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James Jackson and Grace Holmes -- Parish of Pomeroy, County Tyrone

TyronePomeroy (Tyrone)

My ancestor James Jackson was kin to a man named William Jackson who farmed and had a grocery shop in Mulnagore Townland in the early to mid 1800s -- my best guess now is that they were brothers. James married Grace Holmes, probably a little before 1825, and they had children William Holmes, James Slater, Hugh Bradford, Richard K. (probably King), Robert, Jane S., and Margaret Henrietta, all roughly between 1825 and 1835. James died, and Grace and the kids emigrated to New York around 1843. The kids quickly started up a very successful grocery/importing business in Manhattan.

I know nothing of Grace's family, birth location, etc. The only primary source document I have ever seen that may show James is a transcription of the Pomeroy Tithe Applotment Book from 1829, which shows both a William Jackson and a James Jackson in Mulnagore. I have since pieced together that William and James were probably siblings of Hugh, Robert, Richard, Margaret, Hannah, and Mary (this was largely determined from Robert's last will and testament from 1861, which doesn't mention William or James, so I can only guess from approximate birth years that they were siblings). Looking at old birth/marriage/death and census records, I believe Hugh's descendants still reside in Mulnagore to this day, but I do not know how to contact them.

William, Hugh, and Robert were strongly tied to Carland Presbyterian Church, as were generations of their descendants (Hugh and Robert were buried at the church, and Ifound William mentioned several timesin a history of Carland Church -- he served as treasurer in the mid-1850s). So it may bethatJames and Grace were married in the church and their children were baptized there. But I have found no mention of a Holmes family connected to the church, and perhaps the familybelonged to Grace's church instead. The family were active Presbyterians in New York after emigration, so I'd think Grace's church, if different, was still Presbyterian.

Much of the above is guesses based on circumstantial evidence, and I really hope I can somedayfind a document that proves James's connection to this family and confirms my guesses.And I'd love to learn anything about Grace's family or to find any Irish primary sources that mention her or her kids.

Thanks for your consideration.

Barry

(Additionaly, I have found two distsant cousins whoaredocumented descendants of William through his daughters Eliza Jane (Jackson) Young and Sarah Louisa (Jackson) Howard, and they are looking for records concerning William.)

IrelandXO member

16 replies

Barry,

Carland Presbyterian church has baptisms for 1759-99, and 1847 onwards; marriages from 1770-1802, 1826-1828 and 1845 onwards. So the records for the years you need for James childrens baptisms and possibly his marriage are missing. Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, and thereafter she’d attend her husband’s, so marriage and subsequent children’s baptisms are not always in the same sets of records.

The nearest Presbyterian church to Carland is probably Castlecaulfield but unfortunately they only have records from 1834 for baptisms and 1855 for marriages. Donaghmore Church of Ireland does have marriage records for the years you are interested in. It might be worth checking them, if only to eliminate the possibility of Grace being Church of Ireland rather than Presbyterian. (I looked at the 1901 census of Tyrone and there were 99 people named Holmes. It was about an even split between Church of Ireland and Presbyterian).

I see 8 Probate abstracts for Jacksons from Mulnagore on the PRONI wills site. I assume you have seen all those?

The Valuation Revision records show William Jackson’s farm (plot 20) changing tenant to Hugh Jackson in 1871. Suggesting William may have died around that time (though I can’t see a death for him in the death records then). There is a Hugh Jackson named in Robert Jackson’s 1862 will as his brother.

Robert, Hugh, William, & Richard Jackson all appear in 1860 in Griffiths beside each other on plots 18, 19,20 & 21 respectively. That strongly indicates they are connected.

If you want to contact Jacksons in the area today, you could write a letter to the Minister of Carland Presbyterian church asking him to give your details to any Jacksons in his/her congregation, with a view to getting in touch. It will then be down to them to contact you if they are agreeable to that:

https://www.facebook.com/Carlandchurch

In terms of looking for records of James, have you checked the baptisms for 1759 – 1799?  If he was married after that, and died around 1843, then there won’t be a record of his death, unless he is mentioned on a gravestone. Death registration didn’t start till 1864 and Presbyterians generally don’t keep burial records. So there may not be too many documents containing any reference to him.

I notice that Richard Jackson died 4.12.1878 aged 81, so if his age is accurate (and it probably isn’t) he may be in the surviving baptism records. He was a bachelor.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_retu…

I looked in the pre 1858 wills index but James Jackson is not mentioned there. I did find this in the PRONI e-catalogue:

Lease of 21a.1r.7p. Rent £7.6.1½. Thomas Hamilton, Dublin, 1st pt. Wm. Jackson, Mulnagore, Co. Tyrone, surviving executor of James Cowan Snr, Dongahmore, Co. Tyrone, 2nd pt. James Greer Bell, Tullylish, Co. Down, 3rd pt. Ballybray, Co. Tyrone.

The document is dated 20th April 1844 and is held by PRONI under ref D474/91.

