrim. Married Sarah Brown b1800, d 1884, of Co. Antrim. Migrated to Australia c 1833.
Brewer, storekeeper. Lived Port Macquarie NSW. Died in Port Macquarie January 1846.
...
I can only read your message to Brew. Not sure if you provided additional info.
Record from Ancestry. There are 63 trees on Ancestry. Most have his birthplace b. 1804 Maghera, Donegal, Ireland.
| Name | Robert Wetherall |
| Death Date | 1846 |
| Death Place | Port Macquarie, New South Wales |
| Registration Date | 1846 |
| Registration Place | Port Macquarie, Australia |
| Volume Number | V18461070 318 |
Magherafelt is in Co Derry (not Co. Antrim) There is a town of Maghera nearby. There is another Maghera in Co Donegal. So this can be quite confusing. Do you know which is correct?
Thanks for that. It will be the Co. Derry one. Definitely Northern Ireland. Cheers.
I looked in the 1831 census of Co Derry but there were no Wetherall households listed at all. The name seems to be most prevalent in Cos Down & Armagh.
You could search for your ancestors baptism. I would guess he was Church of Ireland (Anglican). Maghera Church of Ireland baptism records start in 1785. There’s a copy in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. I don’t think they are on-line anywhere.
Thank you Elwyn . My knowledge of Robert's Maghera connection is from an obituary in The Vindicator 1846 which describes him as "formerly of Maghera brewery" so he may in fact have been born elsewhere in Norther Ireland. His will mentions an uncle James Chambers (possibly mother's brother) from Co Derry.
I am interested in when and how Robert and his wife Sarah Brown b 1800 in Co Antrim came to Australia. I cannot find him on any immigration documents. But a William and Sarah Wetherall are listed as passengers on the barque Camille, ex Greenock, arriving Sydney New South. Wales (via Launceston Tasmania) in 1833. Robert Wetherall bought property in Sydney not long after and set up a brewery. I know that he and Sarah were married before they left Ireland, but there are two conflicting dates in family trees. I would like to find emigration documents of their departure from Ireland to Greenock, or from Greenock. Also any Irish bdm documents for them - he was Presbyterian. And any info re his parents, who I have potential names for, but no proof. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. They are my 2x great grandparents (father's mother's line). Thanks Cheers, Janet
Attached newspaper article in 1812 suggests the Maghera Brewery was in Belfast, not Maghera Co Derry.
There are no passenger lists for journeys to Greenock. That was (and still is) just a short domestic journey. Belfast to Greenock is probably 100 miles and would have taken 5 or 6 hours in those days. Fares were low and folk went back and forth all the time (as they still do).
Likewise there will be no departure records from Greenock. The authorities had little interest in who was leaving and whilst a passenger manifest was probably produced on arrival in Australia there was normally no paperwork kept in Scotland (or Ireland) for folk leaving.
Statutory recording of births started in Ireland in 1864, and protestant marriages were recorded from 1845. So your couple were born and married before those dates. We rely on church baptism and marriage records for those earlier events but you need to know where and when they took place to try and trace them. Some are on-line but many are not. If you think they may have married in Belfast (as seems possible) then you could get a researcher to go through the Presbyterian and Church of Ireland records for the city (probably 30 relevant churches). They are kept in PRONI, Belfast.
Try the rootsireland site (subscription) as they have some Belfast records on-line. Bear in mind that tradition was to marry in the bride’s church so though Robert was Presbyterian, his bride may have been another denomination (Church of Ireland/Baptist/Methodist etc).
Being Presbyterian and living in Ulster generally points to Scottish roots. (The Scots brought Presbyterianism to Ireland). So his ancestors probably came from Scotland in the 1600s. (Some 200,000 Scots settled in Ireland in that century, mostly in Ulster).
Thanks so much Elwyn. That is all very useful. I did not know about the tradition of being married in the Bride's parish, so that is a good place to start. The Maghera brewery does definitely look to be in Belfast. I will put some effort Ito researching it through newspapers and won't waste time on immigration documents. Strangely, their church documents in Port Macquarie don't list any of their previous family details. And Robert's grave was incorporates onto a joint memorial at some stage, so no details there, just name and date of death.
Thanks again. I will go back to Rootsireland. I have used them before, but as you said, Robert and Sarah are just a bit too early for most documents except church ones. Appreciate your help! Cheers, Janet