My name is Tammy and I am researching my husband's family line. His fourth great grandfather was named Robert Borland of County Tyrone. I have information and a picture of Robert's daughter, Margaret Borland who was born in 1822 (June 10) and immigrated to Canada where she married Thomas McKnight (who was from Scotland) I have no other information on Margaret's ancestors and would like to find out more about them.
Respectfully
Tammy
Tammy,
Borland?s not a very common name in Co Tyrone. So that's helpful. Do you know what denomination your family were?
In the 1901 census, there were only 2 Borland households in Tyrone, one Presbyterian and the other RC.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Tyrone/Mountjoy_Forest_West/Tattraconaghty/1746372/
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Tyrone/Mount_Hamilton/Strahull/1752856/
Looking at Griffiths Valuation for 1860, there were 5 Borlands listed in the county. 3 in the town of Strabane, another in Beragh and the fifth in Gortnacreagh. You might want to search the church records for the parishes these fall into, to see if you can find any baptisms or marriages. Strabane is in Camus civil parish, Beragh & Gortnacreagh are both in Cappagh. If you know the denomination, I?ll tell you want records exist and where they can be found.
Elwyn
Wow, that was a quick response. Thank you so much. I am unsure of Margaret's denomination - but her grandchildren and descendants were Baptists. Her husband and several other family members were affiliated with Masonic Temples. Since her funeral was officiated by a Reverend - (at the home of a family member) I am assuming that she would have been Protestant herself. (It is a guess, anyway.) She immigrated in 1842.
Tammy
Tammy,
Tattraconaghty, Beragh & Gortnacreagh (all places where the records indicate there were Borlands) are in Cappagh parish. You might want to search those church records. Cappagh Church of Ireland?s start in 1753, Edenderry Presbyterian church in 1845 and Mountjoy Presbyterian in 1821.
Strabane (where 3 other Borlands lived) is at the meeting point of 3 parishes (Camus, Leckpatrick & Urney). Records there that you might want to look at are Camus Church of Ireland which start in 1803, Strabane 1st Presbyterian (1828); 2nd Strabane (1844), & Leckpatrick Presbyterian (1838).
Mountjoy & Edenderry Presbyterian?s records are on-line on the rootsireland site. The rest are not. However copies are held in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. A personal visit is required to access them.
Elwyn
Hi Elwyn,
I'm not sure I can ask this on the Borland thread, but I am so impressed by your knowledge and helpfulness, I am hoping some luck comes my way too.
I'm tracking another surname and through RootsIreland I tracked (and bought) a 1855 marriage which shows a blank address for the groom and "Courinarran" for the bride,and states both are Roman Catholic. Where is Courinarran? The names of the couple's parents are blank. Does that indicate they were simply not recorded in 1835, or the transcriber had difficulties, or the couple married 'secretly'?
I also bought through RootsIreland a Church Baptism in 1835 which gives Address: Brackey Parish/District: BERAGH. How can I discover the religion here? And the location of Brackey? This record may have a transciption error as the surname of the father is similar, but not the same, to the child's. How can this be checked against the original record?
Lastly, when did the RC records commence for the districts you've mentioned?
Regards
Eire2Go
Eire2Go,
No it?s not a secret marriage. Rootsireland use a template for their marriage transcriptions and some sections are left blank when the relevant information isn?t available. So for an RC marriage in the mid 1800s all the church records will usually contain are the couples names, the date of the ceremony and the 2 witnesses names. So no parents names, no townlands (addresses) or occupations. So that?s why there are blank sections. Not that it was secret, just not recorded.
You can check when the RC records start by using the attached link. It also tells you where you can find copies:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/
In general copies of most of the church records for the 9 counties of Ulster are held in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. Further copies are held elsewhere eg RC records in the National Library in Dublin. Church of Ireland records in the RCB library in Dublin. Some (but not all) are on-line on various Irish genealogicla sites (mostly pay to view). In some cases however they are not on-line and the only way of accessing them is to go to one of the libraries or contact the Priest/Minister etc.
Some of the on-line transcripts contain quite a lot of mistakes. That?s for the usual reasons eg poor handwriting or human error. The best way to check is to obtain sight of the originals if you can.
Can?t immediately place Courinarran. Nearest I can come up with is Carrowncaran in Co Roscommon. Do you know which county or parish your place should be in? That may help me narrow the search.
I think your Brackey is Bracky, a townland of 1122 acres, in the parish of Termonmaguirk. You can see it easily enough using the maps on Griffiths Valuation which will also tell you who had land there in 1860. It?s between Omagh and Carrickmore. Probably about 5 miles east of Omagh. It?s not far from Beragh which was probably the nearest post office.
Not sure I can help you with the denomination if it?s not shown on the transcript you have bought. You could try e-mailing rootsireland and asking them. Otherwise try the 1901 census for the townland and see if the family were still there then. In which case their denomination will be noted, and so that should be a good clue.
Elwyn
Tammy,
A Mary Borland born circa 1817 in County Tyrone married William McElrea in 1838. At the time, she lived in Golan, Cappagh Parish. They emigrated to Canada, where she died in 1900 at Bourg Louis, Portneuf County, Quebec. I have sent a link to this thread to my cousin, who is a descendant of this family. We have found very little on the Borlands so far, despite my cousin's years of researching .Perhaps there is a link you two can find together.
Best regards,
Kathleen
mcelrea.org
Kathleen, thank you so much. I thought German/Prussian family walls were hard to vault, but my husband's entire family is full of genealogical fortified masonry. His paternal line is fully German/Prussian and the maternal line is English and Irish/Scot via Canada. To add to it - two of the surnames are "Smith" and "Black" - The other Irish dead end is the Wynne line. I welcome any partnering up for research, I've only been at this about four years (three for my husband's side) so I am still "Fresh and Hopeful"
Nice to meet you.
Tammy
Elwyn,
Thank you. I will check out the information provided. I so appreciate your assistance. I so wish my ancestors had written on the back of photos. I have a great grandmother on my paternal side (as well as my own mom) who did that and it is incredibly helpful. Unfortunately, the photo I have of Margaret is a scanned copy from my mother in law and she had no notes on it.
Everything I'm learning about my family, I am saving on my PC, in hard copy and on a small personal website. It is my hope that it benefits someone else eventually.
Tammy