Foster Hemphill Ancestors

Thanks for the reply.

These folks were Presbyterian.  I have obtained several baptism records for the children of James and Rebecca and for children of the siblings of James from the Presbyterian Historical Socity of Ireland suggesting there were numerous Foster offspring baptiszed at the local Presbyterian Church.  Records show that they were regular attenders at Moville Presbyterian Church. The Griffiths valuation has Francis Foster linked to several properties in Ballyrattan and William Hemphill with one property in Carrownaff both in Upper Moville. The 1901 census has James and Rebecca living on Malin Street in Moville and James was recorded as a coachbuilder.  Marriage record for my g-grandmother Sarah Foster records her father as a church builder so he was a carpenter.  Other than the information from the Griffiths valuation I currently know very little regarding Francis Foster or his wife (name unknown) and William Hemphill and his wife Jane Cooke.

Hope this helps clarify where I am at with my research.

Jim

Hi Elwyn,

Thanks for the speedy reply.  Yes I can't seem to find the marriage record right now so not sure how I came up with the marriage date.  I will go through my files and if I can not find it I will order one as you suggest and then let you know if I find anything new.

Regards

Jim

Found it!

Hi Elwyn,

I found the marriage record.  I had it misfiled.  So much for my filing system.  So what it states that is not in my previous note is that at the time of their marriage James was residing in Moville and Rebecca in Cooley (not sure where that is).  James was noted as a carpenter.  Both thier fathers (Francis and William) were noted as farmers.  They were married in a Presbyterian Church in Londonderry in Templemore Parish in the County of Derry.  I am not sure when the Presbyterian Church in Moville was built or where the Presbyterian Church in Templemore Parish is that they where married in but will do some research to find out.  Also to find Cooley.  These leads are what I used to find Francis and William in the Griffiths valuation.

Take care.

Jim

Thanks Elwyn,

Thanks for your efforts, much appreciated.  I did find Cooley using Google Earth.  Based on your list and the handwriting I would say they were married in First Presbyterian Church as I can make out the F and the T in First.

The contact from The Presbyterian Historical Society Of Ireland suggests that the Foster family must have been new to the Moville Presbyterian Church around 1860 as there are no records before that time for them but lots that I have after that - so either they were new to the area or attending another church before that time.  The earliest records I have for the Hemphill side are two baptisms; Rebecca daughter of William Hemphill and his wife Jane Cooke, Coolly born 1 Oct 1834 baptised 5 Oct 1834 and then Polly daughter of William Hemphill and his wife Jane Cooke, Churchland born 15 Oct 1838 (no baptism date given).  Then basically nothing until the marriage of James and Rebecca.

I understand that records often get pretty sketchy before about 1850 so very much appreciate your efforts and anything else you might be able to find for me.

Jim 

Hello Elwyn,

Wow!  Thanks so much - this is awsome.  You have made my day.  You obviously have access to the GRO or PRONI or something similiar.

You have definitely filled in a few gaps for me which has been very helpful.  I will follow up on your leads to obtain some more records.  Regarding the marriages of James Foster and Rebecca Hemphill's children I do have a copy of the marriage for Sarah Foster and Luke Kirby but not the others.  If you could provide me with the details of the others as you suggest that would be great 

The information about George Hemphill and his family is new and I will follow up on those records.

It is reassuring that you have basically come to the same conclusion as I have about when the Foster family moved to the area and although disappointing that there are no records for them in the Moville area before about 1850.  I always worry I am missing some clue and a second opinon that comes up with a similar conclusion is definitely reassuring.

Thanks again for all your efforts.

Jim  

Elwyn,

Thanks for all this.  You have definitely provided some more clues and work to keep me busy for a while.

Yes I have Ulster Scot ancestors from Donegal and Antrim, English ancestors from Derry and my wife has Roman Catholic ancestors from Down and Antrim.  Depending on the area you volunteer over in Ulster you might get tired of hearing from me.

Take care.

Jim

Hi  Elwyn,

Well I have obtained some of the records you mentioned and they seem to produce some answers and also some more questions. The two death records for a William Hemphill both show that they were farmers and bachelors. However the William Hemphill that died 14 Dec 1886 died at Carrownaff.  That would put his birth about 1818.  The informant was George Hemphill and the record states that he was his half brother.  So I am thinking George must have also been the half brother to Rebecca and Polly born 1834 and 1838 and also to a John Hemphill (born about 1817) that I see in the 1901 census living with George's widow Annie at Carrownaff.

