Hello Kelkirk,
I'm not related and have not been researching the Kelso line, but found some information that you may be interested in, concerning the Kelso surname and alternative surname Kelsy, in the Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly.
But first, there will not be a civil registration birth record for James Kelso or a marriage record for his parents. Births in Ireland were not recorded by the government until 1864. Marriages were recorded beginning in 1845, but at this time only Protestant marriages (Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc) and civil marriages, were recorded by the government, which means there will not be a marriage record for James Kelso's parents.
You had mentioned that your great-great-grandfather Joseph Kelso, son of James Alexander Kelso and Margaret Dinsmore, was born about 1825, and left Ireland circa 1851 for Australia with his wife Margaret Black and daughter, Margaret Jane.
With this information I looked for Joseph Kelso and Margaret Black's civil registration marriage record at the free irishgenealogy.ie website and found it.
They were married in the 3rd Presbyterian Church, Coleraine, Londonderry, on 11 September 1850. At the time of marriage Joseph and Margaret were of "full" age, meaning 21 years old or older.
Joseph's occupation was "Labourer." His residence at the time of marriage was "Lison," which would be a reference to the townland of Lissan Demesne, in the Civil Parish of Lissan, County Londonderry. See the IreAtlas Townland Data Base for confirmation: https://tinyurl.com/46mp8pjk
Joseph Kelso's father is also named Joseph Kelso, whose profession is "Butcher." Your information shows Joseph's father was James Alexander Kelso, and so this Joseph Kelso would not be your great great grandfather if you have direct evidence that his father was James.
Back to the marriage record, Margaret Black's residence at the time of marriage was Loughanreagh, which was in the Civil Parish of Kildollagh. There is actually a Loughanreagh North and Loughanreagh South according to the IreAtlas Townland Data Base: https://tinyurl.com/4c2y7w5e
The marriage record further shows that Margaret's father is James Black, who was a "Labourer."
Joseph and Margaret were married by "License," by J. MacDonnell. The witnesses to the marriage were James Black and William Miller. Booth James and Margaret signed the marriage register with their mark, represented by the letter x.
A copy of the original marriage record can be accessed at: https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1850/09386/5399675.pdf
You were correct in stating that you were not certain that your Joseph Kelso had married Margaret Black.
Before birth records were recorded in 1864 and Protestant marriages in 1845, genealogists and family historians have to depend on church records to see if the baptisms and marriages of their ancestors were recorded. But, not all Presbyterian parish registers go back to the first quarter of the 19th century, or even the first half of the 19th century.
I wasn't sure where the Presbyterian Church in the Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly was located. To find out I went to "An Irish Genealogical Source: A Guide To Church Records," at: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-05/Guide-to-Church-Records-October-2019_1.pdf
Here I found there were three Presbyterian Churches in the Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly. One of these is the Boveedy Presbyterian Church. Aother is the Churchtown Presbyterian Church, and the third is the Reformed Presbyterian Church (R.P.).
These registers are held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, known as PRONI. However, the Boveedy Presbyterian Church baptisms begin in 1841, and marriages in 1842.
The Churchtown Presbyterian Church baptisms begin in 1840, and marriages beginning in 1839.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church baptisms commence in 1895, and marriages in 1864.
All these parish registers would be too late to have recorded Joseph Kelso's baptism and the marriage of his parents.
Going to the subscription RootsIreland website, I found that RootsIreland holds Churchtown Presbyterian baptisms from the year 1815. See:
https://rootsireland.ie/ifhf/online-sources.php#presbyterian
You would have to tie into one of the subscription packages to search the Churchtown Presbyterian Baptism register transcriptions for Joseph's baptism, with the understanding there is no guarantee that he was baptized in the Churchtown Presbyterian Church.
You can subscribe to RootsIreland for 1 day, 1 month, 6 months, or 1 year. If this is something you want to do, I recommend the 1 day subscription to see what information you can find, as this would be the least expensive way to start out. If you need more time researching the parish registers, you can always extend your subscription. Go to the rootsireland.ie website for subscription prices.
