From Australia to Fermanagh

John Howe and Jan Meddick, from Victoria, Australia, were on the trail of their McElgunn and McCaffrey ancestors in Fermanagh. There they met Linda Swindle, an Ireland XO volunteer.

Linda met John and Jan on Wednesday and Thursday January 8th and 9th. John had already done a considerable amount of research, so they didn't find any new ancestor records. They visited Florencecourt House and old Killesher graveyard, which is close to the area where their ancestors lived prior to emigrating. They didn’t find any relevant headstones as the dates were too early in the case of McElgunn and too vague in the case of McCaffrey.

They also went to see Aghavea historic graveyard near Brookeborough, which is of interest as it has a unique tombstone to a descendant of the Maguire chieftains, complete with coat of arms.

Linda was also able to tell them that the old barracks still stands in Brookeborough village where their McElgunn ancestor had been stationed as a revenue constable prior to his emigration. It is now a private dwelling. John and Jan were happy walking the ground of their ancestors, and Linda has offered to keep in touch by email, with a potential lead on further information.