Searching for Owens family.

HI Elwyn

thanks for getting back.  The only information I have on Samuel Owens and Mary Ann Henry is that Samuel's residence was Grange Kilbride and Mary Ann's was Antrim Town at the time of their marriage in 1850.  Samuel's father, Daniel was a Pensioner and Mary Ann's father, Hugh Henry was a Farmer.

Any help greatly appreciated.

P

Hi Pat

I’ve found that Samuel Owens lived near his father Daniel Owens in Nilteen Grange, just behind the mill pond. They worked in the flax factory near-by but my mother seems to recall her Grandfather- who was Samuel’s son- telling her that he had moved closer to Belfast to be a tailor, which would make sense as Nilteen Grange was very rural. She also said that she remembers that he had once trained as a blacksmith as she remembers him being good at making gates and other things out of iron.

Samuel and Mary-Ann had several children: my mother’s gr grandfather was Francis Henry Owens and I think your ancestor was his brother - James Henry Owens, although James was in his teens when Francis was born.

I can’t seem to get any further back than Daniel Owens, but Ihave seen the service records online that are mentioned in this thread, which possibly links Daniel to spending time in the military.

Hope this helps,

Clare

Hi Clare.  Thank you for the update and it would seem that we are related - not sure how many times removed!!  Did your family move to Glasgow as well or did they stary in Ireland?  I have not been able to establish when my great grandparens James and Annie (Mary Ann) moved to Glasgow, but they were married in Glasgow in 1875.  My grandfather William (their son) did not stay in Glasgow as he was in the army and travelled around which included livingin Belfast, so close to his parents' home towns, but living most of his life from 1920s onwards in Cork, which was where my father John was born.

On one of the certificates that I have for James it confirms his father's (Samuel) occupation as Tailor.  Do you have any information regarding Daniel's wife?

Best wishes.

Pat

Hello Pat,

Yes - my side of the family ended up in Glasgow as well. In fact, we think now that my Gr grandmother and grandfather (Francis Owens and Elizabeth McCartney) came to Scotland and were married there, rather than in Ireland. I know my granddad had rather a colourful life: My (Gr) uncle Francis told me how granddad was in Glasgow with his brothers and parents, then he got on to a ship to Canada on his own when he was about 14 / 15. Francis said he remembers waving him off. My grandad went on to become a Canadian citizen and flew for the Canadian airforce in WW2; he also lived with a native American tribe for some time and he and my Grandmother told me stories of how he had been given a ceremonial belt and brought it back to England, then one of the tribe's chiefs had come to retrieve it. What is truth and what was embellished I don't know, but I do have a newspaper article about my Grandfather and his travels. When he eventually returned to Scotland after the war he came to NE England for work and married my Grandmother, whose family were from Maryhill in Glasgow.

There seems to be no information as yet on Daniel's wife. I guess the logical step would be to visit the parish itself to look at records if they still exist. I've been trying to find a marriage document or even some information on the Mill at Nilteen Grange, where I think both Samuel and maybe Daniel worked. I'm on holiday for 2 weeks now for Easter, so I will have a little more time to search the net, so I'll keep digging and let you know if I find anything.

Regards,

Clare

Hi Pat,

I can't find an email address for you for some reason. Mine is now derek.331thom@btinternet.com.

I am going through some references to Hugh Henry now I've also subscribed to My Heritage and I can't recall whether you had obtained a copy of Samuel Owens and Mary Ann Henry's 1850 marriage certificate. I only ask because I assume Hugh's occupation might be on there. Feel free to email me if you wish.

Cheers,
Derek

Hi Elwyn,

Many thanks for taking the trouble to respond.

I have been re-checking data.  My Hugh Henry and Mary Ann Monford were in Walsall in 1861 and a daughter Mary A (who is listed in the Donegore Registers as born 2nd May 1830 but clearly listed as 20 in 1861) was present. I need to have a good think

Despite that it is useful to have the information. It would be useful to have the transcript for later comparison. Use the email above if preferred.

Once again many thanks.

Derek

For those interested in an Owens family ancestry I am based in Co Antrim and researching my own Owens family ancestry.

I am a Grandson of Patrick Owens 1880-1958 who married Effie Lyle Graham. This branch of the Graham family came from Berwick on Tweed.

Patrick Owens' family came from Ballymena and Patrick was one of seven children - his siblings were James John, Margaret, William, Mary and Jane. With the exception of William who emigrated to the US all the childern remained in the Ballymena area of Co Antrim.

There are a number of Owens named families in Co Antrim. The Owens named family with which I am connected seems to have originated in the Glenwhirry Townland area which is close to Ballymena.

My earliest known Owens named ancestor is Patrick McCracken Owens 1843/4 - 1919 whose first wife was Ellen Agnew who died in 1872 and whose second wife was Mary Montgomery 1842-1915.

Any information others may have on the Owens families of Co Antrim would be welcome.