McClure Co Antrim

Albert:

Below are the 1901 and 1911 census records for the Robert McClure family. Robert died in the spring of1910 and if the death record is correct, he was born in 1849 ( see below). The 1911 census indicates that Susan Jane had 9 living children as of 1911. You were missing James. if you want a copy of the death record, you need to contact the GRO. Go to this link http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Apply-for-Certificates.aspx  Hit the link for a death certificate in English. You will probably get a screen asking for a User Name and Password. Hit cancel and the form will appear. Fill out the form and also provide the quarter/year of the death, registration district ( Belfast) and the volume and page number ( 1 and 243). A copy costs around 4 euros. You can also ask for the GRO to e-mail the copy to you.

Our Co. Antrim expert may have more advice for you in the morning.

Roger McDonnell

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Court_Ward/Hopeton_Street/964824/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Wood_Vale_Ward/Percy_Street/164806/

Name: Robert  

• Last Name: McClure  


• Year: 1910  


• Year Of Death: 1910  


• Registered Quarter/Year: Apr - Jun 1910  


• Age: 61  


• Year Of Birth: 1849  


• Registration District: Belfast  


• Volume: 1  


• Page: 243  

Albert,

You?ll see from the 1901 census that Robert was born in Co Antrim (as opposed to Belfast, where his wife and children were born). That plus the fact his father was a farmer, tells you he came from a rural area somewhere in Co Antrim.

Robert was born c 1849 but birth registration did not start in Ireland till 1864 so you won?t get a birth certificate for him. You might find his baptism in church records. Some baptism records are on-line but many are not (especially for Presbyterians, as this family evidently were). I searched on the rootsireland site for a Robert s/o John born c 1849 but none is listed. However as I say, that may just reflect the fact that the relevant records are not on-line rather than that no record actually exists.

A farmer would normally be listed in Griffiths Valuation, so assuming he were still alive in 1861, you would expect to find him to be listed. Unfortunately there are over 20 John McClures listed in Griffiths for Co Antrim. So a bit of a needle in a haystack, to work through all those sets of church records.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

If you do get a clue as to where he was born, there are copies of most church records in PRONI, Belfast (the public record office). The records are on microfilm and a personal visit is generally required to search them. There are several hundred Presbyterian churches in Co Antrim and so you will need some clues as to Robert?s place of birth in order to narrow that search.

I searched to see if Robert left a will, but there is no trace of one. Or at least if there was one, it wasn?t probated. Difficult to know what to advise you to do next. I cannot immediately think of any easy way of finding Robert?s place of birth. Did he have any siblings that you know of? If so, have you searched censuses to see where they were born? If they died outside Ireland, then in some jurisdictions place of birth is recorded on the death cert (and sometimes on marriage certs too). Did any of them serve in the armed forces? If so, those records may contain a place of birth. If Robert has a gravestone, it might say where he was born. As might an obituary (if there was one). I assume you have the 1875 marriage certificate and it doesn?t contain a rural address for Robert?

Elwyn

Albert,

If the marriage certificate says ?Antrim? then to me, that means Antrim town, rather than the county of Antrim. Generally, when someone lives outside Belfast, the Minister put down their townland, or at least parish. They would not put a county name on its own. I can?t ever recall that being done. So if I were you, and you have no other leads, I would focus on Antrim town and the area immediately around it.

Now there is just one John McClure in Antrim town in Griffiths Valuation for 1862. He lived in Scotch Quarter in Townparks, where he had a house, outbuildings and a small garden. So he wasn?t a farmer, but he might have been a retired farmer. The revaluation records show him having left that property in 1868.

If you haven?t already done so, I?d check the records for Millrow (Antrim 1^st Presbyterian church). Possibly also Antrim 2^nd Presbyterian church which started around 1850.

Elwyn