Horner / McCallum

Molly,

There are 2 townlands in Co Antrim called Drumadarragh. One is in the parish of Killagan (not too far from Ballymoney) and the other is about 25 miles south in the parish of Kilbride, near Ballyclare. Both townlands were quite small with less than 20 houses in the 1901 census.

Statutory registration of births & deaths started in 1864, so if you are looking for a birth certificate for Jessie there isn’t one to be found. You might find her baptism but not all churches have records for that period and of those that do, not all are on-line.  Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, so if David & Jessie married in a Presbyterian church, that might indicate she at least, was a Presbyterian. (Looking at the 1901 census for the Ballymoney area, most of the Horners listed there were Presbyterian, so that fits. So they will have originated in Scotland, probably in the 1600s, as is the case for the majority of the population in that part of the county).

I searched the death records for John & Rachel Horner. If either died before 1864 then there will be no record. I did not see a John Horner death that fitted perfectly though there were one or two possibles.  This one died in Rosedermot which is only a couple of miles from Drumadarragh:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1884/06328/4814660.pdf

He was a widower and the informant was his daughter Margaret Horner of the same townland.

There was only 1 Rachel Horner death though. She died 10th Aug 1870 aged 68, registered in Ballymoney. You might want to look at it. If it’s the correct Rachel, then it should say whether her husband was still alive, which may help. Also his occupation. Deaths 1864 – 1870 are not on-line free yet. You can view the original certificate on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option: 

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2.50 (sterling) to a view a certificate. 

I searched Griffiths Valuation for both Drumadarraghs c 1861 but did not see a Horner family in either. However if they were labourers then they often moved to follow the available work and can be hard to trace. (I can see that Jessie gave her father’s occupation as farmer when she married, but that is not borne out by any records in Ireland. The tithes don’t list a single John Horner farming anywhere in Antrim c 1830. Possibly she may have promoted him a little when giving his occupation? That wasn’t unknown).

If Jessie was born in Drumadarragh in Killagan and was Presbyterian then she may have been baptised in Kilraghts, Finvoy, Loughguile, Clough or Rasharkin. Presbyterians in Ireland don’t use the parish system. Which church you attend is a matter of choice, and not necessarily the closest to where you live. So you often have to try several churches before you find the correct one. The records are not on-line but there are copies in PRONI, the public record office in Belfast. You could get a researcher to search them for you. Researchers in the PRONI area: http://sgni.net

There were a couple of McCollum farms in Ballynaloob, Killagan in the tithe applotment  records for 1828 (it’s not far from Drumadarragh), so possibly one of those was Rachels’ family. No Horners listed in the parish which makes me think they were labourers.

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

Drumaheglis to Drumadarragh in Killagan is probably about 10 miles, so if Jessie came from Killagan then they might have known each other in Ireland. If she came from the one in Kilbride parish, then I doubt they would have had the chance to meet.

There are not a lot of records for that area in the mid 1800s. You might just find some school attendance records for Jessie if she attended Cloughmills school. Their records are in PRONI in a paper file SCH/1174. I don’t know when they start though. Otherwise, apart from a baptism record, I doubt there will be any other record for Jessie in Ireland, if she left aged 20 and still single. (She would have been in the 1851 and 1861 censuses but they are both destroyed). 

Elwyn

Elwyn,

Thank you so very much - this is such helpful and detailed information. I shall repost after I follow up on your suggestions but just wanted to acknowledge receipt of your reply, 

Thank you again.

Elwyn,

 Follow up ; No much further ahead, I'm afraid. I have downloaded the Death registration details for Rachel Horner d. 1870 at Mounthamilton, 62 years, Labourer's wife, Informant was daughter Margaret, signed with her mark. I haven't yet found the death of John Horner at Rosemount but it seems like he may have been the husband of Rachel d. 1870.  I found a Catholic Baptismal Register for Derry Diocese that was for Margaret Horner, daughter of John and Rachel Horner, year not shown. If this is the same family then I feel that they are not the ones I'm looking for.  I am almost positive that the family was Presbyterian. David Martin's family were members of the Ballmoney Presbyterian Church and his parents are buried in the Ballymoney Old Church Graveyard. Jessie's Aunt, Jane McCallum Hannah's family was all Presbyterian.

Family records state that John Horner's Occupation was a Miller but I have no verification on that.

Another day of searching tomorrow

Mary

Molly,

Mounthamilton is just a few hundred yards from Drumdarragh so I’d say you have probably found the correct death for Rachel. So that’s a start. I looked in the Valuation Revision books around 1880 to see if I could spot where Rachel was living. There’s no Horner property listed, so either she didn’t live there very long or it was of too low a value to be listed.

Her husband was evidently alive in 1870, so that makes the man who died in Rosedermot in 1884, and who was a widower, a possible candidate for her husband, especially as the informant for both deaths was daughter Margaret. (It’s the only death of an adult John Horner in that general area, from 1864 to 1911).

I looked for Margaret in the 1901 census. I found 2 possibles. I am not certain either is right but both live in the right sort of area.

One in Knockanavery, which is a couple of miles east of Ballymoney, she died in 1907:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Ballymoney/Knockanavery/944782/

I am not sure about this lady. She’s of an age to be John’s daughter but clearly the family had a farm, so it would be unusual for her father to be a labourer and live somewhere else. On the other hand there was a Hannah Horner in that family, and Hannah is one of the names in your family too. Might just be a coincidence. There’s a will on the PRONI wills site for Alexander Horner of Knocknavery who died in 1869 and left his farm to his sister Hannah Horner.

The Will of Alexander Horner late of Knocknavery County Antrim Farmer deceased who died 8 March 1870 at same place was proved at Belfast by the oath of Archibald Jackson of Carnageragh (Pharis) County Antrim Farmer one of the Executors.

