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Seeking information on my Morrow ancestors

If I have done this properly, I have traced my Father's side of the family ancestry to Northern Ireland but seem to have hit an impasse and am open to any suggestions on how and where to proceed.  My ancestors seem to have arrived in the USA in the mid-1700's.  There is a John Morrow who was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania in 1752  date of death unknown.  His father, I think, was John Morrow, Senior, was born in 1710 in Belfast, Antrim and died in 1770 in Franklin, Pennsylvania.  His wife was Mary McClure, born in 1714 in Belfast and died in 1770 in Franklin, Pennsylvania.  John Morrow Seniors father may also have been named John and married to an Elizabeth (unknown last maiden name).  I am trying to verify these ancestors, also determine when they emigrated to America and trace back my lineage any farther, while filling in some of the blanks on those whom I have identified.  Any assistance anyone can give me is greatly appreciated. 

tmorrow10@outl…

5 replies

Terry,

The population of Belfast c 1710 was about 2500 people, so not very big. If your ancestors were born there, then sadly there are no baptism records for that period. The earliest church records for the town date to 1723 (Rosemary St, Presbyterian church). Their baptisms start 1723, marriages in 1741. You might just find the couple’s marriage. No harm in checking the Church of Ireland records too which start in 1745 (St Anne’s). The first RC church in the town didn’t open till the 1780s, so it can really be ruled out. 

There are copies of the church records in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. Sadly there are no street directories or similar records for the early 1700s.  And there are no records of the individual settlers who moved to Ireland from Scotland, England and Wales in the 1600s. Not a huge amount to go on, sadly.

You haven’t said what denomination your ancestors were but given the location (ie Belfast) and the era of their departure for North America (1700s) they were probably Presbyterian. Most migrants to north America in the 1700s were Presbyterian and at that time 90% of the population of Belfast was Presbyterian too. The town was established by Scots who moved to Ireland in the 1600s. There is however the possibility of English origins too. MacLysaght’s "The Surnames of Ireland" says when found in Ulster, Morrow is usually of English origins. So you should bear that in mind as a possibility.

Passenger lists weren’t routinely compiled for emigrants in the 1700s so tracing when someone left can be difficult. However there are some clues from correspondence from early migrants and also from the thank you letters they sometimes published in newspapers if they had had a reasonable crossing.  Often most of the passengers would sign the letter. (They sort of acted a reference for the Captain when seeking passengers for his next voyage). Here’s an example, with a Morrow on board:

The following being the Passengers of the Ship CANTON, on a passage from Philadelphia to Ireland; beg leave to return Captain Hugh MaKee our sincere thanks for his kind and generous treatment to us, both as a Gentleman and experienced Commander on board the said Ship, and as we all intend returning to the Continent of America, he shall be our only choice, and well deserves our interest in the Passenger Line. Signed separately on board the said Ship, 7th day of February, 1792.  James Abbit, Dublin          John McGregon, do. Wm. Gallagher, Donegall      Galb. Hamilton, Tyrone Geo. Mitchel, Down           John McGonegon, Derry David Duff, Tyrone           Robert Grimes, do James Willson, Antrim        James Lesley, Antrim John Shields, do.            Chas. Sweeney, Derry Thos Cook, Donegall          Nathan Greg Cambel, George Masson, do.               Antrim Robert Patterson, Down       Jeremiah Barns, do. Andw. McClean, Armagh        Wm. Mc Ferran, do. John Donnally, do.           Job Buckson, Derry David Ray, Monaghan          James McKee, Armagh John Rankan, Derry           John Morrow, Derry Geo. Nevil, Dungannon        James McMurray, do. John Culley, Down            John Boyd Down, do. Peter Faggundeen,            Henry McCann, do.   Philadelphia,              Robert Stewart, Antrim And. Turnston, Tyrone        Thos. Price, Down Edw. Brein, Tyrone           Fran. Osburn, Armagh Charles Gray, Donegall       Arch. Cooney, do. Wm. Young, Antrim            Henry McCrab, Derry

These sorts of records can be found on the Irish Emigration Database (IED). 

http://www.dippam.ac.uk/ied

I searched for Morrow  1700 – 1760 but sadly did not find any.

 

 

 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Elwyn:

Thanks for your efforts on my behalf, I know as we go back in history record keeping becomes more difficult.  I am not certain of the religious orientation of my ancestors, but I was brought up Presbyterian, but that was mostly due to my mother's influence and she was born in Lytham, England - she met my father in World War 2.  Maybe because the Lake Country is so close to Scotland, they influenced her religious beliefs because she always held that she was more comfortable with the Presbyterians than the Church of England.  At least I know where my family emigrated from and I have found that I am also a third generation Californian - so my family came here before the USA was created and was in California before it was a state.  Again, Thanks!

