Moncrieff of Northern Ireland

Joy,

John Moncrief and Anne Lawson married in Temple Meeting House (also known as Keady 1^st Presbyterian church). Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church (though it might have been the groom’s too). Unfortunately that church only has baptisms from 1838 and marriages from 1845 so tracing the Lawson family back may prove very difficult, though you could try local graveyards.

I had a look in the tithe applotment records for the area c 1830 and there’s no Alexander Moncrief(f) listed. Likewise Griffiths Valuation c 1860 doesn’t list one in Co Armagh. (There doesn’t appear to be any Alexander Moncrieff farming in that part of Northern Ireland). No suitable deaths 1864 onwards either. I suspect therefore that, assuming he remained in Ireland, Alexander had died by 1864.  Likewise I can’t find anything on Catherine Stannage. Stannage is not a common name in Co. Armagh. There are none in the 1901 census and none in the Armagh tithes. Most seem to be from Co Antrim or Down.  So I wonder if Alexander & Catherine perhaps lived elsewhere in Ireland?

I can see John & Ann plus 5 children in the 1861 census for Rutherglen, but assume you probably already have that.  John looks to have died in Rutherglen in 1871. His death certificate should tell you whether his parents were alive at that date. If dead, it should say “dcd” after each name.

Birth registration only started in Ireland in 1864. Prior to that you need to rely on church records. Not all have survived, and of those that do still exist, not all are on-line.  Unless you know where John & his siblings were born, it will be tricky tracing them. And there may be no records to search. (If Presbyterian and born in Keady c 1825, there are no baptism records to search).  Where the records do exist they tend to be in PRONI in Belfast.

Thanks, Elwyn. I appreciate you taking the time to answer. I have since learned that there were possibly other sons Hugh born 1820-1821 and  Charles born 1819 as well as a daughter -Catherine born about 1819. These children emigrated to Philadelphia whereas John went back to Scotland as you mentioned and died there. Some of John's family then emigrated to NZ and NSW Australia. Finding a birth record of one of them would be helpful but I understand very difficult.

Thanks again Joy