Boyd, Ferrell, Hamilton, McNeely, Farabee

C. Walters,

You ask where McNeely is most prominent in Ireland. You can use this site to check:

https://www.johngrenham.com/surnames/

(It appears to be most prominent in Donegal, though also found in several other counties). If you can say what denomination your ancestor was that may help narrow the search a little. If he was Presbyterian and migrated in the mid 1700s, then he probably came from Antrim or Down. (Few Roman Catholics emigrated in the 1700s. They didn’t really start leaving in large numbers till the 1800s. In contrast Presbyterians dis-satisfied with conditions in Ireland left in large numbers in the 1700s).

Regarding Boyd in Donegal, I think the townland that your ancestors lived in was generally called DRUMIRRIN. Lackaduff is in the middle of it. And it’s near Loughros Point (not Lorgos).  Looking at Griffiths Valuation for 1857 there were 11 Boyde households there.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

Jumping forward to the 1911 census, I see that there were still 11 Boyd households there:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Donegal/Glengesh/Drumirrin/

That’s 11 Boyds out of 23 households in the whole townland. So every other house was a Boyd. You haven’t said who your ancestor was, or when he/she left but given the prevalence of the name in the townland, I think you may have to make detailed local enquiries to find out who owns the particular Boyd house you are interested in. You may have to knock on a few doors. (Some of the houses are likely to be holiday homes nowadays, so may not be occupied by the actual owners). The local phone book does list 1 Boyd still in the townland. (We don’t give out living people’s details on this site but you should be able to find him easily enough). I also noticed a death for a Thomas E Boyd of Lackaduff on 3.10.2016, reported in the local paper.

Elwyn,

Thank you for this information. Is the first site mentioned a paid to use site? 

To my knowledge most of my mother's family had Methodist roots. I am unaware of any Roman Catholics. Since my family most likely emigrated from Ireland in the mid 1700's are there other sources that I can use to help track them? I know that I am going to have to delve into land records here in America to further help as the records that I am accustomed to using are best suited for the mid 1800's and later. 

My Boyd's trace back to Robert Boyd, and his son Daniel. We have letters from Robert to Daniel that describe Daniel emigrating to America about 1819 and Robert bringing the remainder of the family in about 1823. They took up residence in the Coshocton, Ohio area. I believe his brother stayed in Loughros Point through the more challenging years and passed his land to his decendents. 

Again, thank you for these leads.

Crystal

Crystal,

The John Grenham site does charge for some data. However you can search surname distribution on it free.

Regarding Methodism, it took a lot longer to get going as a separate denomination in Ireland than was the case in other countries. The first Methodist Meeting Houses didn’t open in Ireland till around 1816. So if your family left Ireland before that, they would most probably have been Church of Ireland (ie Anglican). Or that’s where they’d have married and baptised their children anyway.

Your Boyds will be tricky to trace.  Drumirrin is in the RC parish of Inniskeel. Unfortunately their earliest records only start in 1866 (that’s fairly typical for Co. Donegal). So you won’t find any baptisms or marriages for folk who left Ireland in the 1820s or thereabouts. The earliest records are probably the tithe applotment records for 1833. They list a widow Boyd farming there with just under 44 acres of land. No other Boyds listed in that townland,  so presumably they didn’t have much land (and so were not listed in the tithe records, which were a church land tax).

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

Researching in Ireland in the 1700s is very hard going due to the general lack of records. If you don’t know where they lived it’s a needle in a haystack. Ideally you need to know the person’s exact denomination and the townland or parish they lived in to have any chance of finding them, and even then there may not be any records for that location.

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 is 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).

Elwyn

Thank you for the additional clarification. 

Crystal

Hi Crystal

It seems you have read Jim Devitt's book on the Boyd/Lockhart families of Loughros Peninsula?

Also Boyd's of Bayview are mentioned in Irish pension claims as well.

Rob

Rob,

I believe that Jim Devitt's book was used as a resource for the book that my cousin's cousin wrote about the Boyds. Can you please elaborate on the Boyd's of Bayview? I am just now venturing into other sources as my research has finally landed me in the mid 1700 to early 1800's. 

Thank you,

Crystal