Ireland XO
Back to Message Board

Kilmacrenan Marriage - Milligan/Clarke 1851

DonegalKillygarvan (Donegal)

I'm looking for information about my 3x great-grandfather Hugh MILLIGAN. He was married to Margaret and they emigrated to New Zealand with their family (9 children) in 1858.

I've found a reference to a marriage in 1851 -

"At Kilmacrenan, on Monday, the 20th inst., by the Rev. Henry C. Cochran, MR H. MILLIGAN, of Killygarvan, to MARGARET HOOD CLARKE, fifth daughter of the late MR JOHN CLARKE, of Ballymacreely, county Down."

The names match those of my ancestors, but the date has me confused!

Their 9 children were born between 1837 and 1851. Would there have been any reason (or impediment) to the marriage occurring after most of their children were born?

Any information or background for Hugh and Margaret that could help solve this mystery would be appreciated.

Thanks

Catherine

catherineh

8 replies

Hi Catherine
Here is another marriage of Hugh Milligan in Down 1839:
9-Nov-1839
Parish / District: DOWN County: Co. Down
Husband Wife
Name: Hugh Milligan Susan Morgan
Address: Ardtanagh Ardtanagh
Denomination: Roman Catholic Roman Catholic
There is no other info re parents' names.
Could Margaret be his second wife?
Col

ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer

Here are the birth records of Hugh Milligan's children for rootsireland.ie/:
Thomas 1851 Ann Jane 1853 - mother of both Margaret O'Neill
I couldn't find any earlier births or births with Susan Morgane as mother
Col

ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks Col

We had also wondered if Hugh's marriage to Margaret was a second marriage, but have not been able to find anything to confirm this.

I don't think the two births you've found are "our" Hugh - his children were:

Hugh (born abt 1837)
James (born abt 1839)
Sarah (born 9 Nov 1840)
Thomas B (born abt 1842)
Elizabeth (born abt 1843)
William John (born abt 1846)
Isaac (born abt 1849)
Mary Ann (born abt 1850)
Margaret (born abt 1851)

The earlier marriage to Susan Morgan is a definite possibility.

However, to confuse us further ... Hugh (the son) died in 1877, and his probate documents contain an affidavit from Margaret Hood MILLIGAN (wife of Hugh MILLIGAN the Elder of Oxford, Canterbury), confirming that she was the mother of Hugh junior.

So now we're wondering, did she call herself his mother when she was actually his step-mother? or was he her biological son?  

Will need to keep digging, I think :-)

Catherine

catherineh

I've been researching some of Hugh Milligan's children in the hope that it might lead to something new to help solve this puzzle. Hugh's daughter Elizabeth married William Groves in NZ in 1868. They had 2 children in NZ then migrated to Australia and settled in north Queensland and raised a family of 10 children. Elizabeth died in 1929, and I've found this in the Queensland and Australian Death Records - Elizabeth Otway Groves died 26 July 1929, father Milligan and mother Elizabeth Otway. So wondering now if Elizabeth Otway was Hugh's first wife, or if this is a typo in the transcription (being Elizabeth's forenames)? Interestingly, several of Hugh's children seem to have 'family' names as second names - Thomas Batt Milligan, Isaac Henderson Milligan, Margaret Hood Clarke Milligan - so perhaps Otway is just another? I haven't been able to find anything more about Elizabeth Otway, so hoping someone out there will be able to help shed some light :-) Thanks Catherine

catherineh

Catherine

I have been looking at below, I can see have been researching for some time.

State registration:

https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/ancestor-dat…

I then found this posting.  For Mgt Hood Clarke's marriage the certificate indicates home address Drumhalla

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1852/09435/5418151.pdf

(The Belfast Newsletter extract)

[Married] MILLIGAN & CLARKE At Kilmacrenan, on Monday, the 20th inst., by the Rev. Henry C. Cochran, Mr. H. Milligan, of Killygarvan, to Margaret Hood Clarke, fifth daughter of the late Mr. John Clarke, of Ballymacreely, county Down.

From reading this my thoughts are that as she is not local it is possible that Margaret held a position in Drumhalla House, if search online will see that it is now a wedding venue.  I can see that when submitted a previous query you were advised that the name Hugh is not in the tithe applotments of 1834, though at marriage occupation is a farmer. I do not know if there is an omission or if he moved to this area and held land for a short time.  I searched for Milligan variants in the locality.  I also cannot see records for the marriage or births of the children from his first marriage, in Rathmullan-Killygarvan the churches do not have any early records. In regards to naming my impression would be that they picked the 2nd names of their children as a form of respect. The Belfast newspaper announcement is usually indicative of some standing. Possibly problems arose before the departure in 1858, If I can find any more details I will update you.

Have you completed any DNA tests with genealogy companies? while the in common would be low it could provide some more information on the family. 

Best Regards,

Marion Whelan - IrelandXO - Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer.

 

Whelanmg, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘︎IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Marion, I appreciate you looking into Hugh and his family for me. 

Your thinking that maybe Hugh moved to the Killygarvan area and your mention that the newspaper item may indicate some standing, has reminded me of a newspaper item I'd almost forgotten (attached), referring to a farewell dinner to Hugh Milligan before his 'removal to Donegall' hosted by Mr Hugh Gray. There was nothing in the article to confirm it it was the Hugh I was looking for, or maybe his father .. or maybe no connection at all!  I had also wondered if Hugh Gray could be the father of Hugh's first wife or if it was just a coincidence. 

The article was published in August 1840, so I attempted to search for any evidence that this was 'our' Hugh, and although there are records for Hugh Milligan in County Down, I still wasn't able to confirm that it was our family, and put the article to one side as a possible lead, to come back to when I had more detail and more time to pursue it.

Is there anything you could suggest that would help me restart the search for Hugh's early life, possibly in County Down?

Thanks for your help.

Catherine

 

catherineh

Catherine

I looked quickly at the newspaper article. I believe you have located the correct Hugh Milligan.  Reading the article it sounds more like moving to take up a position than a farm. Milligan spelling appears common in County Down.  In the past, I  had a query where I found a son had moved to Donegal for his job, he was no longer in this work at the time of his marriage locally. His elderly father took over a farm here and moved from his home county.  I would like to look at all in more detail and will return, hopefully with more information and advise. It could be that raising an IrelandXO query in County Down may be the way forward.

Best Regards,

Marion Whelan - IrelandXO - Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer.

 

Whelanmg, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘︎IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi again,

I've found Hugh in newspapers as a cess-payer in relation to presentment boards and have seen reference to Cess Applotment lists.

As Hugh hasn't shown up in the tithe records, I wondered if he might appear on these lists.

Would there be anywhere I can view a digital version?

Thanks

catherineh

Reply

Reply
One image file up to 2 MB.