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Looking for my grandpa Patrick McCann and relatives from Moneyglass, Toome (Toomebridge)

Antrim

Hi all,

My husband and I are traveling from Canada to Ireland for the first time in May and we're so excited! This will be a very memorable trip for us as I recently obtained my Irish citizenship/passport, will be trying to find my grandpa's roots in Northern Ireland, and will be renewing our wedding vows for our 10 year anniversary at the Cliffs of Moher.

I have been researching my grandpa's genealogy for a while now but I'm having difficulty locating the address where he grew up. I would love to visit his hometown and potentially meet some long-lost family members! I never got to meet my grandpa Patrick as he passed away before I was born.

Here is the information I have:

Patrick Joseph McCann

  • Born: June 20, 1922
  • Place of Birth (as recorded on birth certificate): Moneyglass, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
  • Birth Registered: District of Toome, Ballymena
  • Father’s Dwelling Place at Time of Birth: Moneyglass
  • Residence of Mother (Margaret): Moneyglass
  • Died: June 22, 1984 (British Columbia, Canada)

In 1926, at age 3, Patrick immigrated to Canada with his family aboard the Montnairn, travelling from Belfast to Quebec City.

Siblings of Patrick

Emily McCann

  • Born: September 21, 1911
  • Townland: Tamnaghmore
  • Town: Ballymena
  • District: Toome
  • County: Antrim

Margaret (Maggie) Augusta McCann

  • Born: January 19, 1913
  • Townland: Ballymatoskerty
  • Town: Ballymena
  • District: Toome
  • County: Antrim

Anne (Annie) Jane McCann

  • Born: January 11, 1915
  • Townland: Moneyglass
  • Town: Ballymena
  • District: Toome
  • County: Antrim

Robert Vincent McCann

  • Born: February 16 or 17, 1918
  • Townland: Moneyglass
  • Town: Ballymena
  • District: Toome
  • County: Antrim

Mary McCann (Born in Canada)

Eileen McCann (Born in Canada)

Parents of Patrick McCann

Father: Robert James McCann

  • Born: May 7, 1892
  • Townland: Gortgarn
  • County: Antrim

Parents of Robert James McCann:

  • Robert McCann (also Robert McCann)
  • Kate McCann (maiden name Findlay or Findley)

Mother: Margaret McCann (maiden name Galway)

  • Born: March 4, 1893
  • Townland: Tamnaghmore
  • Parish: Duneane
  • County: Armagh

Parents of Margaret Galway:

  • Mother: Jane Galway (unmarried)
  • Father: Unknown

Marriage of Robert McCann & Margaret Galway

  • Date: August 31, 1911
  • Location: Roman Catholic Church, Moneyglass

Ages at Marriage

  • Robert: 19
  • Margaret: 18

(Both under 21)

Residence at Time of Marriage

  • Robert: Gortgarn
  • Margaret: Tamnaghmore

They were not residing in Toome at the time of marriage.

Marriage Registration Observations

It is believed that the “fathers” listed on the marriage registration may have functioned as proxy parents because:

  • Both bride and groom were under 21
  • Margaret herself was born out of wedlock
  • The marriage took place in a Roman Catholic church
  • The priest may have agreed to solemnize the marriage to prevent another out-of-wedlock birth

Thank you!

Jovanna

Jovanna Sauro

4 replies

Jovanna,

It’s evident from Robert’s marriage certificate that he was a labourer. They often moved around to follow the available work and so had many different homes. Robert was reportedly living in Gortgarn(on) in August 1911 when he married but he wasn’t there in the 1911 census (April 1911). There are 2 possible Robert McCann’s in the area in April 1911. One was 17, the other 23. Take your pick. I note you say Robert was 19 when he married. That has presumably come from the church records. However he said he was “full age” (ie 21 and over) on his civil marriage certificate so perhaps the 23 year old in Ballydonnelly is the more likely. Who knows?:

https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Toome/Ballydonnelly/125045/

https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Toome/Toome/125268/

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1911/09953/5618877.pdf

The 17 year old was lodging in the O’Neill Arms (still there today in the Main St, Toome). He was a farm labourer so not apparently a member of staff unless the hotel had some agricultural land (seems unlikely).

Emily was born in Tamnaghmore, Margaret in Ballymatoskerty and then the remaining Irish born children in Moneyglass. There are records on the PRONI site which list occupants of properties for that period but I did not see Robert listed. So either he was lodging with someone eg a farmer, or he had a property of too low a value to be recorded or he was in a local authority house. Tamnaghmore had several Rural District Council houses (state provided rented homes) where no tenant’s name is recorded. But the Galways lived in Tamnaghmore, so perhaps they were all squeezed in together in 1911 when Emily was born? There were also some gatehouses for the bigger farms and lodges where the tenant wasn’t named. I don’t think you are going to find their actual homes in Ballymatoskerty or Moneyglass (which may well be demolished now anyway).

There is still a chapel in Moneyglass (where the couple married) but the building there now was built in the 1930s and it’s predecessor demolished, though the foundations are still clearly visible in the graveyard beside the modern church.

This looks likely to be Maggie Galway in the 1911 census for Tamnaghmore:

https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Toome/Tamnaghmore/125251/

And in 1901:

https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Toome_Upper/Tamnaghmore/942157/

She was Church of Ireland so it was a mixed marriage. The Galway family are likely to have attended Duneane Church of Ireland which is not far from Tamnaghmore. It’s very attractive and dates back 1000 years. Roddy McCorley is buried in the graveyard. (Famous rebel who was hanged on the bridge of Toome around 1800. There’s a great song about him that Dubliners used to sing).

