Samuel and Eliza Pattison

Marnie,

Birth and death  registration didn’t start in Ireland till 1864, non RC marriages were registered from 1845 and RC from 1864. Before that you have to rely on church records. Not all churches have any records and of those that do many are not on-line so this probably accounts for why you can’t find birth, death and marriage records for the family.

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church (in this case Curran Presbyterian). That’s normally where you would look for Nancy Pattison’s baptism. However that church has lost all its pre 1900 baptisms and it’s marriages only start in 1845, so it’s likely that there are no records of her or any siblings baptisms to be found.

The surname Pattison is the same as Patterson and the two are interchangeable in Ireland so you need to bear that in mind when checking the records. 

On the 1853 marriage certificate Nancy’s townland (address) was Grange. Her father was a farmer, so they tend to stay put in the same place. Making them easier to trace than say labourers who moved about a lot.

I searched the statutory marriage records for the Magherafelt area 1845 to 1866 but did not find any other marriages for children of Samuel Pattison.

Samuel Pattison is listed in Griffiths Valuation for Grange in 1859.   He had plot 37 which was an 11 acre farm. That farm today is on the modern Grange Rd. (Between Magherafelt & Tobermore). There still look to be farm buildings there (on Google earth) but I am not sure the house is inhabited any more.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

There was a William Patterson who had a farm in Grange at that time and an Alexander Patterson who had 4 acres of bog (but no house so lived somewhere else). Judging by William’s will he looks to have been William’s brother and resided in Carnamooney. They might be related to your family.

The Valuation revision records take Griffiths forward. They are on the PRONI website and show Samuel Pattison remaining as tenant on that farm until 1884 when he was replaced by Joseph Campbell. There’s a death for a Samuel Patterson registered in Magherafelt on 18th May 1874 aged 65. That could be him.

There was another Pattison family in Grange in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Desertmartin/Grange/1532511/

Here they are in 1911 (Patterson that year):

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Londonderry/Desertmartin/Grange/613227/

They married in 1881. (The bride was Sarah Parks). Unfortunately the marriage is not viewable on-line free (it should be viewable free on irishgenealogy but it is missing), but you can pay to view it on the GRONI site instead, to see who Thomas’s father was. I think it was William R Patterson who had plots 3 and plot 5, as the plots change from William R Patterson to Thomas in 1884. 

Probate abstracts:

The Will of William Patterson late of Grange County Londonderry Farmer who died 20 August 1869 at same place was proved at Londonderry by William Roney Patterson of Grange Farmer the surviving Executor. (This will is viewable on-line on the PRONI website).

Pattison Thomas of Grange Magherafelt county Londonderry farmer died 3 May 1934 Probate Belfast 19 June to Alexander Pattison farmer. Effects £27.

You can view the original death and marriage 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. 

Looking at the 1831 census, I can see William Patterson (who was apparently Presbyterian though there were some Catholics in the household too):

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinshollen/Desertmartin/Grange/3/

Then there was a John Pattison whose family were other Protestants (that includes Quakers, Brethren and some dissenting Presbyterians).

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinshollin/Desertmartin/Grange/35/

Samuel Patteson, who seems likely to be Nancy’s father,  is listed under “other Protestants”:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinshollen/Desertmartin/Grange/47/

Alexander, William & Samuel were all farming in Grange in the tithe applotment records for 1827:

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/tithe-applotments/desertmartin-p…

PRONI’s name site has a record of probate being granted for a Samuel Patterson of Grange in 1818, so the family appear to have been there then. Given that they were Presbyterians and Protestants in Co Derry the chances are they are descended from Scots settlers who moved to the area in the 1600s. Unfortunately there are no comprehensive records to get you back that far.

Thank you Elwyn, for giving me a direction and some clues about where I'm likely to have hit true dead ends.  You are very generous with your time and your knowledge.  

Marnie

Hello Marnie and Elwyn. My name is Bill Patterson and Thomas Pattison was my great grandfather. He was married to Sarah Parke and Alexander was my great uncle. Stephenson, in the 1911 census was my grandfather.  I believe the house went to Alexander after Thomas died as William Rony moved to the U.S. I don't know what happened to Sarah, but she may have died in 1945.  Sometime after that it went to the Parke side of the family. One of my cousins in the Parke family just bought it from another member of the Parke family. The house is on Grange Road. Elwyn, you mentioned PRONI or GRONI in your post......can you tell me what that website is and how to access it?  I too ran into dead ends in my research, but you have at least provided me the name of Thomas's father, which was unknown to me. I would appreciate it. To clear up some confusion, there are both Pattersons and Pattisons in ym family tree. Some kept the original name (Pattison) and some changed it. I don't know why. 

