Lytle Family Brickwall

Ruth:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

I checked the Roots Ireland indexes and could not locate a baptismal record for Robert from 1832-1842. There were 16 Methodist churches in Co. Armagh. Roots recently added records for seven of the churches but the baptismal records for the other nine churches are not yet available.

I looked at the 1864 Griffiths Valuation head of household listing for Co. Armagh. Just trying to see if the name was concentrated in certain parishes. Interestingly, there were no Lytle/Lyttle records. However, there were 48 Little records where Little was the tenants name or the landlords name and the records were in a number of parishes.

Go to www.askaboutireland.ie to check out the Griffiths.

I assume you have checked Ancestry.com.

Roger McDonnell

Ruth, 

I would recommend searching Church of Ireland baptism records as well as Methodist records. Methodism in Ireland took a long time to become a separate denomination because, in contrast to other countries, there was a marked reluctance to split from the mainstream Church of Ireland/England. In some cases in Ireland, it was the mid 1870s before Methodists conducted their own baptisms and marriages. There were other factors at play too, eg a lack of qualified Ministers (Methodism relied heavily on lay preachers) and the fact that many of their churches weren?t licensed for marriage. So though they attended their own church services, many Methodist baptisms and marriages would still be conducted in the Church of Ireland for many years. So if looking for baptisms in the 1830s, check both sources is my advice.

Elwyn

Hi Ruth,

Imagine my surprise as I searched Lytle Armagh and found your question formed from the exact words I was just reading in ‘The Dales Family in Canada 1804-1964’.  We are cousins. Maude Lytle was my grandmother, daughter of James, son of Robert.

Regarding your question, as I was looking for Lytle Armagh I found this web page 

https://www.johngrenham.com/surnamescode/1911_deds_full.php?surname=Lytle

Two Lytle’s are listed in Armagh in the 1911 Census year. Ellen Jane Lytle born 1866 and Jane Lytle born 1896. I mention it because a town is named, Portadown Urban, Armagh. Maybe there is a connection.

Any way nice to meet you.

Michael

Michael,

A word of advice about the spelling of the surname you are researching. I advise against getting too focused on just Lytle. It’s extremely unlikely that your family only ever used the one spelling. The idea of a single or correct spelling for a surname or a place name is very much a recent phenomenon designed to meet the needs of modern officialdom. Before that, especially in Ireland, there was no consistency. Names were spelled phonetically and each variation was down to the whim of the particular person recording the information. You will often see the spelling change as the records go back. This rarely indicates a deliberate decision to alter the name, nor even a mistake. Not everyone was literate, but even when they were, exact spelling simply wasn’t something they bothered about. Expect the spelling to vary. It was the norm.

The Lytle family you have identified in Portadown Urban area in 1911 were Presbyterian. Is that the denomination you are looking for? By the way, making my point for me, that family spelled their surname Little in the 1901 census:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Armagh/Killymann/Mulle…

Looking at the 1911 census, I see 238 people named Lytle/Lyttle/Little in Co. Armagh. The denominations are a complete mix ie Church of Ireland, RC, Presbyterian, Baptist, Unitarian, one “Church of the first born Heb. 12 & 23” plus some Methodists. As I mentioned in an earlier post, if looking for Methodists, include Church of Ireland too, as many Methodists were still using it for baptisms and marriages until the 1870s.

If looking for Methodists around Portadown there are 8 Meeting Houses to choose from. Three have had their records copied and are in PRONI in Belfast. The rest are still held by the local Minister ("in local custody" on my list) and are not on-line anywhere. You would need to contact each Minister to check them. In most cases you will notice the baptisms start earlier than marriages, and with some there are no marriages at all. That was generally because they continued to marry in the Church of Ireland.

M. Derryall

Baptisms, 1830-.

[At Thomas Street Church, Portadown]

In local custody

M. Derryanvil

Baptisms, 1830-; marriages 1952.

[At Thomas Street Church, Portadown]

In local custody

M. Edenderry

Baptisms, 1830-.

[At Thomas Street Church, Portadown]

In local custody

M. Mahon

Baptisms, 1830-; marriages 1938-.

[At Thomas Street Church, Portadown]

In local custody

M. Portadown (Thomas Street) [Wesleyan Methodists]

Baptisms, 1830-1904; marriages, 1863-1903. MIC1E/8

M. Portadown (Scotch Street)

Baptisms, 1830-; marriages, 1863-.

In local custody

M. Portadown [Primitive Methodists]

Baptisms, 1847-1901. MIC1E/8

M. Portadown [Primitive Wesleyan Methodists]

Baptisms, 1871-9. [Includes baptisms in the parishes

of Drumcree, Seagoe, Kilmore and Shankill and in

Tandragee and Mullavilly] MIC1E/8

Thank you Elwyn, that is great information.