Joseph Anderson and Martha Ross

Anderson and Ross are both common names in Co Armagh. There were 411 Anderson and 136 Ross in the 1901 census of the county.

The marriage is long before the start of statutory registration of non RC marriages (1845) and so you would need to rely on church records, where they still exist. Ideally you need to have some idea of where in the county the family lived and what denomination they were. Otherwise it’s a needle in a haystack. Some parish records are on rootsireland (subscription site), so that’s worth trying, but be aware that many are not. And some are lost.

The most comprehensive set of church records for Co. Armagh is held in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast but it’d take quite a while to work thorough them all if you don’t know where in the county the family lived.

Regarding the weaving, my guess would be that the family were home weavers. Mechanised weaving didn’t really get going till the mid 1800s, and until then most weavers worked off a handloom machines (similar to the sort still used in the Outer Hebrides for making Harris tweed today) I their homes. History of linen in Ireland:

http://www.fergusonsirishlinen.com/pages/index.asp?title2=History-of-Irish-Linen&title1=About-Linen

In my experience of looking at Irish records, a mill owner wouldn’t describe himself as a weaver. He’d be a millowner or overseer, or something like that. (He’d probably also be wealthy enough not to need to emigrate).

Hi Elwyn,

I can tell you for sure the Anderson family was Methodist.  But ... I believe the Ross family was Catholic ?   They came from Parish of Ballymore, Armagh, Ireland.   My guess is they left due to their Relgious beliefs.  

Does this new information help you at all guide me in the right direction ?

Look forward to your response, Regards Alane 

Methodism took much longer to be established as a separate denomination in Ireland than in England and other places. (Primarily because so many members wished to remain part of the established church).  It was not until 1819 that they decided to baptise their own children and even then in some cases it was the 1870s before all Methodists routinely did. Likewise for marriages. I have never come across a Methodist marriage in Ireland prior to about 1835. So for the period that you are interested in, ie a marriage around 1822 your family is likely to have married in the Church of Ireland. If there was a mixed marriage with an RC family, then the RC church would not normally have married them at that time (I think it was the 1830s before the RC church would allow that). So again they would likely have used the Church of Ireland which accepted all denominations.

Ballymore Church of Ireland’s baptism, marriage and burial records all start in 1783. There’s a copy in PRONI. That looks the best place to search for your family. The holding in PRONI contains the following records:  “Baptisms, 1783-1923, which include a list of Presbyterians baptised, 1822-31; marriages, 1783- 1908; burials, 1783-1899; vestry minutes, 1771-1810; vestry account book, 1821-7; confirmations, 1843, 1846, 1849, 1852 and 1856; estate rental for the manors of Ballymore, Acton, Clare etc., possibly used for tithe or cess purposes, 1812-27; history of the church from the 17th century.”

For baptisms, in addition to searching Ballymore Church of Ireland, you could also search Tandragee & Fivemilehill Wesleyan Methodist records. Their baptisms start in 1819, but they did not marry in that denomination till 1838. Again these early baptism records are in PRONI. They are not on-line.