McMillan ancestry

There are 3 townlands named Ballinacree or Ballynacree in Co Antrim (you will find the spelling vary). They are all near Ballymoney, and are called Ballynacree Beg, Ballynacree More & Ballynacree Skein. They are in the parish of Ballymoney and are rural agricultural areas.

Here are the occupants of the 3 townlands in the 1901 census.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Enagh/Ballinacree_Beg/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Seacon/Ballinacree_Skein/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Seacon/Ballincree_More/

The name Grange appears in various places around Co Antrim. (It usually indicates land at one time held by the church). I can?t see a Grange very near to Ballinacree. There are a couple of parishes with Grange in their name eg Grange of Dundermot, and there is a Grange village near Randalstown, in the parish of Grange of Ballyscullion. It has a Presbyterian church (though whether it was built in 1727 I am not very sure). Tradition was to marry in the bride?s church so it is logical for Jean March to have been born and married in the same place, and her husband could be from somewhere else in the county. That Grange is about 25 miles south of the 3 Ballinacrees, but whether it is the right Grange, I cannot say.

McMillan (and variant spellings eg McMullan) is a common name around Ballymoney.  Marsh is not. There are only 26 in the 1901 census of the county and all are in the Belfast area.

You don?t specifically say what denomination your families were, though the use of the term ?meeting? in relation to William and Deborah?s marriage usually indicates Presbyterian. And Presbyterianism was the major denomination in Co Antrim, so that seems a likely candidate. Unfortunately there are no church records of any denomination for the Ballymoney area that go back anywhere near the dates you have. (The first baptisms for Ballymoney start in 1751, and the earliest records for Grange Presbyterian start in 1824). Sadly you are not very likely to find any records for your ancestors. Very few records from that period survive unless you were a major land owner, or otherwise particularly significant in public life.

Yes. Sadly that's how it appears to me. Research inIreland in the early 1700s is next to impossible due to the general lack of records.

You have given the place where the family as “Claremont County Armagh.” There’s no such place. However there is a Charlemont in Co. Armagh. I suspect that’s where your family lived.  It’s a small town named after the local landowners and is in the parish of Loughgall. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemont,_County_Armagh

The marriage was long before the start of statutory marriage registration in Ireland (1845) and so you need to check church records for this one. You haven’t said what denomination your family was but I’ll guess Church of Ireland (Episcopalian). Loughgall has baptism, marriage and burial records for 1706 to 1729 and then 1775 onwards. The parish has the originals and there’s a copy in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. I don’t think the early years are on-line anywhere though later years appear to be on rootsireland.  No other denomination has any records for Loughgall in the 1700s so let’s hope they were COI.  If you are unable to go yourself, you could employ a researcher. Researchers in the PRONI area: http://sgni.net

Don’t expect too much from a 1720s marriage. All you are likely to get are the couples names, the date and their 2 witnesses. No parents names, addresses etc.