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Gray, Lemon, Williamson, Riddell, Chapman, Moore, Corbett, Byers and Sturgeon families.

MonaghanClones (Monaghan)

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Ireland to research my ancestry in more detail and wondered whether you had any tips or advice on where to go or how to go about it. Most of my branches are stuck in the early to mid 19th century. They were all Church of Ireland or Presbyterian.

The Grays were originally from Baltrasna, Oldcastle, Meath, but my great grandfather John Gray (1896-1967) moved to Clones. His parents were Thomas Frederick Gray (1867-1931) and Mary Elizabeth Lemon (1868-1911).

The Lemons were from Killycronaghan, Killeevan. My great great grandfather was John Lemon (c1839-1935). His father was David Lemon, his mother is unknown but may have been Mary Todd or Mary Patten. There were other Lemons in Killycronaghan but it is not known where David fits in.

The Williamsons were from Listellan, Killeevan. My great great grandmother was Harriette Anne Williamson (c1849-1922), who was married to John Lemon. Her parents were John Williamson (c1818-1884) and Sarah Riddell (c1820-1886). John's father was James Williamson, his mother's name is unknown.

The Riddells were from Mullycrock, Glanish, Cornasoo and Annamacneill. I found a great deal about them in "The History of the Ancient Ryedales" written in 1884 by GT Ridlon. Sarah's parents were Thomas Riddell and a Miss Sloan. No dates for them.

The Chapmans were from Dundrennan, Ematris.My great grandmother was Lucinda Isabella Chapman (1899-1942). She was married to John Gray. She was born in Drumlinny and her parents were Robert Chapman (c1861-1932) and Margaret Jane Corbett (c1863-1944).Robert's parentswereRobert Chapman (1824-1902) and Margaret Moore (c1841-1921). Robert senior'sparents were John and Sarah Chapman (no further information about them).

The Moores were from Dromore, Errigal Trough. Margaret's father was Charles Moore, her mother is unknown.

The Corbetts were from Drumaclan, Kilmore; and Rossnaglough, Aghabog. My 3x great grandfather was Samuel Hamilton Corbett (c1830-1900). His father was also called Samuel Hamilton Corbett. They were both schoolmasters, but I don't know where (possibly Rockcorry School or Brownhill National School as his daughter went there)and I have no further information about Samuel senior.

The Byers family were from Tirmadown, Kilmore. My 3x great grandmother was Jane Byers (c1830-?) who was married to Samuel Hamilton Corbett junior. Her parents were John Byers (c1797-1878) and Margaret Sturgeon (c1805-1878). They are also brickwalls.

Any advice on how to continue my search would be greatlyappreciated. I feel I've exhausted all online sources and need to continue my search on foot, but I'd rather be prepared when I go to Ireland so I make the most of my time there.

Thank-you very much.

Regards,
Elliot Gray-Clough

IrelandXO member

3 replies

Elliot:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

We do not have any locally based parish liaisons in Co. Monaghan.

I'm certainly no expert on Monaghan but I did want to point out some resources that might assist you.

This link  https://www.ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/registers…  provides a parish by parish summary of the status of Church of Ireland registers. Some are held locally, some in the Representative Church Library in Dublin and other were destroyed in the 1922 Public Records Office fire in Dublin.

Last fall the Irish government released the images of certain civil records online for free at www.irishgenealogy.ie   Birth records are available from 1864-1915. Marriage records start in 1882 and go to the 1940 and death record images start in 1891 and go to 1965. There are plans to add older records in future updates.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Elliot

"The Byers family were from Tirmadown, Kilmore. My 3x great grandmother was Jane Byers (c1830-?) who was married to Samuel Hamilton Corbett junior. Her parents were John Byers (c1797-1878) and Margaret Sturgeon (c1805-1878). They are also brickwalls."

I am related to Byers from Tirmadown, Kilmore too. My 2x great-grandfather was John Byers (c1837). He married Susannah Wiggit (nee Graham) in 1860. John's father name was John as well but I do not have the name of his mother. Byers were not a common name in this area, which leads me to suspect that my John and your Jane were siblings. 

 

Lindahurtubise…

Thanks for your help, Roger. I have used the civilrecords site a lot, and found out a great deal about my family using that site. Thanks for the link to the Church of Ireland document - unfortunately it seems as though many of the records are lost or scattered about!

Great to hear from you, Linda. I had a number of siblings for Jane but didn't have John. I had seen him but I wasn't quite sure where he fit in, so thanks very much for that information, I'm sure he is a sibling. I admin Ancestry UK on Facebook if you want to find me there, and we can continue our discussion about our shared heritage :)

IrelandXO member

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