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William Hicks and siblings James, Elizabeth and Robert

Fermanagh

Hello,

I'm trying to confirm when my great great grandfather William (?Harrison) Hicks emigrated to Canada and trying to find the trail that will lead to earlier documentation such as birth or census records. I don't have any information on his parents at all. I believe his siblings are James, Elizabeth, and Robert but I have no information for them either.

William was born 1816 or 1814, I believe on Jan. 21st.

If it helps,"Wm. Hicks, the deservedly popular proprietor of Hicks Hotel" is a description of him in his daughter's marriage announcement. My grandfather said William used to ride the white horse as King Billy in the Orange Parade, I'm assuming in Perth, Ontario where he settled.

Thank you,

Penny

pennyturpin

4 replies

Penny,

You might struggle a bit with this enquiry. In general, there were no passenger lists for migrants to Canada much before the 1850s, so I doubt you’ll find any records of the family’s move from Ireland to Canada  (assuming it was pre 1850).

Birth registration didn’t start in Ireland till 1864. Prior to that you are reliant on church records. From your description of your ancestor it sounds as though he may have been Church of Ireland. There’s about 30 Church of Ireland parishes in Co Fermanagh. Not all have records for the 1820s (Many were lost in the 1922 fire) and what does survive is not all on-line. There is a set of most of the surviving records in PRONI (the public record office in Belfast) but you would need to go in person to search them. They are on microfilm.

A small portion of the 1821 census has survived. There are 2 or 3 Hicks in it but no sign of your family. Otherwise there are no censuses in Ireland for the years you are interested in.

This is the only Robert Hicks I could find in it, but as I say most of the census is lost.  This household was actually in the neighbouring county of Cavan but close to the Fermanagh border.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1821/Cavan/Kinawley/Tonnycrom/5/

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Penny, I did some checking on Hicks because I have Hicks in my family. They were, however, from Cornwall, England.

I am a member of Ancestry.ca and although I cannot drraw any conculsions about your ggg grrandfather, I did notice that there are 2  William Hicks in Ontario Canada around the same time: One settled in a village that became "Mitchell" Perth County Ontario. If you go to www.perthremembered.com, you will find info on the Hicks Hotel, William Hicks and his son John (born in Cornwall). I searched for the "history of the Hicks House"

The second William Hicks appeared on the 1851 census and settled in the town of Perth in Lanark County Ontario. He says he is from Ireland. The dates of birth vary from 1818 to 1825. He says he is an Irish Hotel Keeper. 

That is all I can offer at the moment. It isn't much. Mitchell is near London Ontario and Perth is near Ottawa. Best regards Cathy

 

cathywakeman

Thank you so much, Elwyn and Cathy.

I'm heading to Ireland next month and hope to be in Enniskillen March 20th or 21st. I will head to a Church of Ireland church and try to find who William Hicks' parents were and with luck, where they are buried.

 

So appreciative of your time,

Penny Turpin

pennyturpin

Penny,

Good luck with your research. The Fermanagh Genealogy group have some excellent volunteers who may be able to help you. I believe they can be contacted at  Enniskillen Castle. Details here:

https://fermanaghgenealogy.org/

I hope you have a great time in Fermanagh. It’s a great county. (My wife was born in Enniskillen so I must say that! But its true.)

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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