You can tell from the 1911 census information that the Galway household in Tamnaghmore had 1 room and 1 window at the front. So a very small house. Brick or stone walls and thatch for the roof. Landlord was Samuel McLernon. In 1864 the property was tenanted by James Galway, so the family were probably there quite a while. At that time it was a house and 4 acres but by 1917 the house was recorded in the Valuation Revision records as “in ruins” and only the land remained. It should be possible to locate that site but it would involve going to Ballymena Public Library and looking the maps up (Co. Antrim Sheet 42) to see where plot 3 was. It’ll be somewhere near the modern Tamnaghmore Rd. That’s about a mile east of Moneyglass, on the Ballymena Rd.

Tamnaghmore is 688 acres of mainly agricultural land. In 1911 there were 16 households and a total population of 86. All engaged in farming or dressmaking. Today there are still several farms there but there are also quite a few modern homes for folk who commute to Belfast, Ballymena or wherever.

I live about a mile from Moneyglass. I will be away for part of May but if I am free when you visit I can meet you, if you wish. If so, please complete the “Meet & Greet” form on the website (top menu).

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Elwyn,

Thank you for all the information!

On Robert and Margaret's marriage certificate under the "Father's Name and Surname" section, are you able to read the word written before Jacob Greene and Charles McNally? I can't quite make out that word and there is some uncertainty now whether Robert McCann and Kate Findlay are indeed Robert McCann's parents. I don't know their date of births or date of deaths so I'm not able to confirm at this point if they are indeed the parents of Robert. I believe Robert and Margaret may have worked for Jacob Greene. I'm not sure if Robert and Margaret's parents died before their marriage which is why they have Jacob Greene and Charles McNally as a proxy.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1911/09953/5618877.pdf

My husband and I will be visiting Toome on May 10th and will be taking a bus from Belfast to Toome. We won't be renting a vehicle in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland so we will be relying on public transportation. The bus runs frequently from Belfast to Toome but there isn't any bus service from Toome to Moneyglass so we would need to take a cab. I'm not certain if we will be visiting Moneyglass. If I was able to find an address of my relatives in Moneyglass then I would definitely try to find the family home. I'm fairly certain it's been demolished. In Toome, I was planning to ask around if anyone knows the McCann family. If you are free on May 10, I can complete the "Meet & Greet" form on the website.

Thank you,

Jovanna

Jovanna Sauro

Jovanna,

The word before both parents names is “supposed.” Meaning both bride & groom were almost certainly illegitimate and their fathers not known for certain. (I can't find a birth for Robert John anywhere around 1892 by the way. I can find Margaret's birth and it is clear from it she was illegitimate). Neither putative father was apparently about in 1911 to confirm paternity. That seems fairly clear. I would be very careful about assuming who their parents really were. That’s likely to remain a mystery. You might find out through DNA but otherwise it’ll be hard.

I very much doubt Jacob Greene was Robert’s father. He died in 1898 aged 80. So he would have been 72 when Robert was born. Possible certainly but seems unlikely. Jacob was quite well known in the area. He was a wealthy Quaker and there is a Quaker graveyard in Millquarter which he established. Known today as the Green garden. Jacob is buried there. His home is still a working farm in Ballymatoskerty. I think if Jacob had fathered an illegitimate child there would have been a bit of a row in the local Quaker Meeting House. Millquarter Meeting House is gone now. Just a plaque on the wall to show where it was but I think their minutes still exist and are in PRONI. You would need to go there and look them up.

I have some photos of the noticeboards in the Green Garden, taken in 2010, which explain a little about the Green(e) family and also contain photos of their home, which looks much the same today. The Greens came from England in the 1600s. Millquarter had several water powered mills. Wheelwrights and mill engineers were needed to build and maintain them. There were none locally. Some came over from Yorkshire and many were Quakers. Hence the Quaker meeting house.

The bus service to Toome is quite good. I use it myself all the time. Every half hour generally. (Ask the driver for a day return, as that’s cheaper than single tickets). But you will struggle to get a taxi in Toome. There aren’t any. It’s not big enough. It’s one street really. I can pick you up off the bus in Toome if you let me know which one you are getting.

Moneyglass is about a mile from Toome. Tamnaghmore, Ballymatoskerty are all fairly near too. I can take you there.

I am free on Sunday 10th May. If you want to meet up, please complete the meet & greet form. This helps with stats and also insurance. E-mail me on

ahoghill@irelandxo.com

to continue the discussion. The Green Garden photos are too big to attach to this message board but I can send you them by e-mail.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Elwyn,

Thank you very much for all the information.

After doing further research, I was able to confirm that Robert James McCann is not the correct person. My grandpa Patrick's father is indeed Robert George McCann who was born on August 12, 1889 in Belfast. Mother is Margaret McCann. He died in Canada in 1948. His father is unknown. He had just turned 22 at the time of his wedding in 1911 to Margaret Galway (she was 18). I will email you my family tree document for you to see.

Thank you SO much for offering to pick my husband and I up at the Toome bus stop and driving us to Moneyglass! This is very exciting! I will complete the meet and greet form for May 10th.

Jovanna

Jovanna Sauro

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