McIvor / McIver in Bracky

Steve,

You ask about early Church of Ireland records for Drumnakelly. The short answer is that sadly none survive.

Termonamaguirk has 4 churches in the parish. Cooley (aka Sixmilecross) has records from 1836; Dunmoyle has records from 1873; Drumnakilly lost all it’s early records in the 1922 fire and has nothing before 1877; likewise Termonmaguirk itself lost all it’s early records and has nothing prior to 1880.

The Old Age pension was introduced in the UK and Ireland in 1909. To qualify you had be 70 years or older and proof of age was required. Birth certificates were only introduced in Ireland in 1864 so obviously most applicants in Ireland wouldn’t have one. However other documents could be produced and were acceptable instead. Baptismal certificates, some marriage certificates (where age showed you were now 70) and military discharge papers were all examples. So when folk were 70 (or thought they were, because folk often didn’t know their exact age) they might write to the church where they were baptised asking for confirmation. Or they might check the entries in the 1851 (and occasionally the 1841) censuses to see if that confirmed their year of birth.

The document you have found showing the Church of Ireland records appears to be dated 6th December 1920 and indicates a search of the Drumnakilly baptism records was made around that time. You can see the results on the form. Those records were stored in the Public Record Office in Dublin (ironically they had been sent there for safe keeping) and still existed in 1920 but were destroyed in the Civil War in 1922 (the IRA used the PRO as a munitions store. You may guess what happened next). So sadly you can no longer access them. They went up in smoke along with many of our other records.

Hello, I am Robert Watt I was born in Co. Tyrone and I too am researching the McIvor family from Co. Tyrone. My grandmother was Mary Jane McIvor born near Pomeroy in Co. Tyrone in 1873 she died near Pomeroy in Co. Tyrone in 1956. Your family names are very much the same as our McIvor names, we had a few Daniel, some Hugh, John, James, Jane and Margaret. I am at rwdwatt@gmail.com if that makes contact easier, From Robert.

Hi, Robert, It seems likely all these families are inter-related, somehow. A couple of updates to my research: John McIvor (1811) and his three oldest children traveled to Philadelphia in the U.S. in 1852 and more or less vanished, though I believe I have found Jane, who married and stayed in Philadelphia. The males may have gotten caught up in the Civil War. If I have this family grouping correct, then John (1811) quickly returned to Ireland (perhaps after getting his oldest children settled), since he had children born in 1853 and later. Thomas went to the U.S. in 1864 and Archie in 1869. John (1845) enlisted in the British Army in 1863, and James stayed in Ireland all his life. I have been playing with Griffiths today. John and Joseph had neighboring plots in Bracky. Joseph's name pops up in records a lot, and I wouldn't be surprised if John (1811) turned out to be a son or brother of Joseph. Certainly Pomeroy isn't far from Bracky.

Hi, I've pretty much concluded that, yes, my great-grandfather John McIver was born in Bracky in 1845. Most of the family emigrated to the Philadelphia area of the U.S.; my great-grandfather joined the British Army and later settled in Sheffield, England. I'm hoping to learn more about John McIvor (1811) of Bracky. John named his oldest son William. Under the naming traditions of the time, that may mean his father was William McIvor. There is a William in nearby Pomery (1784-1872) married to Mary McIvor (1790-1885), who at this point I believe may be my great-great-great-grandfather. John (1845) married an Ann Robinson (born 1823). I have found an Ann Robinson born in Tullywiggen, south of Cookstown some 20 miles from Bracky. (Incidentally, how far did folks tend to travel in those days to find a spouse?) If any of this seems to relate to your research, please let me know. Thanks in advance for any help!