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Bankheads

AntrimAhoghill (Antrim)

I am the son of an Ahoghill Bankhead and have been researching the Bankhead family (everywhere) for decades. Grandparents were Samuel Weir Bankhead and Minnie Mcloughlin who resided at Riverview farm Carmacmoinbefore moving to Belfast in 1925. Gt grandparents were John Bankhead and Mary Weir of "The Bushes" Lismurnahagn (interred in Old Burial ground Ahoghill). Gt gt grandparents were James Bankhead (bc 1800) and Druscilla Logan of Killane. Would like to exchange details with members of the many other Ahoghill familes that they intermarried with - Logan/Weir/Perry/McMaster/McClure/Agnew/Kerr/Young/Murray/Rodgers/Clarke/Small/Dobbin/Agnew/Nicholl/ and many others

The family were in the parish from at least mid 1600s and the graveyards are full of Bankhead tombstones

Matt Bankhead

matt_bankhead@…

9 replies

Dear Matt

I have passed this to our Ahoghill volunteer

Best wishes

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support 

IrelandXO member

Hi Matt, my Ahoghill family names are: Nixon, Meek, Kernohan. I don't know much about any of them and I am always searching for info. 

eenix

Matt,

Not sure what you have and what you don’t have. Family in 1911:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Ahoghill/Carmacmoin/115138/

 

That farm in 1901:

 

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Ahoghill/Cormacmoin/923917/

 

Samuel Bankhead in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Ahoghill/Lismurnagha/924087/

There’s a bit of a jump in Samuel’s age between the 1901 and the 1911 census, but they ewer never too accurate with age sin those days. Judging by the GRONI indexes his correct date of birth was 28.8.1875. So 26 when he married and 36 in 1911 seems OK.

Probate abstracts from the PRONI wills site which mention Bankheads from Lismurnaghan:

Bankhead, Andrew of Lismurnaghan Ahoghill county Antrim farmer died 1 November 1933 Administration W/A Belfast 5 November to Thomas Bankhead farmer. Effects £343.

The Will of James Bankhead late of Killane County Antrim Farmer deceased who died 17 December 1874 at same place was proved at Belfast by the oaths of John Bankhead of Lismurnaghan and Cuddie Bankhead of Killane both in (Ahoghill) same County Farmers the Executors.

The Will of John Bankhead late of Ballybollen County Antrim Farmer who died 16 November 1885 at same place was proved at Belfast by James Bankhead of Ballybollen Grocer and John Bankhead of Lismurnaghan in said County Farmers the Executors.

Bankhead John of Lismurnaghan Ahoghill county Antrim farmer died 18 December 1942 Probate Belfast 2 March to Robert Logan Bankhead and David Perry farmers. Effects £676 10s.

The Will of Robert Bankhead late of Lismurnaghan County Antrim Farmer deceased who died 10 December 1874 at same place was proved at Belfast by the oath of John Carson Bankhead of Lismurnaghan (Ahoghill) Farmer the sole Executor.

Bankhead, Robert Logan of Lismurnaghan Ahoghill county Antrim retired farmer died 6 October 1963 at Braid Valley Hospital Ballymena county Antrim Probate Belfast 25 March to William David Perry farmer. Effects £6596 16s.

The Will of Samuel Bankhead late of Ballybollin County Antrim Farmer deceased who died 17 October 1872 at same place was proved at Belfast by the oaths of John Bankhead of Ballybollin and John Bankhead of Lismurnaghan both in (Ahoghill) said County Farmers the Executors.

Several of those wills are on-line on the PRONI wills website. For the others you would need to get a copy from PRONI as they are still in paper format.

1st Ahoghill graveyard:

Erected by Andr. Bankhead, Lismurnaghan in memory of his father Robert Bankhead who departed this life 10th Decr 1874 aged 69 years Also his mother Jane Bankhead depd this life Feby. 1883 aged 70 years Also his children Jane depd this life 12th July 1901 aged 25 years and Sarah Ann Depd this life 20th June 1892 aged 22 years

Erected by John C Bankhead of Lismurnaghan in memory of his father Alexander Bankhead who died 4th Augt 1871 aged 60 years

There are other Bankheads on the Braid site:

http://thebraid.com/genealogy.aspx

Griffiths has Alexander, William and Robert Bankhead in Lismurnaghan in 1862. You can follow their tenancies through using the revaluation records, to see when they changed hands.

