McGreece; Fermanagh / Donegal

For information the parish of Templecarn is partly in Donegal and partly in Fermanagh. Boa Island is in Fermanagh, on Lough Erne. The Church of Ireland records for that parish only start in 1825, so if that’s where Sidney McGreece was born, and where William McGreece was also born, then the records don’t go back far enough to trace either event.

You say that William married in Kesh (which is not far from Boa).  That’s in the parish of Magheraculmoney. Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, so it may not be where the groom came from. Their records start in 1767 so you might find the bride’s baptism and siblings in those records.

The 1856 McGreece=Graham marriage is on-line (she’s recorded as Margret) and should give you the couples respective townlands, and fathers occupations which may help pinpoint where they were living. 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.

mcgreece/Elwyn:

Roots Ireland has a transcription of the McGreece/Graham marriage. Both parties were 22. Alexander was from Ardshankill and Margret from Curraghmore. Both townlands were in Drumkeeran civil parish. The registration district was Enniskillen.

The father of Alexander was William and the father of Margret was also William. Both Williams were farmers.

Roger McDonnell

Using Roger's information, I had a look in Griffiths Valuation for 1862. There were 36 households listed in Ardshankill. None had a McGreece as head of household, so the family had either moved away or were lodging with someone in the townland, or were in a property of too low a value to be listed in Griffiths. However in Curraghmore there are 2 William Grahams listed. Senior & junior which usually indicates father & son.

William Graham senior was on plot 4, a 9 acre farm, and William junior was on plot 20 which was 4pieces of land totaling 17 acres. Those two farms today are not too far apart and are off the Spring Town Rd, on the shores of Lough Erne, opposite Boa Island.

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

The Valuation Revision records take Griffiths forward. William senior on plot 4 changes to “reps of” in 1879, indicating he had died. It changes to Anne Graham in 1880 (his widow presumably) and then to a Mr Bentley in 1884, suggesting Anne had also died.

I searched the death records and found William’s death on 5th April 1878 aged 88.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1878/020512/7197854.pdf

I searched for Ann Graham’s death post 1878. I did not find it. However I did find an Ann Graham who died in Curraghmore on 4.8.1895 aged 92 but who was a spinster.  So she’s presumably related to the family in some way. (William senior’s sister perhaps). The informant was Sarah Shaw of Curraghmore, and you will see that a James Shaw briefly rented Wm junior’s farm, so there’s a connection there.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1895/05923/4681739.pdf

No Grahams in Curraghmore in the 1901 census but here’s the Shaw family:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Fermanagh/Clonelly/Curraghmone/1353811/

William junior on plot 20 changes to Barton Graham in 1872, then to Robert Graham in 1893. In 1900 the tenant is James Shaw before reverting to Robert Graham in 1902. I can’t tell you how long he remained tenant as the volume covering 1914 onwards is not on-line.

There’s a likely death for William junior in 1870 aged 56. The records for that year are not on-line free yet so I can’t confirm it.

Here’s the only Graham in Curraghmore in 1911, a widower.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Fermanagh/Clonelly/Curraghmore/519878/

Probate abstracts:

Graham Robert of Curraghmore Clonelly Kesh county Fermanagh farmer died 20 January 1930 Administration Londonderry 27 August to James Spence auctioneer. Effects £70 17s. 2d. Limited Grant. Unad grant Derry 13.7.32

Graham Robert of Curraghmore county Fermanagh farmer died 20 January 1930 Administration (d.b.n.) Londonderry 13 July to Thomas Allen farmer. Unadministered effects £60. Former Grant Londonderry D.R. 27 August 1930.

Robert Graham died intestate. His executors failed to administer the estate and so a fresh grant was made to a new executor on 13.7.1933. The relevant probate file should be in PRONI, in paper format.

I noticed this Barton Graham in the 1901 census. Barton is afairly unusual name and so he might be the Barton who had Wm jrs farmfor 20 years. In which case he may be related. 

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Fermanagh/Drumkeeran/C…

Thank you Elwyn and Roger for your replies. Your information and particularly your links most useful

mcgreece