I am looking for my great grandfather John Wilson Rice's roots. On his tombstone it shows he was born Sept 5,1823 in Ballyclare Belfast Ireland, however I have run into a wall as to finding his marriage, his father's nameand his wife. He died in New York City July 23, 1886. If you can help with thisI would appreciate any help. He left a will to William Slattery address 51 Dame Street Dublin, solicitor
Hi Sue
Which sources have you tried?
www.rootsireland.ie/ has Ballyclare R C records but there are no Rice listings. Do you know if he was R C or Protestant?
There are 26 John Rice baptisms 1823 + - 5 years but none in 1823
I tried marraiges 1848 + - 10 years Antrim for John Rice & there were 8 - several with very little info!
This one looked possible as the address Ballycone I couldn't find so wondered if it could have been a mistranscription of Ballyclare?
Date of Marriage:14-May-1846
Parish / District:LISBURN
County:Co. Antrim
Husband
WifeName:JohnRice
ElizabethMcGowanAddress:Ballycone
DrumboDenomination:Civil Parish / District
Civil Parish / DistrictOccupation:FARMER
Age:30
25Status:Bachelor (Previously unmarried)
Spinster (Previously unmarried)
Husband's Father
Wife's FatherName:SamuelRice
JamesMcGowanAddress:
Denomination:
Occupation:FARMER
Husband's Mother
Wife's MotherName:
Address:
Denomination:
Occupation:
Witness 1
Witness 2Name:AndrewWard
William AWardAddress:
Notes:
Church: LISBURN REG OFF Civil
BY LICENCE REV J WARD MGR: WIFE'S FATHER DECEASED.
Of course there is no baptism record for John Rice with father Samuel in Antrim in any year remotely close to 1823!!
Col
Possibly worth commenting that Ballyclare and Belfast are 2 different places. Ballyclare is about 20 miles north of Belfast.
I dont know for sure what religion he was so I would say he was R C. Is there anyway to check with Belfast to see if they have record of him there? If so can you help me with this or whom do I need to contact?
Rice is a surname shared by all denominations in Co Antrim but the middle name Wilson makes it more likely to be a Protestant name, in my opinion. The use of Wilson as a middle name was often because it was the mother’s maiden name. That was a common habit with Presbyterians. Much less common in RC families in Ireland. But I might be wrong.
The surviving RC parish records for Belfast are on-line on the site Col checked. However the first RC church in Belfast – St Mary’s – which opened in the 1784, has lost its early records and now has nothing earlier than 1867. So if he was RC and was baptised there, then the records are lost.
If he was Protestant then there are about 20 churches (of various different denominations) in Belfast with records for the 1820s. One or two such as St Anne’s Church of Ireland are on-line but many are not. Likewise there are about 6 or 7 churches in and around Ballyclare. Most do not have their records on-line. There are copies of the surviving church records for Belfast & Ballyclare in PRONI in Belfast but you would need to either go there in person or pay a researcher to go through them for you.