It might be worth checking the Registry of Deeds records to see if there are any leases or mortgages relating to the Jackson family in Mulnagore. Sometimes show relationships, especially if you are lucky enough to find a 3 lives lease from the 1700s.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Dear Elwyn,

Wow!  You've given me fantastic information!  Almost all of it is new to me.  I didn't know the Irish tradition for marriages being in the bride's church and then subsequent attendance at her husband's church, but it clarifies some comments I've seen.  

I have indeed seen the 8 probate abstracts on the PRONI wills site, and the will of Robert Jackson was invaluable in fleshing out the probably siblings of James.  Somehow, I missed the death record for Richard.  I saw him in Griffith's Valuation, but I forgot to track down that record.  I notice that Richard's property is shown being taken over by Hugh in 1881, three years after his death.  Robert's also is shown turning over in 1871, nine years after his death.  Is it normal for the transfer to be recorded years after the death?

I hadn't seen the PRONI record about William Jackson, executor of James Cowan.  I will have to investigate the connection betwen these men.  

I didn't know I could check baptismal records remotely, and after some searching, I still don't see a way to do it.  I found a PRONI number for the Carland baptisms, but I don't see a way to search for that number.  It sounds like maybe I have to go to the PRONI facility?

As a final note, I'll mention that the obituary of James's son James Slater Jackson says that the children were born at "Laurel Lodge, the ancestral estate of the Jacksons in County Tyrone".  I don't think this structure exists anymore, or at least not by that name. I saw a fleeting reference to a woman dying in the 1800s in a place called Laurel Lodge, that the death notice said was "near Moy".  The only other candidate I've come up with so far that it might have been over by Ballybray, since it seems like an ancestral Jackson estate and it's in Tyrone.  In either case, it seems maybe Carland wasn't the baptismal location.  Perhaps Grace's family lived near this estate?

Again, thank you so much for this wealth of information! 

Best Wishes,

Barry

IrelandXO member

Barry,

Regarding the date a property changed hands, as recorded in Griffiths, the clerks went round about every 2 years to note changes, not only of occupant but of landlord, quality of the land, new or demolished buildings and so on. Sometimes their dates are clearly out by a year or two, and it’s quite common to see someone who you know is dead, carrying on in the records for a year or two after death. Human error. Another thing to watch for is if the new occupant has the same name as the previous one. So if Robert Jackson was replaced by another Robert Jackson (usually a son obviously) then you won’t see any annotation at all. The name just carries on seamlessly. No point deleting the name, and then reinstating it. Did Robert have a son Robert who might have inherited?

The PRONI church records are not on-line. You really either need to go in person or pay a researcher to look them up for you. You can ask PRONI to do it, but they are quite expensive and will only do quick research, eg looking for a specific baptism in a known year. They tend not to do trawling searches, eg “all Jackson births and marriages between X year and Y year”. You need a researcher for that. Researchers in the PRONI area: http://sgni.net

Can’t help with the location of Laurel Lodge, I am afraid. You could have a look at Griffiths on-line maps around Moy to see if it is shown there. Some of the bigger houses had names and were marked on the maps.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

I don't believe Robert had a son Robert, since his will didn't mention a son.  But your comment now brings the question back to my mind about whether there were actually two Hughs in different generations.  I had used Griffith's Revisions to argue against it, but if one Hugh could take over from another with no trace, then I'm unsure again.

It hadn't occurred to me that Grace, and therefore the wedding, may have been Church of Ireland, since the children were Presbyterian.  But I've seen Holmes's attached to Drumglass parish, for instance, so that gives me a new line of investigation.  I don't have money to hire a researcher, but hopefully someday soon I can save for a trip to Ireland myself!

Thanks again!

IrelandXO member

Yes, that is the Hugh that I was considering might be different from the Hugh who married in 1850.  But I forgot I recently found a gravestone inscription from Carland that proves the Hugh who died in 1888 is the same as the one who married in 1850, so my working theory is still sound.

I just learned that Roots Ireland has different records than GRONI, so I got a one day subscription and I found a marriage record for James Jackson and Grace Holmes!  But it's maddeningly short on detail.  The date is suspicious:  1-1-1827.  For Parish/District, it only says "Armagh Marriage Licences".  And it says "County Armagh" and shows their names.  No parents, no witnesses, no minister, no church name, not even the parish!  But if that date is correct to within a few months, then I think they probably married well after the conception of the first child, probably after the birth.  Perhaps that is the reason for the paucity of information?  (Maybe that combined with him being Presbyterian and her Church of Ireland?  Although such marriages seem fairly common, from what I have seen digging around in the records.)

IrelandXO member

Barry,

What GRONI has are the statutory marriage records which start on 1.1.1864 for RC marriages and 1st April 1845 for other denominations. What you have found on the rootsireland site is information taken from church records prior to the start of statutory marriage registration. So not information GRONI would keep.