The other William Hemphill died 18 Jan 1899 at Tullyally near Moville and not that far away from the others.  The informant was a nephew named James Cooke.  There are several more Hemphill's reported in Ballynally in Lower Moville in the Griffiths valuation which again is close by.

The death record for the George Hemphill a farmer that died 4 Nov 1897 died at Cooley.  He was reported to be married and the informant was his daughter Jennie Doherty.  He would have been born about 1838 close to when Polly was born.  I have not been able to find any other records for Jennie Doherty.

Let me know what you think of my hypothesis and whether you think any other information regarding these relationships can be gleened from the Moville church records.

Regards.

Jim  

Hi Elwyn,

Thanks again for all your efforts.  Yes this seems like a compIicated situation and the timing around the introduction of civil registration to births, marriages and deaths and church records makes it even more difficult.

I agree with your thinking regarding the possible two marriages for William Hemphill and how the children would be related to the different wifes.

Yes I did get the marriage record for George Hemphill to Anne Jane Bredin but unfortunately neglected to mention it in my last note.  As you assumed he was from Carronaff and his father was identified as William Hemphill.

Good on you for finding the lead with respect to Jennie Doherty.  I will follow up on that at some point.  I am thinking I will give this a rest for a while and possibly try researching a less complicated line of ancestors.

Many thanks for all your efforts on my behalf.

Jim 

Would you know if there was a James gleeson that had a son called Mo?ses. And  immigrated to Canada 

Hi Mona,

I am not aware of any Gleeson's in my tree.  If you can provide me with a bit more information about the family I can do a bit of a search for you.

Jim

Jim & Elwyn, I have Hemphill connections in the Church of  Ireland, Moville Lower (Ballynally), found all the lot you have and have been as confused as you about how, or if, the C of I and the Presbyterian families are related. Not to mention the various family units relating to each other. The rather astonishing number of James Hemphills everywhere I look doesn't make it easier. 

Among what you have given here, Elwyn, are a few connections I didn't have, so thanks from me too. 

My great grandmother was Catherine Hemphill, daughter of James Hemphill in Ballynally. She married my great grandfather, John McCurry, in St. Columb's C of I, Moville, in April 1862. They lived north of Limavady in County Derry. Somewhere when I was at PRONI I saw a note about "James Hemphill and 13 children" referring to this family but I have not been able to find all the siblings (though some that died as infants may not have been recorded). Nor have I found the name of the mother, though she may have been a Mitchell since only one of Catherine and John's daughters has a middle name and it is Mitchell. Catherine herself was born in Derry, so I speculate that her mother may have gone to her own mother to have the baby. I haven't been able to find any Hemphill-Mitchell marriages of the rigth period, but there is a great dearth of any records at that time so it isn't surpising, only frustrating.

I visited Moville last spring with a semi-professional genealogist who was helping with the very elusive Hemphills and was able to visit the farm belonging to my great great grandfather, Catherine's father, above Moville, looking across the lough toward Carrowclare in County Derry where she spent all her married life. It was a poignant moment as we envisioned John sailing his fishing boat across the lough to visit her prior to their marriage.

That same day we stopped by St Columb's church (C of I) and as luck would have it, met Sammy Bredin, now the church warden. He didn't know whether Annie Bredin was related to him but it seems a strong probability in so small an area. Sammy and his wife still farm at Cooley, just above Moville.

We were not able to look at the C of I records at St. Finian's, Greencastle. According to Sammy, that is the parish church where earlier records would be. St. Columb's was very new at the time of my great grandparent's marriage. You don't happen to have Hemphill records from St. Finian's in your  collection, do you Elwyn?

Frances Bach 8 Jan 2014

Hello Frances,

Thanks for the note.  As you have noticed I have struggled with the Moville Hemphills as well.  I had a look at the Hemphills in Ballynally in the Griffiths Valuation but have not been able to make a conection to my line.  As Elwyn has pointed out the records are patchy at times.  Due to the limited number of Hemphill families in the area I suspect we are related but may have a hard time proving it.  I have been working on easier ground for the last few months so no new information to report..