Any subscription covers all available Protestant and Catholic parish register transcriptions for the 32 counties of Ireland.
THE TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS
I found what may be your Kelso ancestors in an Irish agricultural land record known as the Tithe Applotment Books, which were compiled in the 32 counties of Ireland from 1823 to 1837.
For a comprehensive explanation of the Tithe Applotment Books, go to the National Archives of Ireland link at: https://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
The Tithe Applotment Books shows that an Alexr (Alexander) Kelso and a James/Jas Kelso had leased agricultural land in the townlands of Drumlane and Drumoolish, Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly.
The year of the Tithe record is 1833. Occupiers named Kelso also leased property in the townlands of Drumard, Drumnacanon, and Killmuck, Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly. This information comes from the irishgenealogyhub.com link at: https://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/tithe-applotments/tamlaght-o-crilly-parish.php
See below for the Kelso surname in the Tamlaght O’Crilly townlands mentioned above:
Tithe Applotment Books: Tamlaght O Crilly Parish
Kelso, Alexr. Townland: Drumlane Year: 1833
Kelso, Alexr. Townland: Drumoolish Year: 1833
Kelso, Hugh Townland: Drumard Year: 1833
Kelso, Hugh Townland: Drumlane Year: 1833
Kelso, Hugh Townland: Drumnacanon Year: 1833
Kelso, Hugh, Sr. Townland: Drumlane Year: 1833
Kelso, James Townland: Drumoolish Year: 1833
Kelso, Jas., Sr. Townland: Drumlane Year: 1833
Kelso, John Townland: Drumard Year: 1833
Kelso, John Townland: Drumlane Year: 1833
Kelso, John Townland: Killymuck Year: 1833
Kelso, Saml. Townland: Drumoolish Year: 1833
Kelso, Wm. Townland: Drumlane Year: 1833
SOURCE: irishgenealogyhub.com
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I think Alexander and James were the same individuals who had leased farmland in the two townlands of Drumlane and Drumoolish. James and Alexander may have been brothers, but it is not possible to tell with certainty how they were related.
Information from the townlands.ie website link shows a map for the location of Drumoolish, and also shows the towns that border Drumoolish are: Drumlane to the north; Drumnacanon to the west; Eden to the south; and Inishrush and Moyagoney to the east. See: https://www.townlands.ie/londonderry/loughinsholin/tamlaght-ocrilly/tamlaght/drumoolish/
The James Kelso in the Tithe Applotment Book entries for Drumlane and Drumoolish may be your Joseph's father.
The Alexander Kelso may be the father of Samuel Kelso, who married Mariah Black in 1856, according to the marriage record kindly provided by Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer, Roger McDonald, in his reply of 11 August 2025.
No Dinsmore surnames were recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books or the Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly.
The surnames Kelso and Dinsmore were not recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books for townlands in the Civil Parish of Kilea in 1826. See:
https://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/tithe-applotments/kilrea-parish.php
A color-coded map of the civil parishes of County Derry shows that the parishes of Tamlaght O'Crilly and Kilea are near the border with County Antrim. The map is from the John Grenham.com website and can be accessed at: https://tinyurl.com/es47894t
Once the page downloads, scroll down to see the map.
I next looked for the Kelso surname in the townland of Drumoolish in an Irish property tax record called Griffiths Valuation, which you can search at the Ask About Ireland website: https://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland from 1846 to 1864. The valuation for Drumoolish in the Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly was completed by the year 1858.
Griffiths Valuation however, spells the surname alternatively as "Kelsy," rather than Kelso. Why? I don't know.
Several leaseholders named Kelsy were recorded in Drumoolish. These are James Kelsy, Wm (William) Kelsy & brothers, Abigail Kelsy, and Samuel Kelsy.