Probate of the Will of Robert Horner late of Knockanavery County Antrim Farmer who died 16 October 1905 granted at Belfast to Moore Brown and James Wallace Kirkpatrick Farmers.

The other in Carnbeg. She died in 1911:

Surname slightly mistranscribed in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Killagan/Carabeg/944550/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Killagan/Carnbeg/128308/

The above lady was a retired farmer, as per 1901 census, (which again doesn’t reconcile very well with her father being a labourer). You would expect him to have been a farmer too. She was also a Reformed Presbyterian rather than Presbyterian. They are known as Covenanters and go for a slightly stricter approach to religion. They don’t sing hymns or have any musical accompaniment. They just sing psalms. No female Ministers. They frown on drink etc. There’s a Covenanter church in Kilraghts which is probably the one she attended.  Some records exist for that church. The PRONI catalogue says:

There would appear to have been two meeting houses in the early 19th century – at Kilraughts and Dervock; CR/5/32A/1 listed under Ballymoney Parish contains lists of members by society, baptisms, marriages, deaths and removals including emigration for Kilraughts from c.1804 to c.1831.

(A meeting house is the term Presbyterians often use to describe their church).

If the family was Presbyterian you probably won’t find their baptism records or pre 1845 marriages on-line.  Only a small percentage of Presbyterian records are on-line. Most are in paper/microfilm format in PRONI, and you have to go in person to look them up.

I looked at the gravestone transcriptions for Ballymoney (Knock Rd) cemetery. There is just 1 Horner gravestone and that was for someone who died in 2000. None in Ballymoney, St James Presbyterian.

Elwyn,

Thank you - this is really really helpful - I had a feeling that this Rachel Horner was the right one, everything seemed to fit. Is it likely that Margaret Horner would not have been able to write in 1870? She signed with her mark on the Death Cert. for mother Rachel Horner. I did note that my Jessie's signature on her Marriage Cert. was poorly written. rachel Horner's death is stated as Mounthamilton, where do you think she is likely to be buried?

I shall do some more work on this and post an update later.

Your assistance is very much appreciated,

Molly M,

Yes it’s quite likely that Margaret couldn’t write. (The 1884 death certificate is also signed with a cross). There was a lot of illiteracy amongst labouring families.  A lot of parents couldn’t see the value in sending children to school. They were considered more useful around the house, and were often kept at home at busy times of the year eg to help with the work eg planting or lifting crops, weaving & spinning. Lots left school aged 11 or 12 barely able to read or write. Many official documents at that time just have a cross for a signature. 

Where Rachel might be buried is a tricky one. Presbyterians don’t normally keep burial records. There’s no requirement to record a place of burial in Ireland, so no easy way to find out. Wealthier families often put a death notice in the local paper which mentions the graveyard but labourers usually couldn’t afford that.  The nearest public graveyard is Killagan Church of Ireland. Not all Presbyterian churches have graveyards and so it’s common for them to be buried in a Church of Ireland graveyard (which are open to all denominations). Labourers could rarely afford a gravestone and so were usually buried in unmarked graves, making them very difficult to find. Killagan’s gravestone inscriptions have been transcribed and are on the Causeway Coast & Glens FHS site. There are no Horner gravestones listed for that graveyard.  If there's no gravestone and no burial record, then it's pretty well impossible to find a grave.

Elwyn,

Once again,  many thanks.

I have just rembered that there's a graveyard at Clogh Mills Reformed Presbyterian church, not far from Mount Hamilton.  I don't know how far back it goes but if you were thinking of searching local gravyards I would include it. It's possibly where Covenanter Margaret Horner is buried, but you are also likely to get mainstream Presbyterians buried there too.

I think I finally have a breakthrough, through a DNA match and her father, I have found Margaret McCallum, who I believe is a sister to Jane McCallum Hannah and Rachel McCallum Horner, mother of my Jessie Hannah Horner,

This Margaret McCallum b. c. 1800 married Francis Hemphill b. c. 1801 Co Antrim and died Oct 1862 Artiferral, Co Antrim. They had 4 sons, 3 of whom went to America, and 1 to Australia - after her husband died Margaret went to America where she died in 1865.  Her sister Jane, came to Australia in 1864 to join her sons after her husband Alexander hannah died in 1862.  I am thinking that Rachel's husband must have been still living or she may have come to Australia with her daughter Jessie. 

I wonder if I may have some luck if I search Scottish records for these 3 McCallum sisters.

Back to searching for the Horner family.

Mary

Mary,

Francis Hemphill’s death in 1862 is before the start of death registration so you won’t get a death certificate for him, and unless he has a gravestone there may be no record of his burial. I checked to see if he left a will but if he did it wasn’t one that required probate. There’s no will in PRONI.

I had a look in Griffiths Valuation (1861) for Hemphill in Artiferrall. There were about 20 properties listed. No Hemphills.  There is however a Mr Hamel listed as farming there in the tithes for 1834 so that may well be Francis. (Hamel & Hemphill would sound much the same, the way they are pronounced here):

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/tithe-applotments/kilraghts-par…

You mention searching Scottish records for the 3 sisters but though they are likely to be of Scottish descent, their ancestors probably arrived in Ireland in the 1600s. A few Scots arrived in the 1700s and later but in general they were leaving Ireland then rather than arriving. I would expect the sisters to have been born in Ireland, but there are no Presbyterian records in that area for births or baptisms around 1800. So they will be hard to trace.

Thank you Elwyn, I agree with you - it would be pointless to be looking for the 3 children in Scotland, I have resigned myself to not finding any birth records for them, so am just estimating dates based on Marriage, Death, Emigration records etc, whatever I can find, plus DNA matches.