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McMahen family of Armagh

ArmaghArmagh (Armagh)

I am trying to find the family of my great great grandfather William Moore McMahen born about 1812 andwho emigrated to Australia in 1841. His Australian marriage and death certificates name his place of birth as Armagh, Armagh. His death certificate names his parents as James McMahen and Elizabeth Ann Moore. Note the distinctive spelling of "McMahen".

William had 9 children and the "Moore" middle name has been carried through the generations. Also, 4 of his children married 4 members of the Lowden (or Loudon) familywhoalso emigrated to Australia, I believe from the Newtown Hamilton area, around the same time. A family history of the Lowdens/Loudons says that the McMahens lived near themin County Armagh and were Protestants with the "en" spelling of their name intended to distinguish them from the Catholic "McMahons".

My research has come up with a James McMahen born 1810 and his wife Sarah Lowry who also emigrated to Australia from Ireland in 1852. James named his son James Moore McMahen and one of his other sons also carried the "Moore" middle name through to his children. This, and the unusal spelling of the McMahen name suggested to me that James McMahen born 1810 and William Moore McMahen born 1812 may have been brothers although I can find no record of them having any contact in Australia (both emigrated to Victoria).

I would love to be able to locate James McMahen and Elizabeth Anne Moore in Irish records and confirm that William and James are their sons as well as locate any other McMahen family members in Ireland.

I went to Ireland a couple of years ago to carry out family research but couldn't take the matter any further.

Can anyone help? Are there any Irish McMahens out there?

IrelandXO member

4 replies

Debra,

I would be a bit cautious about relying on the spelling of the surname as a means of distinguishing between the families. The idea of a single or correct spelling for a surname or a place name is very much a recent phenomenon and before that, especially in Ireland, there was no consistency. Names were spelled phonetically and each variation was down to the whim of the particular person recording the information. You will often see the spelling change as the records go back. This rarely indicates a particular deliberate decision to alter the name nor even a mistake. Not everyone was literate, but even when they were, exact spelling simply wasn’t something they bothered about.

I looked at the 1901 census for Co. Armagh. There were 8 people named McMahen. All were Roman Catholic. There were 413 McMahon, of which 307 were RC and the remainder were a mix of Presbyterians, Church of Ireland and other Protestant denominations. So the spelling doesn’t signify a particular denomination.

If the family came from “Armagh, Armagh” then that may mean they lived in the city of Armagh, as opposed to somewhere else within the county. If the family was Church of Ireland then their baptism and marriage records start in 1750.  Armagh 1st Presbyterian church records start in 1707 but there is a gap in the baptisms from 1803 to 1825. However the marriages are complete 1796 to 1823. Armagh 2nd Presbyterian records start 1825 and the 3rd’s in 1837. I am not sure if these records are on-line anywhere. You could check on rootsireland (subscription site). Otherwise there are copies in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast, but a personal visit is required to view them.

The position for Newtownhamilton isn’t so good. The early Church of Ireland records were all destroyed in Dublin in 1922 in a fire during the civil war. None of the Presbyterian churches has any records earlier than 1825.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi
I haven't read all, but my great grandmother was a McMahon from Kilmore Armagh. She married in St Aidan's Kilmore. 13th Jan 1853 came to Australia 17th March same year. I have found records of what I believe is a brother and sister. And on her shipping records her mother and father are both alive in 1853 Richard and Rachael McMahon. On a recent trip back their we had an excellent local person who showed us McMahon's lane 1 or 2 km from Kilmore. He said most likely only the locals knew it as McMahon's Lane.
I will read through more thoroughly asap.
Maree

Maree Cartmill Brown

Hi Debra,

James McMahen is shown on Victorian BDM as James McMahon death 1876 Reg. 5931.  He is shown born Armagh and aged 67 years at death.  Mother shown as Margaret Moore, which suggests that James and William were probably cousins.  James' wife is Sarah Lowry (Lowrie).  It is likely that this is the James McMahen who held the pre-emptive rights for the ‘Nine Mile Beach Run’ from 1846 to 1853. His squatting station stretched between the Mordialloc and Kananook creeks, McMahon also owned land at Frankston, from where McMahon’s Road got its name.   The McMahon is likely to be a spelling error as all this family are spelt McMahen.

Hope that helps, Sue

IrelandXO member

Re above message from Maree, and her McMahon relatives in KILMORE, I am thrilled that you have "found" these ones. I have McMANN relatives from KILMORE also, and 1 son, JOHN came to New Zealand, ( probably 1865, there are more than 1 in shipping records). The family are sure he came from Kilmore, Armagh, and that his 2 sisters went to USA. I think I have "found" REBECCA in Massachusetts, as the McMANN spelling was used in her death records, but later the McMAHON version was used. JOHN McMANNs parents were WILLIAM and MARY, nee HARRISON. I am wondering if there were several families of McMAHEN/McMAHON/McMANN in Kilmore at the same time, and maybe HARRISONs close by.  I will follow this post with interest, Beryl

BerylEagle15822

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