First, James Kelsy.
See the attachment for James Kelsy in Griffiths Valuation, indicated by the green arrow, which shows he leased a house and office from an Immediate Lessor named John Roe. James did not lease any land, which is an indication he was either retired, or had a trade or profession that didn't require farmland to live.
An Immediate Lessor either owns the property, or works as the middleman for the owner.
An office is an outbuilding such as a barn, stable, piggery, blacksmith shop, etc.
To the left of James's name you'll see the number/letter combination, 37, subdivision c. 37c are coordinates for the location of James's lease on a Griffiths Valuation Map of Drumoolish, which is also attached to this reply. His location in Drumgoolish is indicated by the green arrows pointing to the number 37 and the subdivision c toward the lower right side of the map.
Going back to Griffiths Valuation for Drumoolish, the entries for Wm Kelsy & brothers, Abigail Kelsy, and Samuel Kelsy are recorded toward the top of the page. See the attachment.
These Kelsys are all leasing their property from an Immediate Lessor named Langford Heyland. Map reference 8 shows that Wm Kelsy and brothers are leasing 5 Acres of land, but not a house.
Map reference 9a and b shows that Abigail and Samuel Kelsy are leasing land in common with one another. The land is over 13 acres in size. They are also leasing individual houses and outbuildings. See the black arrows at 9 a and b.
Also see the black arrows for map references 8 where William and his brothers leased their property.
As you can see the Griffiths Valuation Map of Drumoolish is overcrowded with numbers, letters, boundary lines, and roads. I wanted to see if I could locate Drumoolish without all the numbers and letters on an Ordnance Survey Map of Derry from the 1829 to 1841 time period at the osi.maps.arcgis.com website.
I found an uncrowded Ordnance Survey Map of Drumoolish, which is attached to this reply.
Also at Griffiths Valuation I wanted to see if the Kelso/Kelsy surname was recorded in any townland in the Kilrea Civil Parish. I found one record, this for Robert Kelsy, who leased a house in the townland of Fallahogy from an Immediate Lessor named John Armstrong at map reference 18b. See the attachment.
IRISH FLAX GROWERS LISTS OF 1796
One of the earliest records available to search online are the Irish Flax Growers Lists of 1796, also available from the aforementioned irishgenealogyhub.com website.
The County Derry link of the Flax Growers list shows that a Hugh Kelso and a James Kelso were recorded in the Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly. The name of the townland where they resided is not recorded. See: https://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/genealogy-records/irish-flax-growers-list-1796-county-derry-surnames-g-to-l.php
DEATH RECORDS
Civil registration deaths were recorded by the Irish government beginning in 1864. Death records can be accessed at the irishgenealogy.ie website, but only those deaths recorded after 1870 have been digitized, with exceptions.
Only indexes of death are available at the irishgenealogy.ie website before 1871, but do not provide a great deal of information about the deceased, such as the exact date of death, where the death occurred, the cause of death, and the name of the informant who reported the death to the district registrar. The registration district for the recording of births, marriages, and deaths for the Civil Parish of Tamlaght O'Crilly, was Magherafelt, which was the former Poor Law Union.
I looked for, but didn’t find death records for James Kelso or Margaret Kelso, which is an indication they died before 1864, or that their deaths were not reported to the Magherafelt registrar.
Kind Regards,
Dave Boylan
SOURCES
irishgenealogy.ie
IreAtlas Townland Data Base
An Irish Genealogical Source: A Guide To Church Records
RootsIreland
National Archives of Ireland: Tithe Applotment Books
irishgenealogyhub.com
townlands.ie
Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer Roger McDonald's reply of 11 August 2025
johngrenham.com: Tamlaght O Crilly civil parish, Derry
Ask About Ireland: Griffiths Valuation
Ask About Ireland: Griffiths Valuation Map
osi.maps.arcgis.com
irishgenealogyhub.com: Irish Flax Growers Lists of 1796
