Porter, Morrison families , Dumachee and Lurgaboy Armagh.

Jennifer,

James will mentions his farm in Lurgaboy. Here is his son William in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Armagh/Hamiltons_Bawn/Lurgaboy/1016983/

And in 1911:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Armagh/Hamilton_s_Bawn/Lurgaboy/328891/

According to the census, they married 12 years previously and had no children. Here’s their marriage certificate.

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

The will also mentions a son Alexander and sister Elizabeth living in Altaturk. Here they are in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Armagh/Hockley/Altaturk/1018013/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Armagh/Hockley/Altaturk/329845/

Note that William was Presbyterian but Alexander & Elizabeth were Church of Ireland.  So they attended different churches (but may all have been buried in the one place).

Griffiths Valuation shows us that James Porter had plot 3 in Lurgaboy which was 13.5. acres. It was originally rented but his son William purchased it in 1913 under the Land Act (ie with a Government assisted mortgage). That property today is down a dead end lane off the Markethill Rd, near the Lurgaboy adventure centre.

In Altaturk, the farm consisted of 2 separate plots of land. One was plot 3 which was 11.5 acres of land only. Plot 5 was another 7 acres of land and a farmhouse. The plots in that townland were renumbered a couple of times over the years so a little care will be needed to locate the right property today but the farm looks to have been off the Altaturk Rd beside what is now the trackbed of the disused railway line from Armagh to Goraghwood.

The Lurgaboy farm was in the Porter name in the 1860s, so it appears to be the older family farm. Altaturk was acquired later. The Valuation revision records will show when. The tithe applotment records for the 1820s don’t show a Porter farming in either townland then, so they presumably arrived there from somewhere else.

Probate abstract from the PRONI wills site:

Administration of the Estate of William Porter late of Lurgaboy County Armagh Farmer who died 19 February 1917 granted at Armagh to Eliza J. Porter the Widow.

Probate of the Will of Eliza Jane Porter late of Lurgaboy County Armagh Widow who died 26 April 1922 granted at Belfast to George Black Labourer Effects £66 13s. 6d.

Porter Alexander of Altaturk county Armagh farmer died 1 December 1926 Probate Belfast 22 January to Samuel Pillow farmer and John Herron grocer's assistant. Effects £2.

The above 3 probate files should be in PRONI in paper format. There will be no will for the first and Eliza Jane died intestate.

If James & Susannah married in 1841 then that is before the start of statutory marriage registration in Ireland (1845). So you won’t get a marriage certificate for them. You might find the marriage in a parish register but that may not be on-line.

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, and thereafter she’d attend her husband’s. So marriage & children’s baptisms may be in different churches. Markethill 1st Presbyterian only has baptisms from 1843 and marriages from 1845, so if they married there you won’t find it. The records have been lost. Markethill 2nd however has baptisms & marriages from 1821, so they are worth checking. If Susannah was Church of Ireland then unfortunately the marriage records for 1841 were destroyed in the 1922 fire in Dublin and so don’t exist. Copies of the surviving records are held in PRONI in Belfast. You can view them there, free.

I don’t think the death of a Susannah Porter in Banbridge in 1893 is the right family. That’s outside the Lurgaboy area and the informant was a Hugh. I think your Susanna probably died in 22.12.1879 aged 59, registered in Armagh. (The death wasn’t registered till January so comes up in searches as 1880). You can view the original certificates 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.

For graves, there’s no formal requirement to record where someone is buried in Ireland. It isn’t on death certificates as it is in some countries. So it’s a question of asking locally. Try the 2 Presbyterian churches and the Church of Ireland. (Presbyterians were often buried in Church of Ireland graveyards, and in any event Alexander & Elizabeth appear to have been Church of Ireland, latterly if not at birth). Otherwise ask what other graveyards there are in the area.

Farmers usually had gravestones, so I would expect there to be one. Possibly all in the same family plot. Presbyterians don’t keep burial records but the Church of Ireland does (f0r it’s congregation only). Those for 1926 will still be held by the Rector/Vicar. (Make an appointment. Don’t turn up unannounced).

Thank you Elwyn, I am totally amazed at how much information you have given me. There is definitely a bit of work ahead of me to investigate before I visit. Should I just google the names of the 2 churches you mention to get their address and email addresses?  I imagine Markethill is not too large a community. I will also google maps of the area and find places you mentioned. There were strories in the family that 1 of the brothers went to America, but appears they stayed in Ireland. My great grand father was buried in the Church of England Townsville, but was thought be be originally Presypertian . Both brothers in Australia married Irish Catholic women from Galway!  Thank you once again. Very excited about all you were able to tell me. Best wishes Jen.

Jennifer, 

The Church of Ireland has a neat website so I can give you the Markethill contact easily:

Rev Canon Neville Hughes


The Rectory


6 Mullurg Road


Mullabrack

Markethill 
BT60 1QN
Co Armagh

Tel: 
028 37551092

For the other churches, yes I would google them. If you don’t find them easily try the Presbyterian Historical Society, they can give you the contact details:

http://www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com

Get in touch with me nearer your visit, and I’ll have another look at the maps and give you more detailed instructions on how to find the 2 farms. I can also compare the maps with Google Earth and tell you what’s there now, and whether you will need wellingtons to get there. Some are abandoned, some have been replaced by modern bungalows. Sometimes the old farm has been adapted into a more modern building. Occasionally the original buildings are there, but less often these days.

Markethill isn't very big and you won't have nay difficulty finding your way around.

Incidentally, if your ancestors were Presbyterian, then that tends to point to them being of Scots origins. Not sure if you knew that. They will have come to Ireland in the 1600s. (A hundred thousand Scots did, and Armagh was heavily settled by them at that period).

Thank you once again for your very helpful advice and quick response. I will look at your suggestions and contact you again near my visit. I am very happy with all the information you have provided . Thank you once again . Jen