Nancy McCormick b. 1790 Antrim County, Ireland

Colleen,

The baptism records for the RC parish of Ballycastle begin in 1838, so you will not find a record for Thomas or any of her children.

Regards,

Thank you so much for your quick reply.  I appreciate that.   Would there be any Census Records on this family?   If it's true that the first son born was named after the father, then the father's name would have been John.   But he died before Nancy came to America as she listed herself as a widow.   Would you possibly have ship records to find Nancy leaving Londonderry?    She arrived in America on the ship "OCEAN" from Londonderry and arrived on May 25, 1835.     I thank you for any help you can do for me.    Colleen

Colleen,

There are fragments of the 1831 Antrim census, but I did not find anything for this family. No, there are only arrival ship records, not departure ones. On that 1835 ship's manifest, there is another daughter named Rose and another Catherine McCormick who is 18 years old. Ancestry trees have the daughter Rose on them. Given that the whole family left together in 1835, I think it is unusual for two teen brothers to leave ahead/after? them by themselves. Have you checked US census records to see if your Thomas is residing with any members of this family?  Finally, have you taken a DNA test to see if you get any matches to this McCormick family?

Regards,

Thank you Carolyn,   Yes, I have taken the DNA test and unless someone from Nancy's great, great grandchildren have taken the test, I have no way of knowing if I'm related to her or not.   If my Thomas came to America in 1835, I have not located him in our 1840 Census.  I was able to find him in all other later Census'.    But, I will keep looking.   So, am I to understand that you weren't able to locate Nancy and her children in any Census prior to 1835?     Well, thank you very much.  I appreciate you searching for me.    Colleen

Colleen:

One of the grave markers for one of the McCormick immigrants of St. Mary's Parish (Greenwood and West Union, Steuben County, New York) identifies him as a native of Ballycastle (the population center and coastal port for the RC Parish of Ramoan). Look for details on Find a Grave.

I am not a McCormick descendant (than I know of) but some of my ancestors settled in Steuben County because they had known the McCormick family in County Antrim.

Perry

perry@streeter.com

Thank you so much for this information. I appreciate it. Are you saying that you found records on another McCormick on Find A Grave website? Because when I tried looking up records, as my McCormick's were all Catholic, at St. Mary's in Greenwood and Rexville, too; I was told that the church burned down with all the records, so there was no way for me to find any marriage, births, deaths for any of my McCormicks. I even visited the cemetery in Greenwood about 20 years ago and could find nothing. I actually live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA. Are you writing from Ireland? I find that interesting your ancestors settled in Greenwood, too. The town was so small they would have to have known one another. Well, I'll see what I can find on Find A Grave website. Thank you again! Sincerely, Colleen McCormick/Matheny in Oklahoma.

Colleen:

You're welcome! Here is the grave marker that includes the phrase "Emigrated from Ballycastle Co. Antrim Ireland in the year 1834":

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/108522406/margaret-mccormick

The first church of St. Mary's congregation in Greenwood did burn but the parish registers were saved. Please email me at perry@streeter.com and I will share a "document-in-progress" on the history of the congregation.

I am writing from Greenwood. My maternal grandfather (Alex Brown) stated that his paternal grandfather (Daniel Brown) settled in Greenwood because he had known the McCormick family in Antrim. Daniel Brown and Sarah Stewart were married in Armoy in 1845, the next parish south of Ramoan.

As you probably know, McCormick descendants are still numerous in this area.