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni

Tithe applotment records for Ahoghill list a Robert Bonkead in Lisnafillon in 1825. He’s the only farming household shown in the parish.

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/tithe-applotments/ahoghill-parish.php#.VxCbQqt9eg0

The 1766 religious census of Ahoghill parish lists a James Bankhead.

http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ShowFreePage.php?id=328

PRONI has Lismurnaghan National School records in SCH/1155. You might find the Bankhead children’s attendance records etc there. 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Eenix. For Kernohan family, I don't know if the organisation still exists, but in 1989/1990 the Mid Antrim Historical Group published a series of books inc Ahoghill Folk and Around Ahoghill, joint compilations by Eull Dunlop and Sandy Kernohan. ISBN 0-9509265-1-5 and 0-9509265-6-6. A quick rummage in my late father's notes shows that my paternal grandmother Minnie McLoughlin had a sister Eliza (or Elizabeth) who married Henry Kernohan and they had children Henry (d 26/2/1988), Fred (d 22/11/1977) and Jock (d 19/4/1978). This family is covered in some detail in "Ahoghill Folk" PP 61-65. And in a photo of the Ahoghill Football team (end 19th cent) are shown my grandfather Samuel Weir Bankhead , W J Kernohan and S Kernohan. Also see the photo of Fourtowns PS c1913 on P 36 for Bankheads and Kernohans. The same school in 1952 had almost a dozen Kernohan children (P76/77)

 

Elwyn

Thanks. I have all that (and much more) acquired over many years of research. My father John was the youngest (b 1917) and was just too young to be present when the pupils of The Fourtowns Primary School posed for a photo in 1922, but all my other uncles and aunts are there.

The family moved from Ahoghill to Belast early 1920s and soon after my grandparents split up. Granny Bankhead (nee Minnie McLouglin) is buried in Carnmoney East cemetery with her daughter Martha Nichol Bankhead ( she confused me for a long time by appearing as Mary on her death certificate and burial record). I have but one brief note in my father's handwriting that grandfather Samuel Weir Bankhead, although he died in Belfast at end of Oct 1938 is interred at 2nd Ahoghill but in an unmarked grave (??). There are numerous Bankhead Tombstones but none recording him. My great grandparents are buried in The Old Burial Ground, Ahoghill. Do you know if 2nd Ahoghill has any internment records ? I have been meaning to write, there website being down when I looked recently

I grew up in Banbridge Co Down and was never taken to Ahoghill by my dad till near the end of his life when I had belatedly got him interested in the ancestors. We went to the ruins of the cottage and barn at The Bushes (now gone) and then to Riverview farm and "The Scroggs"

matt_bankhead@…

Matt,

I don’t have any specific information about burials at Ahoghill 2nd. All I would say is that few Presbyterian churches kept burial records and so there probably aren’t any. But I could be wrong. I had no difficulty in linking to the church website. See link below, or you could write to the Minister at 24 Church St, Ahoghill.

http://www.trinityahoghill.co.uk/100-2/

 

 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Eenix. More Kernahans for you. OS Memories of Ireland Volume 23. P35, Hugh Kernahan has a farm at Gloona (probably Gloonan) and the same, or another Hugh had a farm at Moyasset. On P37, emigrated to Qubec in 1835 Hugh Kernahan, 22, Nancy Kernahan 20, Jane Kernahan 1 and a half years, Presbyterians from Moyasset

matt_bankhead@…

eenix. For information on Meek family see "Buick's Ahoghill" P22 Footnote 14

matt_bankhead@…

Thanx mattfrombann, your enthusiasm comes through in your notes and has filled me with inspiration to keep trying to break through all the dead ends I come across.  I would really like to find out more about Joseph Nixon and Ellen Larkin other than their marriage in 1864 in Galgorm.

 

eenix

Hi. A search of all my docs and books on Ahoghill reveal no Nixons and about one Meek (apart from footnote already mentioned) There are some of both families interred in the Old Burial Ground Ahoghill that you may or may not know about nearly all of whom lived to a ripe old age. You can view them on line https://genealogygirl.files.wordpress.com/Ahoghillinternments.pdf . One of your Meeks was a neighbour of my grgrgrandfather in Killane (Griffiths Val)

matt_bankhead@…

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