We have visited Moville as well and found it to be a quaint little village.  We had lunch by the lough on a relatively nice Irish day, which made it hard to push on to other sites on our trip. 

You may have undertaken more rersearch than I of the Hemphills.  Thanks to help from Elwyn most of what I know about the early Hemphills is in this email chain.  Yes lots of Hemphills named James and what seems like several bachelors as well. I am not sure if I can be of any help but if you want to compare notes let me know and I will pass along my email.

Jim 

Thanks gentlemen. I feel quite certain these two lines in the Movile area are connected but the ARE a particularly elusive bunch. I would be pleased if you would keep in touch directly. My email is febach@fairpoint.net. I will endeavor to pass on anything more that may turn up.

Fran

More on the Moville Hemphills

I have just uncovered a few more items that are connected with the Moville Hemphills you may or may not have.

1. There was one Hemphill in Moville in the flaxgrowers list of 1796 and several not a long way off:

1796, Irish Flax Growers Database Search Results

There was 10 match(es) for the search criteria:

Guild ID Surname First name Parish County Looms/Wheels

G48592 Hamphill [Hemphill] Andrew Ardstraw Tyrone 3

G54497 Hamphill [Hemphill] David Urney Tyrone 4

G54544 Hamphill [Hemphill] Samuel Urney Tyrone 2

G13150 Hemphel [Hemphill] James Lower Moville Donegal 1 wheel.

G19445 Hemphill Andrew Cleenish Fermanagh 1

G4986 Hemphill Andrew Crousherlough [Crosserlough] Cavan 1

G209 Hemphill James Ballyrashean [Ballyrashane] Antrim 1

G27205 Hemphill James Tamlaght Finlagan Londonderry 3 wheels.

G8428 Hemphill John Auganinshin [Aghanunshin] Donegal 4 wheels.

G23324 Hemphill Joseph Aughanloo [Aghanloo] Londonderry 4 wheels.

FYI, A(u)ghanunshin is on the west side at the bottom of Lough Swilly in the Letterkenny area. I haven't found any connections between them and the Moville Hemphills in that area yet but haven't yet gone looking.

George Hemphill Sr. was indeed Rebecca Foster's brother.

George Hemphill' Sr.'s wife was Anne Jane Bredin from Cooley as are the couple named Bredin I met in Moville last spring.

George Hemphill Sr. and Anne Jane Bredin's sons George Jr.and Harry William emigrated to Canada and their descendants (or at least Harry's) are still in the general area of Weyburn, Saskatchewan with branches scattered across western Canada.

Fran

Hello,

I realise i'm coming a bit late to this thread but as someone with connections to the church and parish in question, I was curious about the name Foster as my ancestors leased their land in Ballyrattan from a  Foster family.  I contributed the following to another forum searching for links to the family:

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The landlord in 1890 was a William J. Foster, unsure when he became landlord, Thomas Ferguson was their  landlord at the time of the Griffith Valuation in 1858. A letter in Proni from 1847 states that the land was in possession of Mr Thomas Ferguson for some debt of Sir A. Chichester, so he may have sold the land to the Foster family sometime after the 1850's.

The Irish Land Commission record below shows that William J Foster was landlord for almost the entire townland in 1890(Although my McCorkell ancestors do not appear on this list for some reason?)
 http://www.dippam.ac.uk/eppi/documents/18490/page/491404
 

William James Foster = Elizabeth Allen 19th Dec 1861 Great James street Presbyterian church
WJ Foster of Coolkeeragh House, High Sheriff of Donegal, father William Foster
Died 23rd Jan 1891, Bath Somerset (Late of Portrush County Antrim)
Elizabeth Allen Foster recorded in the 1901 census, Portrush, aged 63, I loose sight of her after that, but my family were still paying rents to her in 1917, she would have been 79, I think she may have moved to England after 1901

One daughter I can find Emily Patterson Foster born 31/08/1864
Interestingly she married a Thomas Fredrick MacNeece in 1888 in Marylebone London, one of their children William Foster MacNeece rose to the rank of Air Vice-Marshall during WW2 and was a member of the joint chiefs of staff

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I haven't been able to establish if this is the same Foster family (asyours) , my McCorkells continued to lease their land from the Foster family through most of the 20th Century.

