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Thomas Logan and Elizabeth McIlhatton

DerryFaughanvale (Derry)

Looking for any information on Thomas Logan (abt 1830 - ?)  and his wife Elizabeth McIlhatton (abt 1830 - ?).  They were married in Parish Church  in  Faughanvale on 9 September 1858.  Thomas (living in Craigbrack) was the son of John Logan, pensioner.  Elizabeth (living in Bolie) was the daughter of John McIlhatton, farmer.  Need to trace their children, if any, to find more information about Thomas's parents - John Logan, pensioner and his wife Mary McMaster.  It is believed that John Logan died prior to 1864.  Thomas took over the property in Craigbrack until 1881.  

One theory is as follows - 

Thomas was born in 1836 and died in 1924 at Walch, NSW, Australia. His first wife - Elizabeth nee McHatton, was born in Sept 1858 at Eglinton, and his second wife - Catherine nee Beaton, was born in 1857 at Rylstone, NSW and m in 1875 at Armidale, NSW.  Have no verification of this however.

My end goal is to find more about John Logan, pensioner.  Have searched military records but to no avail - I have too little information.

L. Cherry

5 replies

There was no Logan household in Craigbrack in the 1831 census. The only John Logan in the parish was this one:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Tirkeeran/Faughanvale/Gortagherty_Upper/6/

This looks to be Elizabeth’s father in Bolie in 1831:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Tirkeeran/Faughanvale/Boleas/1/  Family was Presbyterian at that date (though Elizabeth married in the Church of Ireland).

John Logan is listed in Griffiths Valuation for Craigbrack in 1858. The property he had was plot 3b which was a labourer’s cottage. Thomas is deleted between 1860 and 1865. Given that there is no death certificate, I’d agree he probably died before 1864. Likewise for wife Mary as I cannot see a death certificate for her.

I searched for births to parents Logan & McIlhatton 1864 to 1873 but without success. For records prior to 1864 you would need to search church records and to do that you would need to know which church they attended.

I don’t see any deaths for Elizabeth Logan in the Londonderry/Limavady area. Could she have died before 1864 too?

Faughanvale Church of Ireland birth, marriage & burial records start in 1802. Faughanvale Presbyterian church has baptisms from 1819 but no marriages before 1845.  Copies of both sets of records are held in PRONI in Belfast.

Both Thomas & Elizabeth are aged 20 when they married in 1858 so born c 1838.

If the Logan family were Church of Ireland you may find burial records for John & his wife Mary as well as perhaps Elizabeth Logan. Presbyterians generally didn’t keep burial records and there are none shown for Faughanvale.

Finding much more information on John Logan may be tricky.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Your input please---

I researched at PRONI 2 years ago and found baptisms and a burial records for Logans in Craigbrack.  My dilema is the building the family around John Logan, pensioner.  I have no B,M,orD info on him.  Don't even know if he was a pensioner because of military service- do proof.  I only know that he had 3 children, John, Eliza and Margaret, baptised in Faughanvale Church of Ireland in March 1849.  They were ages 18, 16 and 14.  In July 1849 another child, Joseph was baptised but no age or birthdate given.  Father for all those baptisms was John Logan, pensioner and Mary [no last name].  Why were the children baptised as teenagers?

In burial records, I found Sarah Jane Logan buried on 26 June 1855 age 6 months- from Craigbrack. No parent information. On Emerald Ancestors, I found her baptism on 7 January 1855.  Father was John Logan. On Roots Ireland, the baptism shows father is John Logan, pensioner.

I have other records showing marriages with father of the bride or groom as John L:ogan, pensioner in 1858.  So I started to build my family around the notion that is the father is John Logan, pesnioner, they must be in the dsame family.  Now I have come to relize that some of the dates don't make sense.  On marriage is of Robert Logan in 1866 with John Logan, pensioner as father of the groom.  If he died in 1860-1863, would it state deceased on the record?  Would a marriage show "deceased" if the parent was not living?

Am I assuming too much?  Maybe the oldest son John Logan [baptised at age 18] was also a pensioner and some of these later children are his??  

I did find a military record that may fit John Logan, pensioner, father of the 1849 baptised children.  His place of birth is Maghera and the dates would fit.  I have never found births of the children but could they have been born while he was in the service?  I already checked FMP to no avail.

I'm stuck --- Any suggestions??

L. Cherry

Military service is the most likely reason for John Logan to be described as a pensioner. Very few people got pensions in those days. The military and the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) were exceptions. However with the RIC they tend to say “RIC pensioner.”

Can’t really answer your question about the children’s baptisms with certainty but it is something you see from time to time. Not everyone was deeply religious and so not every child was baptised. Presumably the Logans had a change of mind when their children were teenagers.

Ministers sometimes wrote deceased against a dead father’s name on the marriage certificate but mostly they didn’t. Other jurisdictions, notably Scotland, were meticulous about it but not so in Ireland.  So don’t assume he was alive just because it doesn’t say deceased.

The children could easily have been born during John Logan’s military service (a fair bit of which may have been overseas). That wouldn’t stop them being baptised because every regiment had access to Ministers and Priests but it could throw up some unusual places of birth. Do any of the children appear in censuses, and if so what country of birth is shown? Many regiments kept registers of births & marriages. Those records are now held by GRO in Southport, England in their “Overseas records.” Here’s what their website says they have:

“Deaths that occurred in the Boer War and both World Wars, and British Army Regimental records of births, baptisms and marriages, dating back to 1761”. 

If John was born in Maghera and was Church of Ireland, their records start in 1785 for baptisms, 1798 for marriages and 1809 for burials. (Copy in PRONI).

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you for the insight.  

Also some of the children have records that state their father is John Logan, pensioner but some say John Logan, labourer.  I thought they were two different people but now I think it might be the same person.

On the census, the children say Ireland is their birthplace - for the ones I have located.

I certainly appreciate your reply.  You have been very helpful.

L. Cherry

I have some info that maybe of interest. It comes from documents and word of mouth.

The name McHattan can be spelt many different ways

James McHattan and his wife Martha (McLaughlin) and family came to Australia as assisted immigrants in 1841 on the Margaret and settled in the Walcha/Armidale area in NSW.

Robert McHattan came to Australia in 1861 on the Hotspur and in the following year sponsored his wife Margaret (Gordon) and family on the 1862 Hotspur. On the same 1862 Hotspur James McHattan sponsored Thomas and Elizabeth (McHattan) Logan. Elizabeth is Robert's sister. 

Robert also sponsored his sister in law Maryann Gordon on the 1862 Hotspur. However there is no mention on the passenger list nor in Australia. She possibly didn't come. I would be interested if anyone has any info on her.

In 1863 Robert sponsors Thomas and Jane (Gordon) Mcfarlane and family on th 1863 Sandingringham Jane is Robert's sister in law.

James and Robert are related.

They all lived in the Walcha Armidale area.

Elizabeth Logan's name appears as a witness on a birth certificate for one of Robert's children in 1867 and Thomas's name appears as a witness on a death certificate of another child of Robert in 1870.

It has been reported that Elizabeth may have died around 1870 in a blizzard. It is also said Thomas remarried. There are no known children of Thomas nor Elizabeth. I have no further info of what became of Thomas nor where and when Elizabeth was burried.

Cheers

Peter

peter.real

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