Devlin Co Antrim

Hugh Devlin & Mary Heaney were married in Ahoghill RC chapel on 2.2.1860. Witnesses were John Devlin & Rose Heaney.

https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000633071#page/46/mode/1up

Patrick & Agnes’s marriage in 1887 was in Ballymena Registry office. That often indicates a mixed marriage. You may know that but if not it can help if searching for baptismal records etc.

The Devlin family were agricultural labourers/weavers. That was very common in Ireland in the 1800s. They worked on farms and other labouring tasks for the spring and summer and in the winter months when labouring work was short they’d weave on portable handloom weaving machines, in their homes, such as are still used today in the Outer Hebrides to make Harris Tweed. Sometimes labourers moved about a bit to follow available work making them harder to trace. (I can see your family were variously in Kilcurry, Ballymummin & Casheltown). All in the same general area.

Mary’s death in 1897 in Ballylummin:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1897/05858/4660245.pdf

I would say that the Hugh who was in Ballylummin in 1901 was Mary’s husband. He was the only Devlin in the townland out of 109 houses:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Ahoghill/Ballylummin/

Hugh junior aged 14 is a scholar so he can’t be 24.  I think he may be a grandson, not a son. This looks to be his birth to Patrick & Agnes:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_retur…

Hugh senior died in 1905:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1906/05573/4564941.pdf

I looked for his house in the Valuation Revision records. It isn't listed. That suggests it was of too low a value to be listed. His landlord was William John Telford (info from the 1901 census). Wm Telford had a farm on plot 59 in Ballylummin. That’s still around today on the modern Ballylummin Rd.  Hugh’s cottage will undoubtedly be gone (they didn’t last long in many cases) but you could find the farm and general location today if you wished. Hugh’s cottage had 2 to 4 rooms, a thatched roof and one window at the front (according to the 1901 census). That sounds standard for a labourer's cottage. I have attached a photo of a row of 3 such cottages, a few miles from Ballylummin, which should give you a general idea of how they lived. You will need to imagine a thatched roof instead of the tin roof in the photo which replaced the original thatch some years back. (Thatch only last 20 years or so. Tin lasts longer even if it doesn't look so attractive).

I would expect Hugh & Mary are buried in Ahoghill RC graveyard. However there is no gravestone listed there for them. That’s not unusual for labourers as their families often couldn’t afford a gravestone.

I searched for information on children David & Hugh but without success.  No sign of any death so presumably they both left the area.  Given that their parents’ married in 1860, there might have been one or more children born 1860 to 1863. I have searched the baptism records without success but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any.  (I can only find Pat in the baptisms so the records are not complete).

Thank you, Elwyn, for all the information and the photo.   I had planned to visit there last spring but all plans were dashed by March.  Sadly, it looks like this year will be a repeat, at least in spring.    The trip will be more meaningful being where my ancestors walked.  Thanks again.