William McConell
Am seeking information on my great great grandfather William McConell. He emigrated to New Zealand in !873?? His marriage certificate in Napier NZ shows him as being 30 years old on February 10 1875.
lukemine@conne…
7 replies
www.rootsireland.ie/ has 84 William McConell (+surname variants) birth & baptism records. Do you have a county to narrow it down?
Perhaps his county might be mentioned in an NZ Census?
Col
ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer
P S the 84 were from 1844 + - 2 years
ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer
Hi Col,
Thanks for your reply, but I have no further pre marriage certificate info. There is even confusion over William's birth year, as on the birth certificate for his son Alfred William McConell (11 February 1876), his age shows him as 14 years, the numeral 1 being slightly overwritten. On that birth certificate the father's bithplace is only shown as Ireland.
I tried NZ census but it seems older records have been destroyed.
Kevin
lukemine@conne…
How about his children's first names, Kevin - do you know them and their order?
IF they followed the irish naming pattern I could look for possibilities from what you have of his children's names
1. The eldest son was named after the child’s paternal grandfather.
2. The second son was named after that child’s maternal grandfather.
3. The third son was named after the father.
4. The fourth son was named after the child’s eldest paternal uncle.
5. Subsequent sons were named after other paternal uncles, in order of the age of the uncles.
Daughters
1. The eldest daughter was named after the child’s maternal grandmother.
2. The second daughter was named after the child’s paternal grandmother.
3. The third daughter was named after the mother.
4. The fourth daughter was named after the child’s eldest maternal aunt.
5. Subsequent daughters were named after other maternal aunts, in order of the age of the aunts.
Col
ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer
The surprising thing is that Alfred William was the first and only child, something which seems odd for a Good Catholic family of those times.
Kevin
lukemine@conne…
Recently surprise information has been received of a daughter Mary who was born in 1878. Her birth certificate shows William as coming from Belfast, and married Anna (Annie) Twelvetrees from London on 10/2/1875. No further info on Mary has been found.
Annie died on 15/10/1886, and William on 22/10/1889, and they are buried together in Hastings, NZ. Their son Alfred William died on 24/7/1950.
lukemine@conne…
Recently a copy of a lost birth certificate for a second daughter Jessie was obtained, and on it William has stated he was born in Dundonald, Belfast. His age was given as 40, fitting nicely with Jessie's 1883 birth year.
Judging from the use of an X as signature on a few documents, it is likely that William was illiterate, thus casting doubt on the correct spelling of his surname. Different spellings of McConell have been seen on several documents, and is the cause of confusion and delays when seeking registered BDM info.
lukemine@conne…