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Simpson family information

AntrimAhoghill (Antrim)

Greetings!

I am trying to confirm the identitiesof my great (x5) grandparents whom I have been told were born and lived inCounty Antrim (I'm sorry, I don't have any concrete information as to which parrish but, possibly from Ahoghill parrish). As were many from here, they were farmers. I've been informed they were buried in Inishmacsaint, County Fermanagh (don't know why they would have been buried there while being born and living in Antrim).I believe they may have been Presbyterian oraligned with the Church of Ireland. My grandfater's name is William Simpson, born around 1740 and died around 1800. My grandmother's name (I have not been able to confirm this as accurate) is Mary Sarah Simpson(maiden name of Neely) born around 1750 and died around 1801. They had three sons, named John, born March 9, 1770, Hugh, born 1775 and William, born April 25, 1782 (each immigrated to America,landing in Charlesrton, South Carolina, around 1787 or possibly, 1791). My information hasboth William and Mary Sarah being born in County Antrim, possibly from Ahoghill parrish. Any information on any of these people, or the Simpson clan from either Antrim or Fermanagh is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Scott Simpson

scottsimpson@gmx.us

4 replies

Scott,

I’d be very surprised if the family lived in Co Antrim and were buried in Inishmacsaint. It’s about 120 miles between the two and in the early 1800s that would have been a very long and expensive journey, taking a body there for burial. It would have taken 5 or 6 days. Tradition was (and still is) to bury someone 3 days after death and most people were buried within a few miles of their home.

The names Simpson and Neely are both common around Ahoghill so it’s quite possible the family lived there before they emigrated. The 1766 census of Ahoghill has survived and it lists a Robert Sympson, 3 Johns and a William. Likewise there’s a William McNealy, John McNeal and a Widow Neely. (McNeal(y), Meneely & Neely are all the same name. Mc & O prefixes are optional and were often dropped or used at whim).

http://www.ulsterancestry.com/free/ShowFreePage-48.html

The census just listed heads of household, so your William born 1750 wouldn’t be listed himself but he could have been part of one of the homes mentioned.

All the above were Presbyterians (which is not surprising since 80% of the population of Ahoghill was Presbyterian). And it was Presbyterians who formed the bulk of the migrants who left Ireland in the 1700s. Being Presbyterian generally indicates Scottish origins. According to the Ordnance Survey memoirs of 1836, the area around Ahoghill was heavily settled in the 1640s by Scots who decided to stay in Ireland after General Munro’s 10,000 strong Scottish army was disbanded at Carrickfergus following the 1641 uprising.

This website takes you to transcriptions of most of the legible graves in the Ahoghill area:

http://thebraid.com/genealogy.aspx

There aren’t many from the 1700s or early 1800s. Most of the older graves are no longer legible plus most people were buried without a gravestone then.

None of the churches in Ahoghill has any records for the 1700s so tracing this family will  be very difficult if that is where they originated.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Elwyn,

Thank you very much for your response and information. Given that my ancestors were common people and of little means I had doubts I would be able to find much about them. Was it common for parents to stay behind while all the children left for America? That seems quite strange that the young children would immigrate while the parents stayed behind, never to join the children. But, I appreceiate the infromation you provided.

Scott Simpson

scottsimpson@gmx.us

Scott,

Yes it was quite common for the parents to stay behind, often with the eldest son (who would inherit the farm in due course). People tend to migrate in their 20s. Folk in later life are less keen to make that sort of change and so weren’t as enthusiastic as their children. There were exceptions of course. If there was no one to look after the parents they sometimes went with the children and in some cases in the 1700s the local Minister encouraged whole communities to go. But in general plenty of parents remained.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Elwyn,

Thank you again, very much for your information. It has been very helpful and insightful. I appreceiate you taking your time to pass along your knowledge of Irish ancestry. Thank you.

Scott Simpson

scottsimpson@gmx.us

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