David and Margaret Nesbit McComb - ANNACLONE, COUNTY DOWN

Caroline,

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church and thereafter she’d attend her husband’s. So Annaclone 2nd is probably the McComb family church but not necessarily the bride’s (who might not even have been Presbyterian).

Looking at the PRONI guide to church records for that area, Annaclone 1st Presbyterian only has baptisms from 1868 and marriages from 1852. Annaclone 2nd has no marriage records pre 1845, and the Church of Ireland has no records prior to 1878 (its early records were lost in the 1922 fire in Dublin).

So assuming the couple married in the Annaclone area, none of the Protestant churches there has any marriage records for the period you need (ie c 1841). Nor does the RC church. So you are probably not going to find a record of it. If it’s any consolation, few marriage records before 1845 contain much more than the couples names, the date and their 2 witnesses. You don’t get parents names and often no townlands either.

Did any of the baptism records you have found have David’s townland (address) or his occupation? That may enable me to trace the family in land records.

Elwyn,

Thank you for the information. Unfortunately, the baptism records didn't list David's occupation.  They did show them living in Ballynafoy in 1842, Ballynafern in 1843 & 1845 and Ballynanny in 1847, 49, 52, and 54.  I also believe I found David (or his son, David) on Griffith's (printed 1863) living in Ballynafoy, lot 35c, on land owned by Samuel Todd.  In looking at the maps, it seems that the buildings are still there on Cavehill Lane between Cavehill Rd. and Sentry Box Rd.

I know that David and Margaret's daughters, Anne and Susan arrived in America around 1868-71 and settled in Brooklyn.

Do you think there is a way for me to find any other information on David and Margaret's other children?  Also, might there be any way to determine when they may have died?  Is it likely they are buried at the 2nd Presbyterian Church in Annaclone?

Thank you,

Caroline

Caroline,

The type of house that the family occupied and the fact that they moved around a lot tells me that David was probably an agricultural labourer and weaver. (Labourers took short tenancies and often moved around to follow the available work).  The Valuation revision books on the PRONI site show the Ballnafoy house as vacated in 1867.

I may have found David McComb's death on 16.5.1894 aged 91. He died at Ballynanny. His was married (so wife still alive). Occupation: labourer. Cause of death was acute bronchitis. Informant was Joseph Graham, son-in-law, of Drumsallagh.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie

The entry is indexed incorrectly under McCome.

This looks to be the son-in-law in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Loughrickland/Drumsallagh/1208086/

and in 1911:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Down/Loughbrickland/Drumsallagh/209511

I think that after David’s death Margaret went to live with her daughter and son-in-law in Drumsallagh. There’s a death there for a Margaret McComb on 26.6.1895, aged 70, again of bronchitis. Joseph, the son–in-law was again the informant.

Don’t pay too much attention to the ages in the death certificates. That was often just a guess and could easily be out by 10 years or more for someone in their 70s or older.

Joseph Graham married Mary Jane McComb. Probably around 1871 but I can’t spot the marriage in the civil records.

If the McComb’s were weavers and labourers, they are unlikely to have a gravestone. Most couldn’t afford one. Although possibly someone else might have erected one for them later. You could certainly try the church where their children were baptised. Unfortunately Presbyterians don’t keep burial records, so if there’s no gravestone, you may not be able to confirm if they are there. People aren’t always buried in the churchyard of the church they attended, and many Presbyterians used the Church of Ireland graveyards. So that’s a possibility too. Finding the right graveyard can be tricky. Sometimes there’s a family plot near where an ancestor used to live and so tricky to find if you don't know.

Some probate abstracts, taken from the PRONI wills site:

Probate of the Will of Joseph Hill Graham late of Drumsallagh County Down Farmer who died 2 April 1904 granted at Belfast to Joseph Graham Farmer.

Graham, Joseph of Drumsallagh county Down retired farmer died 9 March 1959 Probate Belfast 4 July to George Grattan and William George Dickson farmers. Effects £462 13s.

Both these wills should be held in PRONI in paper format. Free to view if you go in person or they will copy them for a fee.

The Valuation revision records show David McComb on plot 19Ba in Ballynanny. That was on William Chambers farm. David arrived there in 1875.

I had a look for possible marriages for John, Mary, David & Thomas. I didn’t see any for John & Thomas but there was a Mary McComb who married in 1866 (either to a Doran or a Grimes) and a David in 1871 (to a Wilson) whose fathers were named David. You might want to look them up. You can view the original certificates on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option:

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2.50 (sterling) to a view a certificate.

Dear Elwyn,

Thank you very much for taking the time to research on my behalf.  I truely appreciate your help and insights.  I'm learning as I go along and your help is invaluable.

Cheers,

Caroline