It’s a Church of Ireland record. The reason that it is so short of information is that it’s not an actual record of a marriage but information from an index book, which lists the names of couples who applied to marry by licence (as opposed to using banns). The records are not for the county of Armagh (despite what rootsireland says) but for the diocese of Armagh, which includes counties Armagh, parts of Down & Tyrone. I have attached a link which shows you the area included in the diocese of Armagh. The Diocese is the area administered by a bishop, whose seat is in the city of Armagh. There are 12 dioceses for the whole of Ireland and Armagh contains about 200 parishes.

https://www.ireland.anglican.org/find-a-church/diocese/armagh

And there is only a year for the event, not an actual date, which rootsireland have dealt with by putting 1st January as the date. So the date is meaningless. Strictly speaking the record doesn’t prove they married, just that they applied for a licence. But in this particular case we know they probably did marry.

The same data is available free on the nli site, but on that database the marriage is recorded for 1816, not 1827, which fits much better with your information about their early children.  The nli site contains an image of the actual index book as opposed to a transcription, so it should be more reliable. So the year has probably been mistranscribed on the rootsireland site. That would be my interpretation. Rootsireland is an excellent site but it is also famous for transcription errors. If you search the web you will find plenty of discussion on the topic. Here's alink to the nli site which shows the original image:

http://census.nationalarchives.ie/search/dm/home.jsp

All you know from the diocesan information is that the marriage took place somewhere in the diocese. The next step would be to get someone to look at Donaghmore Church of Ireland records for 1816 to see if the marriage is actually there. I suspect it will be. Don’t expect too much from a marriage record in 1816. Normally all you get is the date, the couple’s names and their 2 witnesses names. No parents names and only occasionally a townland or occupation. However if that was Grace's family church, you may find her baptism (and that of any siblings).

 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

It all makes sense!  Thank you so much for contextualizing that record so thoroughly!

IrelandXO member

I'm kicking myself because I found a digital image of the lease you mentioned, with Proni Ref. D474/91, and it looked like it was mis-dated in the catalogue and was actually from 1818.  But I can't remember where I found the image!

IrelandXO member

I rechecked the document which PRONI hold and in their catalogue it’s dated 20.4.1844.  (It’s paper lease, not a memorial in the Registry of Deeds, which is what the Familysearch document is.).  But many leases refer back to earlier leases, especially where property has been sublet or mortgaged. So different dates are not necessarily incompatible.

As I mentioned previously, it might be worth searching the Registry of Deeds records generally, under Mulnagore townland, for other leases and documents relating to the Jackson family. The Registry of Deeds records start in 1708 or 1709.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Makes sense.  Thanks again!

IrelandXO member

Hello Barry,

I am Robert Watt, I was born in 1941  near Mulnagore, Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone,

 In  1960 / 1 & 2  I worked on  Hugh Jackson's Dairy Farm at Mulnagore , they were called The Crossroad Jacksons,  Your Jacksons were called The Shop Jacksons,          The Jackson's Dairy Farm I worked on was only 500 yards from the shop Jacksons ( I knew these 2 elderly men Richard & William and they had a sister called Minnie),    As far as I can recall none of these 3 Jacksons had any family, the farm has been sold many years ago, but I am sure there were other brothers and sisters.

I have lived in Southern England for over 55 years now, I hope to go back to Tyrone in July / August,  My great, grandmother was Annie Jackson born in Tyrone.

Where do you live and how are you related to the Jacksons of Mulnagore?

My email address is      rwdwatt@gmail.com

From Robert.

Robert Watt, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Elwyn,

A few months ago, you wrote "All you know from the diocesan information is that the marriage took place somewhere in the diocese. The next step would be to get someone to look at Donaghmore Church of Ireland records for 1816 to see if the marriage is actually there. I suspect it will be."

I learned that I could request enquiry service from PRONI and just had someone search the marriage register at Donaghmore Church of Ireland for the years 1816-1825 -- they searched MIC1/106/1 and MIC583/2 (they also mentioned  T/786 and T679/19 and said the only information in those for 1816-1825 was redundant with MIC583/2).  Unfortunately, there was no marriage of James Jackson and Grace Holmes in the register.  

I wouldn't know where to look next, so I wonder if you have a suggestion.  Thanks for all of your help.

Best Wishes,

Barry

IrelandXO member

Barry,

That’s disappointing. I mentioned in my post of 21st November 2017 that there are 200 parishes in the Diocese of Armagh. I had hoped that Grace would have come from the same area as her husband but your information suggests not.  The marriage was clearly in the Church of Ireland, but which parish is now a mystery. Farmers generally married someone who lived close by. They didn’t have the time or means to travel far to do their courting. If Grace’s family didn’t live in Donaghmore, then I would widen the search to the parishes that are closest by. Unfortunately that’s 10 parishes.

Aghaloo, Carnteel, Clogherny, Clonfeacle, Desertcreat, Drumglass, Killeeshil Pomeroy, Termonmaguirk & Tullyniskan all either adjoin it or are very close by. I would check all those parishes records to see if the marriage took place there.

I can tell you that Clogherny, Clonfeacle, Killeeshil, Pomeroy & Termonmaguirk all don’t have records for the years you need, having lost them in the 1922 fire in Dublin (where they had ironically been sent for safe keeping). That leaves 5 that do have records.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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