My great grandfather John McCully Cairns, born & died Belfast 1851- 1901 had three wives. Wife 2: Mary Ann Russell 1851-1889, married 13 April, 1875 at College Square Presbyterian Church, Belfast is my great grandmother. After her death he married Margaret Ann Patchell, born 4 April 1871 in Londonderry, married June, 1890. However I believe John had a wife prior to Mary Ann but cannot find any details - although she would have no direct link to me, any children would have been half brother/sister to my grandfather [ John Kennedy Cairns, born Belfast, 28 July 1880, died Australia 26 December, 1942 ] and may have been the reason my grandfather immigrated to Australia in 1911. Any help with this would be appreciated.
Thursday 11th Jul 2013, 05:23AM
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If you obtain a copy of the 1875 marriage certificate to Mary Ann Russell, it will record John?s previous marital status on it. That way you should be able to tell whether he had a previous wife.
Ahoghill Antrim
Thursday 11th Jul 2013, 06:55AM -
Thnx. I have the certificate and it states he is a widower, so that's why I'm looking for the previous wife, but I have had no luck in finding who she is, when they were married or what happened to her.
Thursday 11th Jul 2013, 08:38AM