Searching for my ancestors who spent time in Faughanvale

David,

Carson is a common Scottish name. You don’t say what denomination the family was but if Presbyterian it’s highly likely they originated in Scotland. A lot of Scots settled in the Faughanvale area then. But whatever denomination they were, no church in the parish has any records for the 1700s and so you won’t find any record of your ancestor's baptism etc there.

Tradition was to marry in the bride's church, so it’s possible that they married in Donagheady, Tyrone. If she was Church of Ireland, then some records do exist, but sadly not for 1788:

Donagheady Church of Ireland records at PRONI in Belfast. Baptisms, 1697-1723, 1753-65, 1818-19 and 1826-74;

marriages, 1697-1726, 1754-64 and 1826-44; marriage

licences, 1817 and 1829-53; burials, 1698-1726, 1754-

7 and 1826-89; vestry minutes, 1697-1723 and 1754-

1919; accounts, 1829-1922; confirmation lists, 1872,

1875, 1877, 1880, 1883 and 1886.

But none of the 4 Presbyterian churches in the parish have any records for the 1700s.

Looking at the 1831 census for Faughanvale there were 2 Carson households in the parish. Both were Presbyterian:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Tirkeeran/Faughanvale/Carnemuff/2/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Tirkeeran/Faughanvale/Carmoney/2/

Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.

The North of Ireland Family History Society are running an Ulster DNA project and can offer FTDNA testing kits at a reduced price.  http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).

Thank you for this most informative summary. I spent hours deriving less than half of what you have shared.  I will be visiting Ulster in a couple of weeks and will follow-up on the DNA options and a few other clues then.   

Kind regards,

Chip Carson