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The Hempill family were living in the area in the late 1700's, I transcribed two Cess lists from the 1700's relating to the parishes of Upper and Lower Moville. In the townland of Ballynally there was recorded a James Hempill (snr) and James Hempill (jnr), November, 1774. I have another list just for Moville Upper transcribed from 1792 but don't have access to it from my current location, I can check later. I also have photos of some of your Foster graves from Upper Moville Presbyterian graveyard if your interested.

Most of the Presbyterians of Inishowen probably migrated upwards from the Laggan region of Donegal where  large numbers of Scots were 'planted' in the 1620's, by the records that have survived I think the numbers were low until the first half of the 18th Century. by the 1720's there were several Presbyterian churches in Inishowen, I believe my own ancestors migrated from the Laggan to the Moville area at this time, the earliest record for my family I have from the area is 1740

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Unsure when the Foster family came to Moville they don't appear on the early tithe lists, below is interesting it is taken form a history of Moville by Rev. Montgomery written in the 1930's

I think the finest example set to us is by a woman from Cooley. It will be remembered that certain families were transported thither from Armagh. One day more than eighty years ago, my old friend, now in Cooley, told me that his mother walked to Armagh, carrying him, then two years old, on her back I think the distance is seventy-four miles, and she accomplished it in two days, stopping the night in Newtownstewart. In due time she walked back again.

The families came from Armagh with their landlord, sometime near the beginning of the 19th century, in Ballylawn, next to Cooley there was a small Clachan called " Lurgans town" it still existed in the early 20th century. Perhaps the Fosters orignally came from County Armagh. Just a thought

Joe

Foster Hemphill Ancestors

Hello Joe. Thanks for the information. I have been offline for awhile and am just starting to get back into genealogy. I am not sure of my connection to the William J. Foster=Elizabeth Allen family at this point but will do some digging to see if I can find anything about a possible connection.

I would be very interested in obtaining any information you have on the Foster or Hemphill graves at the Upper Moville Presbyterian graveyard. Please let me know how I can obtain the information or you can contact me at jayoung663@gmail.com.

Thanks

Jim

I'm also looking for Hemphill, my gg grandparents were married in lower moville in 1863 ,William Hemphill and Sarah Turner, sarah was born in Glasgow but her dad Robert was born in Ireland, William Hemphill was born in Ireland, im assuming in donegal

Hi Alan,

I am aware of William Hemphill & Sarah Turner. I have been sharing research information with Fran Bach but at this point I don't think we have confirmed a connection via the paper trail.  DNA has shown that several of the Hemphill familes in the Moville area are likely related if you go back far enough. We have James Hemphill and Peggy McCurry as possible parents for William.  There are no shortage of Hemphills with the name William or James in the Moville area which adds to the confusion.

Have you tested your DNA?

Jim  

Hi Jim
I haven't tested my DNA yet although I do intend to do it ,William and Sarah are the furthest I've got back, well their fathers as they are on the marriage certificate. Elwyn has provided me with some good information and leads.
William had a son called Robert Turner Hemphill born in Rutherglen
Scotland my great grandfather, he married a Catherine Irvine from New Kilpatrick (Her Dad John is from Ireland too but don't know where.
They then had a son called William Hemphill in 1894 my Grandfather who married a Amelia Lang Meldrum my grandmother in 1925 in Glasgow .my mother was born in 1928 Catherine Hemphill. If you or Frances need any copies of these marriages and births let me know and I'll send them to you .
Thank you for your help,I only started this about a month ago and I've found loads of information so trying to marry it all together.
Thank you
Alan Cochrane

Hello Jim and others on this thread.  I am assisting my father-in-law with his research (my husband's g-g-grandparents are also James Foster and Rebecca Hemphill) and I was thrilled to come across this thread and see that it is still active.  I am so greatful for all the information shared here - particularly the wonderful researcd done by Elwyn.

My husband's like goes up like this:

Fintan S. Molloy (my husband) -> Fintan M. Molloy (b 1942) -> Martha Johnson (b 1914)  -> Thomas Johnson (b 1887) -> Martha Foster (b 1864, daughter of James Foster and Rebecca Hemphill).

Tom Johnson moved to Ballymote, Co Sligo at one point and operated a mill.  He was later the Postmaster there.

If you are on Ancestry please let me know.  My husband has taken a DNA test and we can compare information.  I have added information from this thread to our tree, but I fear I may have "over-added" information and need to go back with a critical eye to edit.