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Irwin and Forsythe Marraige 1845

DerryBalteagh (Derry)

John Irwin, son of James Irwin, was born Presbyterian in Ballyleagry, in Balteagh parish, in Derry, in Ireland, in about 1824.
His known sibling was William Irwin, born about 1828, married Nancy Irwin about 1849.  William and John seemed to have grown up at house 34 Ballyleagry Road.  John had four other brothers and a sister, and according to the 1831 house holder census which lists James's home as having 7 males and 3 females all Presbyterian.  I don't know the mother's name or the other 4 brothers or sister.
He was a Farmer (tenant).  He lived in a cottage on land rented by Samuel Forsythe Junior in a cottage sublet by Samuel, who was possibly Lavinia's brother.  Samuel Forsythe Senior seemed to have lived at House 20.  This was the house Lavinia may have grown up in.  Lavinia's brothers were Samuel Junior and Andrew L. Forsythe.  She had two sisters according to the 1831 census, but their names are not known to me.
He married Lavinia Forsythe in either Ballymoney Antrim or Balteagh Derry or Bovevagh Derry about 1845.
They had Robert Forsythe Irwin in 1846, Margaret Irwin in 1847, Samuel Irwin in 1848, Matilda Jane Irwin in 1849, Lavinia Ann Irwin in 1853, John Irwin 1854, Mary Irwin 1857, and Elizabeth Irwin 1859.
John died about 1872 in Ballyleaghery, Balteagh, Derry.  At the time he owned about an acre of land and corn mill, land now owned by William Irwin and sons, possibly cousins of John (William Irwin and wife Sarah Ross acquired the land in 1898 (1 acre, 2 roods, 25 perches).

The parish marriage registers for the marriage have been searched in Ballymoney and nothing was found for John and Lavinia.  Also the registers for Bovevagh and Balteagh have burned.  Hoping a Balteagh local might have some information on this marriage that someone in Canada can't get access to.  Stories, newspaper clippings, old Parish records.

a.d.i.g.ross

2 replies

TRoss,

The precise breakdown of the folk in the 1831 census does have to be slightly speculative. It could be mother & father and their children but it could also be a widow plus children, or for example, there might be a grandparent or unmarried aunt there too.

Here’s Nancy & William’s marriage in 1849 in Ballymoney 3rd Presbyterian church. Samuel Forsythe was a witness.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1849/09362/5390362.pdf

I did not find a marriage for Lavinia & John in the statutory records. Statutory marriage registration started on 1stApril 1845, so the inference is that it was before that date, in which case you need to search the individual churches (which you have evidently been doing). Not all churches have records before 1845. Some do. Ballymoney 3rd, for example, (which was originally called Ballymoney 2nd or St James) has records from 1835. Copy in PRONI. But tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, So the important question is which church did the Forsyths attend? Balteagh seems a strong contender but it has no pre 1845 marriage records. No easy way round that. If it’s any consolation pre 1845 marriage records usually don’t contain much information. Just the couples names, the date and their 2 witnesses. Rarely parents names or occupations etc.

Here’s John Irwin’s death in 1872, aged 50. He was a miller.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1872/020730/7273111.pdf

There was an inquest so you might find a mention of that in the newspapers.

This is the only post 1858 will I could find. This is the abstract. The will itself is in PRONI.

Probate of the Will of Alexander Forsyth late of Ballyleagry County Londonderry Farmer who died 3 June 1916 granted at Londonderry to Robert Forsyth Farmer.

Griffiths Valuation for Ballyleagry was compiled in 1858. There’s no mention of James Irwin in it, so it’s reasonable to assume he had died before that year.

1740 Protestant householders list (PRONI website) list John & Robert Forsythe living in Ballyleagry in that year. No Irwin households in that townland.

This appears to be Jane Forsythe of Ballyleagry marrying in 1849. That was in Balteagh Presbyterian:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1849/09376/5396024.pdf

Here’s Martha Forsythe (daughter of Samuel) of Ballyleagry marrying in 1866. She married in Limavady 1st P church. So that’s worth checking too. It has marriage records from 1832 to 1841 then a gap to 1845.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1866/11551/8248973.pdf

Sister Jane married in 1864. She used Balteagh P church:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1864/11608/8273011.pdf

Tithe applotment records for 1828 list John & Robert Forsythe as each having a farm in Ballyleagry, plus James Irwin:

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/tithe-applotments/balteagh-parish.php

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you very much for this extensive feedback! Regarding James Irwin in the Tithe Applotment Records, yes we cannot find him in any earlier records in Ballyleagry. That does not necessarily mean he was not there, but the family story I got from my cousin in Scotland was that John Senior's father (James, whose name we had no clues about until research was done around 2016-17) was from Ballymena Antrim.

Regarding sister Jane married 1864, my thought was that this is Lavinia's niece, the daughter of her brother Samuel Forsythe Junior. And indeed Jane, daughter of Samuel of Ballyleagry married Robert Ross. So this must be the same Jane as mentioned in the parapgraph below.

Regarding Martha Forsythe who married William White in 1866, she is in within Julia E. Mullin's book "Roots in Ulster Soil." Her father Samuel Forsythe of Ballyleagry was brother to Robert Forsythe of Forttown. Samuel had 4 daughters, Jane (m. Robert Ross), Sarah Ann (married George Carson), Elizabeth (m. Thomas Donaghy), and Martha (m. William White) and 3 sons, David and Robert died young (there is a Robert Forsythe who died age 26 at Balteagh Prebyterian san of Samuel and Martha who died 28 Nov 1865) and William Forsythe who lived to age 63. So Martha is probably another niece of Lavinia's.

I am wondering if the Samuel Forsythe of Ballyleagry with 4 daughters and 3 sons above is the same Samuel Forsythe Junior as Lavinia's brother? It seems possible.

Now, Jane Forsythe, daughter of Robert Forsythe (father was Robert of Forttown?). She married Samuel Elder of Forttown. So there is that Forttown connection again. Robert might be a brother of Samuel Forsythe Junior, or senior in the this case. In Mullen's book there was a Robert who owned 9 acres in Ballyleagry, also had a brother named Samuel who inherited a farm in Ballyleagry and appears in Griffith's valuation of 1858.

In the 1858 Griffith's Valuation, there are 3 Samuel Forsythes. Two of them, Samuel Jr. and Senior are in Ballyleagry and a third Samuel Forsythe is in Drumagosker, a townland very close to Ballyleagry, just south of Limavady.

Could it be that Lavinia is an unknown daughter of Robert of Fort town which is near Ballymoney? Robert of Forttown was born 1806 so would have been 15 or 16 when Lavinia was born, so we can probably eliminate him as her father. In addition, Robert of Forttown was married to Martha Brown and had 4 daughters, and we know their names - Isabella (m. james Campbell), Jane (m. John Curry), Martha (m. James Boyd), and Mary who died young.

Roots in Ulster Soil" mentions a "Forsythe Girl" that was raised alongside Robert by Samuel Hunter and Martha Forsythe in Forttown. Her last name was McBride. I wonder if she later took the name Lavinia Forsythe later because she was adopted and moved to Ballyleagry with her "brother" Robert of Forttown. Maybe I should check for a John Irwin and McBride marriage in 1845 as she might have felt compelled to give her true name at the alter...

Maybe I am reading too much into it, and Lavinia Forsythe is simply a daughter of Samuel Forsythe Sr. and no record of her survives because the registers that recorded her birth and marriage were destroyed.

a.d.i.g.ross

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