Erwin - Portglenon, County Antrim

The names Erwin, Irwin, Ervine, Irvine are interchangeable in Ireland so worth bearing that in mind when searching Irish records. Harry is usually a diminutive for Henry so he may have been known by that forename in official records.

Did Harry marry Annie in the US or Ireland? (I can’t see a likely marriage in Irish records). But if he married or died in the US you may get  his parents names from those certificates. That could make your search quite a bit easier.

Ages as given on censuses etc are not always very accurate. Irish people in the 1800s didn’t celebrate birthdays often didn’t know exactly how old they were. Some guesswork was often involved. I searched for a possible birth for Harry 1864 – 1872 but without success. However if he was born before 1864 there won’t be a birth certificate as they only started that year. You would need to search church baptism records instead. That would involve knowing his denomination and probably a trip to PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast as most of the relevant records are not on-line.

Looking at the tithe applotment records for Portglenone in 1825 I do see a John Irwin listed in Fenagh. 

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/tithe-applotments/portglenone-parish.php

The tithes only listed those with land (ie mainly farmers) and so labourers, servants etc are not listed. But it shows there was at least one Irwin household in the area in the 1820s. In Griffiths in 1862, there was a Samuel Irwin in a labourers cottage in Fenagh (plot 27b).

There was this family running a pub in Ahoghill in1901. That’s about 5 miles from Portglenone:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Ahoghill/Ahoghill_Village/924165/

If you can find Harry’s parents names, post the details here and I’ll see if I can trace them.