The Lyons Family 1834 that I have and my Brick wall

James,

Here’s a David Lyons in West Quarter in the 1831 census. There were a total of 8 (5 males and 3 females) in the household at that time, all Presbyterian:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Coleraine/…

There was a John Lyons living nearby who may be related:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Coleraine/…

The townland of West Quarter is properly named Ballyleese (West Quarter of). There was a Daniel Lyons living there in Griffiths Valuation of 1859. He had plot 4 which was a 6 acre farm. (That farm today is up a dead end lane off the Kiltinny Rd). You can see where it is using the maps on the Griffiths site.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameS…

Daniel was deleted in 1874, and replaced by Daniel McIlreavy. No Lyons living there by the time of the 1901 census, but the McIlreavy family were there:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Portstewar…

A McIlreavy may have married a Lyons. You’ll need to investigate that.

Portstewart Presbyterian church has baptism records starting in 1829. The marriages start in 1845 (and are on-line on the irishgenealogy site). There’s a copy of the baptisms in PRONI in Belfast. Many churches are locked save when there is a service taking place, so if you would like to look around it, you need to contact the Minister in advance and make arrangements for someone to open it up. Your Lyons family appears to have left the area by the 1880s, so the likelihood of anyone knowing anything about them 150 years later is not high, but they should know if anyone named Lyons still attends the church. (The McIlreavy family were Congregationalists. I think the nearest Congregationalist church would be in Coleraine. PRONI has these records for that church: Baptisms, 1837-50 and 1859-81; marriages, 1847-8 and 1855; burials, 1844-9.)

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church. In this case David & Rose may have been attending the same church. There are 3 Keith families in the Portstewart area in the 1831 census. All were Presbyterian. So if they married in Portstewart Presbyterian church, in the 1830s or earlier, there’s no record to be found.

Regarding school records, Portstewart National School’s attendance records are in PRONI under SCH/60. I do not know what years they cover.

Regarding death records, I see a death for a Rose Lyons on 9th July 1873 aged 68, registered in Coleraine. Have you looked at that? 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.

Here’s what looks like David Lyons death in Agherton, 1889 aged 89, and a widower. Note that the informant, a McIlreavy, was his son in law.

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

I found a marriage for Margaret Lyons in 1862 to John McIlrevy, at Portstewart Presbyterian church. Her father was David Lyons, farmer, and her address was West Quarter:

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

I can see 2 children to that marriage:

Margaret Ann 2.7.1865 at North Mullaghcall. Father was a bread van driver.
Mary 21.2.1870 at Portstewart. Father was a bath proprietor. (Possibly a hut on wheels which bathers could use to take a dip in the sea from Portstewart Strand).

I also found a death for Maggie McIlreavy in Portstewart in 1898. She was 25 and married. Informant was Jane Lyons of Portstewart.

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

This may be Jane Lyons in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Portstewar…

Don’t know if that Lyons family is connected to yours.

Hello Elwyn,

Thank you so much for all the information you have sent me it is very much appreciated and my apologies for not getting back to you sooner.

I am in the middle off a house move at present so can’t devote as much time to the research as I normally do.

I have at present 14 David Lyons on my tree all descendants of David Lyons, the one I need to find details of the most is the one mentioned on the birth certificates I have traced. All the children were born after the 1831 census so will not be on it. However, their father David and partner/wife Rose should be somewhere? The five Children I have traced back to all have the father David as being a soldier and all born at West Quarter Port Stewart. I just assumed this was probably married quarters. The children were born between 1834 and 1847 so they had lived there for some years and he had been a soldier during this time. I wonder if there would be any military records on him.  Assuming he married in his early 20s and the first child was born 1834 he was probably born around 1812 to 1814.  The David on the 1831 census may possibly be his father, but again unfortunately the census only gives the sex and not the names so no way of checking that one out.

It is my intention to revisit after all the virus problems are over and hopefully, I will have found something on David and Rose by then.

Thank you once more for all your help and advice on this.

Warm Regards

 James

James,

West Quarter doesn’t mean military quarters. It’s a quarterland which is an obsolete Scottish land measurement, used all over Ulster in places where Scots settled. There’s a Ballyleese north quarter and Ballyleese south quarter besides Ballyleese west quarter. All are separate townlands. (The whole of northern Co Antrim was heavily settled by Scots in the 1500s and 1600s, as is evidenced by the plethora of Scottish surnames and the fact that the majority are Presbyterians. So there’s quite a lot of Scottish terminology in use).

From the dictionary: Quarterland. An obsolete Scottish unit of area. A quarterland was the amount of land on which rent of two ounces of silver could be charged. In some areas, however, it indicated an area on which 1/4 ounce of silver was assessed. This system was used in western and northern Scotland.

The Lyons family didn’t live in military quarters. They lived on a farm in Ballyleese West Quarter. David (senior) is listed in the tithe applotment records for 1828:
http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/tithe-applotments/ballyaghran-pa…

The tithes were a list of people with land. The maps on Griffiths Valuation show precisely where the farm is/was. Presumably David served with the army but came home to Ballyleese West Quarter on leave, if his children were born there.

There might be some military records on David Lyons. Have you checked Ancestry or Findmypast? They have some. The main records are held in the National Archives in Kew, London and require a personal visit to research them.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=Army+records&_sd…

Hello Elwyn,

Regarding your message June 1st re Regarding death records, I see a death for a Rose Lyons on 9th July 1873 aged 68, registered in Coleraine. Have you looked at that? You can view the original certificate on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option:

I Have checked this out now and have ordered a full certificate and can confirm this is the Rose Keith who married David Lyons. Thank you again for your help.

Regards James