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Thomas Gurley/Gourley/Gourlay mid 1700s

My Grandfather researched my ancestor as far as he could in the States, and published a pamphlet of which I've uploaded an excerpt.  I've read every online document I can find without being able to go further back in time.

I've physically visited Scottish Peoples and EPIC with zero results.  I was in Belfast this May, but PRONI was closed on the weekend.  I've been informed either in person or via email that movements of English citizens between English possessions were not carefully recorded, that there were many records lost during the regular relocation of records between Edinburgh/London, and that PRONI suffered a major fire losing records of that era.  I've examined ship manifests into NYC and Philadelphia without any luck.

I believe his ancestors (or he) migrated from Scotland/Perthshire perhaps as part of the first plantation.  He then arrived in Philadelphia sometime between his birth in 1742 and his revolutionary army record of 1761 (if this record is the correct Thomas).  It is possible he migrated directly from Scotland, since a Presbyterian could be from either.

There are several other Thomas Gurleys of a similar age that ended up in Canada or North Carolina which confuse things.  A further excerpt from the pamphlet includes:

This family was born and raised in York County (Adams County since 1800) as the Orphans Court records of Adams County show that Thomas' Will was probated June 9, 1803, and his wife's, Tibiah, on August 8, 1804, also that guardians were appointed for the children.

I have an image of his will, and it showed him to be relatively wealthy, owning his house, a horse, a slave, and being a merchant.

I have found hearth records in Tyrone that might be a relative, but I think the surname is an insufficient filter.

My current plan is to visit PRONI in 2025 (on a weekday).  We'll see if that goes anywhere.

Jim G

2 replies

JimG,

Statutory birth, death and marriage registration (in some jurisdictions called Vital Records) only started in Ireland in 1864, save for non RC marriages which were recorded from 1845 onwards. So you probably won’t find statutory birth, death or marriage certificates in Ireland for this family. For earlier years you usually need to rely on church records, where they exist.  Ideally you need to know the precise denomination and have some idea of where the person was born in order to search the correct records. Not all churches have records for that period and not all that do are on-line.  Sounds as though your ancestors were likely to be Presbyterian.

RC records are mostly on-line on the nli site:  

https://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

For other denominations, the churches usually hold the originals but there are also copies in PRONI. A personal visit is required to access them. Access to the records there is free. This link explains what records exist, parish by parish:

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/proni-guide-church-records

That said, researching in Ireland in the 1700s is very hard going due to the general lack of records. If you don’t know where they lived it’s a needle in a haystack. Ideally you need to know the townland or parish they lived in to have any chance of finding them, and even then there may not be any records for that location.

There were no records of people moving from Scotland to Ireland (or anywhere else in the British Isles) any more than I assume would be the case if someone moved from one state to another in the US. These were short domestic journeys and no records have ever been kept for that sort of travel.

The major fire that you refer to was in the Public Record Office in Dublin in 1922. Many records were indeed lost but no Presbyterian records were ever stored there, so that denomination was largely unaffected.

Ships manifests did not become a requirement for the US until the early 1800s. Prior to that it was very hit and miss and few exist for the mid 1700s.

Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.

The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project in conjunction with FTDNA and can offer testing kits at a reduced price.  http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

You may already be aware of them, but there are records for what appears to be your family in the FamilySearch database [https://www.familysearch.org].  If you search there, you can find Thomas Gurley under ID number K69N-CC4, and can access the records for the others easily through that record, as you will see.  The record shows him as emigrating from the UK in 1742, and names his wife and children as you have, but it does not give any further info about his origins.  In each record, at the right hand 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, so you might be able to get more info by contacting them (and perhaps also locate some relatives that way).

kevin45sf@yahoo.com

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