Mitchell/Christie/Stewart

Rich,

I see from Scotlandspeople that the 1826 marriage was Church of Scotland so I presume the family were Presbyterian. That and their surnames suggest they probably originated in what is now Northern Ireland.

The Lindsay family tree on Ancestry has this family and it records that Samuel Mitchell was a farmer (presumably obtained from a Scottish death certificate). If alive c 1830, Samuel should be in the tithe applotment records. They were a list of persons with land, ie mostly farmers. Here are all the Samuel Mitchells in NI in those records. There were 11, and the records give their townland and parish. If you get no other leads it might help narrow your search a bit.:

Mitchell, Sam.-Townland: Ballykeel Year: 1834-Drumgath-Down

Mitchell, Sam.-Townland: Drumhillary Year: 1827-Tynan-Armagh

Mitchell, Saml.-Townland : Ballyloghan Year: 1825-Portglenone-Antrim

Mitchell, Saml.-Townland : Edan Year: 1834-Finvoy-Antrim

Mitchell, Saml.-Townland: Lismacarrol Year: 1834-Clondermot-Derry

Mitchell, Saml.-Townland: Slainsallagh Year: 1825-Skerry-Antrim

Mitchell, Saml.-Townland: Tagharina Year: 1834-Clondermot-Derry

Mitchell, Samuel-- Townland: Lisnisky Year: 1834-Seagoe-Armagh

Mitchell, Samuel-Townland: Artigoran Year: 1825-Ballymoney-Antrim

Mitchell, Samuel-Townland: Carricklean Year: 1827-Tynan-Armagh

Mitchell, Samuel-Townland: Cross Year: 1827-Cumber Lower-Derry

Statutory birth, death and marriage registration (in some jurisdictions called Vital Records) only started in Ireland in 1864, save for non RC marriages which were recorded from 1845 onwards. So, apart from possibly finding William’s parents death if after 1864, you probably won’t find statutory birth, death or marriage certificates in Ireland for this family. For earlier years you usually need to rely on church records, where they exist.  Ideally you need to know the precise denomination and have some idea of where the person was born in order to search the correct records. Not all churches have records for that period and not all are on-line.

RC records are mostly on-line on the nli site:  

https://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

For other denominations, the churches usually hold the originals but there are also copies in PRONI, the public record office, in Belfast. A personal visit is required to access them. Access to the records there is free. This link explains what records exist, parish by parish:

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/proni-guide-church-records

If you are unable to go yourself, you could employ a researcher. Researchers in the PRONI area: http://sgni.net

Their e-mail contact is: secretary@sgni.net

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 in conjunction with FTDNA and can offer testing kits at a reduced price.  http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).

Elwyn,

thanks so much for the very quick and helpful response, much appreciated.

Rich