Searching for McBratney Ancestors

Looking at the 1901 Irish census there were just 141 McBratneys in Ireland. They were nearly all in Counties Antrim & Down. Most were Presbyterian or other Protestant denominations. So they were almost certainly descendants of Scots who came to Ulster either as a part of the Plantation in the early 1600s or as Scottish famine refugees in the 1690s.

In Griffiths Valuation c1860 the majority of McBratneys were either in Belfast or in northern Co Down, though since Belfast only became a large city from about 1800 onwards it doesn’t follow they always lived there. People poured into Belfast from surrounding areas to take work in the factories and shipyards all through the 1800s. But you can see the parishes they live din on the Griffiths site.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

I would suggest you search back through US records to find the names and years of birth of  ancestors born in Ireland to give you something more specific to search for. However if you don’t know where they came from it will be hard going. There are hundreds of churches in the 2 counties. Not all have records for the early 1800s and very few have any records for the 1700s. DNA testing might be the only way of searching for links.

Chris,

I looked at the Irish civil births and I don’t see a William McBratney birth in Belfast (or anywhere else in Ireland) in 1867/1868. Nearest in Belfast were in 1876,77 & 78. (There were 10 in Ireland in the period 1864 to 1878). Without knowing William’s parents it’s not really possible to say whether any of these is your man. (I assume from the death certificate you don’t have that information).

I also looked for a marriage in Ireland between William and Letitia or Sarah  Joseph(s) but did not find one. Could they have married in the USA?

I see William was naturalized in 1906. Possibly his naturalisation papers may give you his parents names.

There is a marriage registered in Newtownards (10 miles from Belfast) on 12.3.1886 between William McBratney and Sarah McKibbin.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1886/10825/5948492.pdf

However that couple were still in Belfast in 1894 (son William was born there 24.9.1894) and, according to the 1920 census, your William states he arrived in the US in 1890.