 

Terry Morrow

tmorrow10@outl…

There appear to be records for your family in the Family Search database, although there are some anomalies in the records.  If you create a (free) account at the site [https://www.familysearch.org], you can find John Morrow under his ID number, which is LKWL-6SB, and access other records from links there.

The record shows John as being born in 1708, and his spouse as Mary Ellen McClure, and says that their marriage took place at Millrow Presbyterian Church in Antrim on 12 May 1731.  Mary is shown as being born in Belfast in 1714, and baptized in County Down (Belfast now borders both Antrim and Down, but it was much smaller in those days, as already noted).  John, however, is shown as being born in Norfolk, Virginia.  There are records for up to 11 siblings of John, almost all apparently born in Virginia.

John's parents are shown as Alexander Morrow (born 1656) and Grace Smith.(born 1675).  Alexander is shown as being born in Antrim, but Grace as being born in Norfolk. Virginia, and they are shown as being married in Norfolk as well, in 1697.  There is further info about the parents of Alexander (in Antrim) and Grace (in Virginia), and for at least some of their siblings.

If those records are accurate, then Alexander would have to have emigrated to Virginia and married Grace there, and then their son John, after being born in Virginia, would have had to travel back to Antrim where he married Mary, and then presumably they returned to Virginia.

There are some other anomalies as well (including a duplicate of John, born in Antrim instead).  As often happens when amateur genealogists (like me) create records, there are some competing duplicate records shown, and some confusion about names.. There appear to me to be at least two Morrow families who have gotten pushed together in this case, though they may be related to one another.  In each record, at the right side of the screen you can see the screen names of those who have created or modified the record, and can send them private messages.  In this case, there were a half dozen people involved, so you might be able to get more info by contacting them (and perhaps also locate some relatives that way).

kevin45sf@yahoo.com

Terry,

Kevin’s information is obviously very helpful. Millrow Presbyterian church is now known as Antrim 1st Presbyterian. You are lucky if they married there because the records start in 1677 though there are gaps. I think they are the oldest Presbyterian records in Ireland. There’s a copy in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast, as follows:

Baptisms, 1677-1733, 1753-85, 1791-2 and 1820-1960; marriages, 1675-1736, 1820-39 and 1845-1913; marriage notices, 1870-1995;deaths, 1820-35; indexes to baptisms, 1677-1733 and 1820-39, and to marriages, 1675-1736 and 1820-39; family records for the late 18th and 19th centuries; stipend account books, 1837-64 and 1885-1924; communion roll, 1854-9; Sabbath School library loan book, 1870 and 1879-81; account books, 1821-61 and 1870-76; list of seatholders, 1838; session minutes, 1823-4; 1831-2, 1834-9 and 1842-54; a register of leaving certificates, 1842-50; Sabbath School receipt and expenditure book, 1835-62, with a weekly roll of teachers and salaries, 1840-41; news sheet for quarter ending 20 September 1963.

Antrim is 25 miles from Belfast, so the obvious question is if bride & groom both came from Belfast, what were they doing marrying in Antrim. Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, so I’d be inclined to search and see if she was baptised in Antrim, rather than in Belfast.

Kevin has alluded to folk mixing families up. Quite possible. It happens a lot.  People seize on a record that appears to fit, and it then becomes fact. There’s 857 people named Morrow in Co Antrim in the 1901 census. So it’s a very common name in that area. Someone may have searched for a Morrow marriage in Belfast, failed to find it, then found this one instead because that church happens to have very old records, and they have assumed it must be the right marriage.

The thing to do would be to search for the Antrim Morrow couple in Ireland after 1731. If they are still there 20 years later, then you know it’s not the right couple. Researchers in the PRONI area: http://sgni.net

Worth being aware that a lot of Irish Protestant records are not on-line, and some old fashioned searching in repositories like PRONI is required to find them.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks Kevin and Elwyn, very helpful.  Its too bad I didn't know this when I was in Belfast a few years ago, but since I was only there for a day on a cruise stop, I probably couldn't have done much anyway.  I know how easy it is to make an error, I did it myself once on the myheritage site - I verified something I shouldn't have and it loaded a bunch of people into the family tree that should not be there - and could find no good way to undo it except for eliminating the entire family tree and starting over.  I am using ancestry now and its giving me some additional avenues to explore.  Once I go back as far as I can on the Morrow side, I will work on my father's mothers side and I know that goes back to Basil either Switzerland or Germany.  Thanks for your help.

tmorrow10@outl…

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