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Finlay/Mackey/Wallace families in Belfast area

AntrimAntrim (Antrim)

My gg-grandparents were Robert Finlay and Katherine Mackey.  They were married in 1873, probably in the Belfast area.  They moved to Houghton Le Spring, Durham, England where Robert was a miner, then to Chaffee County, Colorado, USA by 1878, where Robert was again a miner.

Robert Finlay was born in Ireland, probably in the Belfast area date unknown, he died 17 March 1908 at Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado.  His parents were James Finlay and Katherine Wallace.

Katherine Mackey was born 24 Sept 1858, Belfast, and died 11 Nov 1932 at Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado.  Her parents were Gilbert Mackey and Elizabeth Wallace.

Thank you for any assistance to locate the parish they may have come from and any family connections there.

IrelandXO member

4 replies

Robert,

If Katherine was born in 1858, then she would only have been 15 in 1873, when you believe she married. That cannot be correct. She wouldn?t have been able to marry at that age. One of those dates must be slightly wrong.

I have searched for a marriage between Robert and Katherine. The only match that I can find is for Robert Finlay to Catharine Mackay in Castlederg, Co Tyrone in 1870. (Volume 2, page 25). That?s 100 miles from Belfast and obviously if Catherine was truly born in 1858, she was only 12, so that may not be right. But I cannot find any other  marriage for the couple anywhere else, up to 1878 and beyond.

I wouldn?t dismiss the Castlederg marriage, because I looked for her parents marriage and there was a Gilbert Macky who married Eliza in 1845 in Strabane. So that?s the same area. You might need to order the 2 certificates to get the full details to see if they are your family. I suspect Katherine was born earlier than 1858.  You can obtain a transcript of the marriages from the rootsireland site or order photocopies of the original documents from GRO Roscommon for 4 euros each.

I looked for a marriage between James Finlay and Catherine Wallace but could not see one listed from April 1845 onwards. Possibly they married before that, in which case you may need to rely on church records.

Statutory birth registration didn?t start in Ireland till 1864 so it won?t be possible to find a birth certificate for Katherine Mackey/Mackay. We might be able to find her baptism, if we know her denomination and townland. If the 1870 marriage certificate proves to be her, that may give us the information we need.

 

Elwyn

Ahoghill AntrimIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Elwyn,

Thank you for the fast response.  My information on the birth and marriage dates and places come from obituaries and census records, which are notoriously inaccurate.  I will check into the records you have suggested and see where they lead.  Many thanks.

 

John

IrelandXO member

Robert Finlay and Catherine Mackey are my 2nd grandparent and I have a little more information that might help but not much because I am also look for more information. I have that Catherine was born 24 Sept 1852 in Belfast,Northern Ireland and died 11 Nov. 1932  Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado. Robert was born 10 May 1846 Belfast, Northern Ireland and died 1908 Salida, Chaffee County, Colorado. I have that they were married in 1869. 

I know very little on both parents but here is want I have Robert parents were James Finlay we think he was born around 1820 and Katherine Wallace was born around 1828. Catherine's parents are Gilbert Mackey born around 1830 and Elisa Wallace was also born around 1830. 

I hope this helps

IrelandXO member

I double-checked the marriages for the period you are interested in but the only one that matches the names you have given is the Strabane one on 10th Jan 1870. (The names Katharine and Catherine are interchangeable in Ireland so don’t be put off by the different version of the forename). You can view the original certificate on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option:

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2 (sterling) to a view a certificate.

 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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