Mongo13,

If you are looking for the marriage of Thomas Patterson & Sarah Parks it was registered in Magherafelt on 7.1.1881. GRONI have the bride’s name mistranscribed as Jacob.  (So the index shows Thomas Patterson married to Jacob Parks!). That doesn’t appear to have been noticed and there is a facility for reporting an error if you want, on the GRONI site. I mentioned the website link earlier but here it is again: https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

Use the “search registrations” option. You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2.50 (sterling) to a view a certificate. GRONI is the only repository for birth, death and marriage records in what is now Northern Ireland, from 1.1.1922 onwards. (Ancestry and other websites don’t have them).

Births in Northern Ireland within the past 100 years, marriages within the past 75 and deaths within the past 50 aren’t searchable on-line. They are open to the public, just not on-line. If you know all the key details eg exact date and place of birth, parents names etc, you can order a copy of a certificate from GRONI for £15.  But if you don’t have all the information, you need to get in touch with them to get a search done.  They will do a 5 year search for £7 and if they find a matching certificate you can purchase it for £8, coming to a total of £15. It will be posted to you a few days later. You pay over the phone using a credit card. You type your number in on the phone keypad. They don’t know what it is.  They won’t deal with these searches and orders by e-mail because they need you to type the credit card number in yourself.

Phone: 0300 200 7890 (+44 300 200 7890 from outside the UK).

The irishgenealogy site should also have the Patterson-Parks marriage (free to view) but when you go to that particular entry, the message “Error 404 – not found” comes up. 

I looked for a death for Sarah around 1945 but without success. There are 3 Sarah Patterson deaths in the 1930s, registered in Magherafelt. 18.2.1932 aged 64, 20.2.1933 aged 65 & 4.9.1933 aged 69. All are reasonably close but the last is the nearest to the 1911 age. However ages were often just guessed then so you can never be really sure.

PRONI (the public record office) is on this site: 

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni

Certain of their records eg the indexes to wills, and the name search function are on line but for many other records eg early church baptisms you need to go in person. Those are in either paper formant or microfilm.

You wonder about the spelling of the name and why it varied. That was very common at that time. The idea of a single or correct spelling for a surname or a place name in Ireland is very much a recent phenomenon designed to meet the needs of modern officialdom. Before that there was no consistency. Names were spelled phonetically and each variation was down to the whim of the particular person recording the information. You will often see the spelling change as the records go back. This rarely indicates a deliberate decision to alter the name, nor even a mistake. Not everyone was literate, but even when they were, exact and consistent spelling simply wasn’t something they bothered about. 

In 1899, the Rev Smith reviewed the early records of Antrim 1st Presbyterian church (covering the years 1674 to c 1736). He noted: “Even the same word is not always spelled alike by the same hand. Indeed spelling with most of the recording officials (and they must have been fairly numerous) was a matter of the most sublime indifference. The name William, for instance, is spelled 3 different ways in as many lines; while Donegore, a neighbouring parish, is spelled 10 different ways; but these extend over a good number of years. Many families names are spelled phonetically, while others are given in the most round-about fashion”.

In his Special Report on Surnames in Ireland, published in 1909, Mathieson includes numerous examples of variation in the spelling of surnames which depended on the whim of the holder. “Some years ago the marriages of a brother and sister in the same family were solemnized in a Registrar’s office. The son gave his surname as “Faulkner” and his father’s name as “Faulkner.” The daughter gave her surname as Falconer, and her father’s surname as Falconer. Both marriages were subsequently re-solemnised in a place of worship, and the same orthographical differences were found to exist in the records kept by the officiating Minister.”

Other examples of interchangeable surnames, are Robertson & Robinson, Kilpatrick and Kirkpatrick, Nogher & Connor, McConnell & McDonnell, Kerr & Carr, Stewart & Stuart. So expect spelling to vary. That was the norm.

If it’s of any assistance here are some probate abstracts for the Patterson/Pattison family of Grange found on the PRONI wills site.

The Will of William Patterson late of Grange County Londonderry Farmer who died 20 August 1869 at same place was proved at Londonderry by William Roney Patterson of Grange Farmer the surviving Executor.

