I was born as Robert Joseph McKee, Jr in 1956. I changed my last name legally to Thompson in 1976 to honor my stepfather, who raised me since I was a year old. Even though I deeply respect & miss him, I am curious about my own personal history. So far, I have my great-great grandfather, James S. McKee, born 1833 in Donegore Parish, County Antrim, Ireland. He emigrated to the United States in 1857, and fought as a sergeant-major in the 11th Illinois Cavalry on the Union side in the American Civil War. After the war, he worked as a farmer and as a railroad man in Iowa and Colorado, retiring in the community of Creston, Iowa. He passed away in 1925, and is buried in the local cemetery in Creston.
I am presently looking for James McKee's parents, grandparents, etc. dating back to before the Ulster Plantation, when the McKees came from Scotland to the Northern Counties in Ireland. Hopefully, his paris records were not destroyed with the others in fire.
Thanks for any and all help in advance.
Tuesday 6th May 2014, 04:34PM
Message Board Replies
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There?s a record of James McKee?s baptism on 18th July 1833 (date of birth 12th July) at Donegore 1st Presbyterian church. Parents were Samuel McKee and Margaret Sloan. Family lived in Donegore townland (in Donegore parish).
Donegore 1st Presbyterian church?s baptism records are not on-line but they are available on CD, from the church. They only start in 1808, so tracing back to Scotland may be a bit hard to achieve. (The McKee's ancestors will likely have arrived in the 1600s, and there very few records back to that period).
I looked in Griffiths Valuation (1862) but there were no McKee households listed in Donegore then. The nearest, and only McKee in the parish was Rev. Joseph McKee in Ballywee.
Ahoghill Antrim
Tuesday 6th May 2014, 06:00PM -
Further to my previous message, I also found Samuel & Margaret?s marriage in Donegore 1st P church. They married on 15.8.1832. He was from Loughanmore and she was from Donegore. Witnesses were Andrew M?Gavoch of Grange and William Pinkerton of Loughanmore.
Ahoghill Antrim
Tuesday 6th May 2014, 06:53PM -
Thanks very much for the information! What you sent me has helped me a great deal. It looks like I may have to drop some coin for the extra features that allow me to research record in Northern Ireland as well as Scotland, but in my opinion it'll be worth it.
While my biological grand father is Scots-Irish, my biological grandmother (Mary Breen) is definitely Irish. My mother's side is a mixture of English and Scottish heritage, and it gets more & more interesting to discover all the awesome data about my ancestors.
Again, thanks for the information.
Tuesday 6th May 2014, 08:27PM -
Thanks very much for the information! What you sent me has helped me a great deal. It looks like I may have to drop some coin for the extra features that allow me to research record in Northern Ireland as well as Scotland, but in my opinion it'll be worth it.
While my biological grand father is Scots-Irish, my biological grandmother (Mary Breen) is definitely Irish. My mother's side is a mixture of English and Scottish heritage, and it gets more & more interesting to discover all the awesome data about my ancestors.
Again, thanks for the information.
Tuesday 6th May 2014, 08:27PM