Seeking possible origins of John McCanless (b ca 1750) and wife Margaret who emigrated to St. George's Parish, Queensboro, GA about 1773. He was serving in the local militia by Jan 1774, and received a grant of 200 acres in Sep 1774. Son Samuel (b ca 1773 or 1774) either emigrated with them at the time, or was born shortly after arrival in the colony prior to receipt of the grant. Other likely sons were William (b bet 1780 and 1790), and John (b ca 1780-1790).
storygalt
Friday 11th Jan 2013, 09:09PMMessage Board Replies
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Hi,
Thank you for your message.
Unfortunately the reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/baptisms/marriages/deaths in Ireland prior to 1800 ? particularly in rural areas ? is that they simply may not exist. Some registers for urban areas pre-dating 1800 may exist ? though often these can be fragmented- as there was an increased need in cities or larger towns to document the population. Please also note that the Church of Ireland was the official church of the country and therefore the bulk of information that does survive for earlier periods is often from these registers.
For information on Church of Ireland registers check http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.
Also, without a more specific location of origin in Ulster it may be difficult to find information as most records are based on specific locations. Is there any documantation belonging to the family that mentions a placename? Have you been to John or Margaret's graves? Sometimes more information on origin can given here.
You could also try looking for record of John in the UK militia records. For information on these go to the UK National Archives website at the following address:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/militia.htm
Some other websites which you may find useful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
The US National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/
Family Search: https://familysearch.org/
Irishtimes: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm
Alternatively, you could try contacting the Ulster Historical Foundation for assistance-however a fee may apply. Here are their contact details:
Ulster Historical Foundation,
49 Malone Road,
Belfast BT9 6RY,
Northern Ireland.
Phone: +44 (0) 28 9066 1988 EMail: enquiry@uhf.org.uk
I hope that this is helpful and that you are able to find a place of origin. Once you do this, more information may open up for you.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Monday 11th Mar 2013, 12:44PM