The above will is on-line.

Letters of Administration of the personal estate of Margaret Patterson formerly of Grange County Londonderry and late of Derrygortanea County Tyrone Spinster who died 29 March 1890 at Derrygortanea were granted at Armagh to William Roney Patterson of Grange Farmer the Father.

Probate of the Will of William Roney Patterson late of Grange Magherafelt County Londonderry Gentleman who died 21 January 1908 granted at Londonderry to Hugh Ferguson Patterson Farmer and William Patterson L.R.C.P. and S.I.

Pattison Thomas of Grange Magherafelt county Londonderry farmer died 3 May 1934 Probate Belfast 19 June to Alexander Pattison farmer. Effects £27.

Pattison Alexander of Grange Magherafelt county Londonderry farmer died 8 July 1957 at Mid-Ulster Hospital Magherafelt county Londonderry Administration (limited) Londonderry 24 December to William Streahorn farmer. Effects £1881 8s. 11d. Limited Grant.

The 1869 will is on-line. For the other files you would need to go to PRONI and view them or pay someone to copy them for you. (When it re-opens post Covid).

Hello Elwyn. Thank you very much for responding and taking the time to do the research. After I wrote to you, I was able to figure out what PRONI and GRONI were, but I am not as adept at finding things as quickly as you did. But what you have shown me is more than I have been able to find on my own in years of looking, so I have a much more information to continue my search. I really appreciate you taking the time!  Bill   

Hello Elwyn and Bill.  I had dropped the ball on this line of research.  I was glad to get notification of your recent posts as a prompt.   I don't know if or how my Pattison/Patterson line connects to Bill but hopefully we can figure it out.  Bill, have you done DNA testing?  You can email me at marnieka@comcast.net.  

Hi Elwyn, 

I don't know if you are still volunteering here or not, but if not perhaps someone else is.  If you are, thank you! 

I am writing regarding your first response to my original question.  You mentioned a death registered for a Samuel Patterson in Magherafelt on 18 May, 1874 at age 65.  If it's my Samuel Pattison/Patterson, that would make him about 26 when he fathered my Nancy Pattison if indeed this is her father, which makes sense.  What doesn't make sense is that he is listed as a "bachelor" in the death registration.  This Samuel died in the workhouse in Magherafelt and it appears that he had been there and perhaps bedridden for a period of time before the death.  Would he have been listed a "bachelor" in workhouse records if he was, in fact, a widower when he entered or is this likely not my Samuel?  

Another thing I'm wondering about is addresses.  In the 1859 Griffiths Valuation for Grange you cited a Samuel Pattison on "Plot 37".  You later refer to valuation revision records that show Samuel living there as a tenant "until 1884 when he was replaced by Joseph Campbell".  In the 1901 census there is another family in Grange and the record shows "Residents of a house 37 living in Grange".  Is house 37 likely the same as plot 37 referred to in the 1859 valuation?  

Thanks for any insight you can give me.  

Marnie

Marnie,

We have had some technical problems with our notification systems and your message has only just reached me. Sorry for the delay.

You mention Samuel, the bachelor who died in Magherafelt workhouse. The workhouse authorities were always keen to check inmates had no-one else who could support them (and  also to know of spouses and children they might also need to support  if the head of the family were in the workhouse). Consequently, I’d say they would have been fairly meticulous in asking about marital status etc. The admission records for Magherafelt  still exist and are in PRONI (not on-line). They. Should contain more information on the 1874 inmate.

https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Magherafelt/

Regarding the numbers in the 1901 (and 1911 censuses), these have no relation to the numbers in Griffiths. They were the census enumerator’s personal numbering system and was his way of tracking which houses he had visited. They varied from census to census.  In rural Ireland there were no street names and no house numbers. Your townland alone was sufficient to identify you and get a letter delivered. (That’s still the case in some remoter parts today, though many do now have street names and often house numbers.).

According to the Valuation revision records (which take Griffiths forward) Samuel Pattison remains on plot 37 in Grange until 1884 when he is replaced by Joseph Campbell. He was still there in 1901 (in house 14):

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Desertmartin/Grange/1532488/

House 37 in Griffiths can be seen on the Griffiths website map facility. The land is still farmland (on the modern Grange Rd). However the farmhouse is long gone. The site looks to be used for storing silage or farm waste.