Looking for information on Sadie McKinley, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth

This looks to be your family in the 1901 Irish census in the townland of Moneyhaughley:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Donegal/Manorcunningham/Moneyhaughley/1189279/ 

They are no longer there in 1911 but this family lives in the same townland and so may be connected:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Donegal/Manorcunningham/Moneyhaughly/499191/

Moneyhaughley is on the N13 road from Letterkenny to Derry, about 5 miles east of Letterkenny. The family are not listed there in Griffiths Valuation for 1858 and so presumably arrived after that. (The revaluation records in the Valuation Office in Dublin should tell you when).

I searched the 1911 Irish census for your family but couldn?t find them. The first place to look when that happens is Scotland, because huge numbers of people from that part of Ireland went there to work. Sure enough, your family were living at 29 Scotia St, Cowcaddens, Glasgow in 1911. Thomas, Lizzie and 7 children. (Sadie, by the way is a nickname or diminuitive for Sarah). Thomas was a labourer in a foundry. You can buy the entry on the 1911 census from Scotlandspeople:

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/Viewers/DirectDownload/index.aspx

Scotia St was demolished in the 1960s to make way for a new motorway through Glasgow but you can see a couple of photos of it (as it was in the 1960s) on this link:

http://discuss.glasgowguide.co.uk/Memories-Of-Scotia-Street-New-City-Ro…

Sadie/Sarah is aged 3 in the 1911 census, and born in Ireland, so the family moved to Glasgow some time between her birth and 2^nd April 1911 (census night).

The date of birth you have in 1910 for Sarah might not be correct. Moneyhaughley is in the Letterkenny registration district. I cannot see a birth in the Letterkenny area for 1910. The nearest is a birth for a Sarah M?Kinley registered in Letterkenny Apr ? Jun 1907 Volume 2, page 155 which could be her, and would make her 3 in April 1911. Can?t say for certain. You can order a photocopy of that birth cert from GRO Roscommon. It should cost ?4. Write the place, quarter, year, volume & page number on the order form (anywhere). Don?t worry about leaving some boxes blank. http://www.groireland.ie/

There was a marriage between a Thomas McKinley and Margaret Elizabeth Wasson, registered in Letterkenny July ? Sept 1895, volume 2, page 139. It could be your couple but again I cannot be certain without seeing the certificate (and knowing the mother?s maiden name from one their children?s birth certs).

Elwyn

Bless you Elwyn,

This is exciting stuff. Until about 24 hours ago the information we provided in our post was all we knew about Grandma Sadie and her family. You've provided answers to a lot of questions (you may well be right re. her birth date as there were question marks as to when exactly she was born) and also given us more in depth info as to her parents whom we knew almost nothing about. It hasn't been an easy task for us as we've obviously got wrong dates etc. 

My mother (Joy Marie Gray) was adopted by Sadie and her husband - Fredrick Earnest Gray, sadly Sadie passed in 1955 when my mother was only 3 years old and was raised by Sadie's two sisters Margaret and Susan ("Meg" & "Cissy"). 

We're tlso trying to find info on her husband but this is also proving difficult. All we know is he was born in London.

We are absolute beginners in Family History so we appreciate you lifting the lid on this mystery! Because things just weren't talked about in those days sadly there isn't much we know about Sadie and her family, any more ideas on how we can find out more about WHO she was?

You've been a God send, an absolute blessing - we can't thank you enough.

Thank you so much for your time and efforts.

Arohanui

Alisa and (especially) Joy

Hi Alisa,

Elwyn has done a fantastic job in identifying your family.

I think I may be in the position to help you go a bit further back as I am from the general area where your grandmother was born. Whilst I am not related to your family, I believe Thomas mcKinley was married to Elizabeth McConnell in 1895 in Ray Presbyterian Church, which is in Manorcunningham. Their children were also baptised there.

Coincidentally, I have been helping a lady in Australia with her family research and some of her family were married into this McConnell family which is why i already have some information on them. In fact, I believe there were 2 of Elizabeth's brothers also in New Zealand. If you would like to email me, I will gladly share the information I have and help you in any way I can.

Louise

You ask about what more you research you can do.

1. I think I would order Sarah?s birth certificate to confirm her mother?s maiden name
2.  
3. You should then be able to get the parent?s marriage certificate, which will give you their addresses, fathers details etc to hopefully take the research back a generation.
4.  
5. You could check out the local Presbyterian church records to see which church they attended (there are 3 Presbyterian churches in Letterkenny. They may have attended one of those, though there might be one nearer to where they lived. Tradition was to marry in the bride?s church so Ray Presbyterian church may not necessarily have been the one they attended thereafter. Louise may be able to help with that aspect). Copies of the records are held in PRONI (the Public Record Office), Belfast, but are not on-line. A personal visit is required to access them.
6.  
7. Check local graveyards for graves. (Check Church of Ireland as well as Presbyterian churches as Presbyterians quite often used COI graveyards, for historical reasons).
8.  
9. You could try and find out who owns the farm today, to see if it?s still in family hands or if the current occupants know of any family in the area. To locate it with certainty, you would need to use the Valuation records in the Valuation office in Dublin (which would also tell you when they first acquired it, and of any changes through to 1930). That would give you a plot number in the townland. You can then go to the on-line Griffiths maps and identify that plot. There?s a modern map on that website that you can overlay which will help find the exact property today. (Moneyhaughley consists of 236 acres, and in 1901 there were just 11 households there so not too difficult to find or make local enquiries).
10.  
11. It sounds as though Louise?s information will help you learn more, but if stuck there?s 18 people named McKinley in the phone book for Co Donegal today. None in Monehaghley but 3 who don?t live too far away, ie in Rooskey, Ballyraine & Gortalaban. You could try writing to them or ringing them up and see if they know of your family. http://www.eircomphonebook.ie/
12.  
13. I missed the other McKinley family from the 1901 census in the information I gave you previously. This is the link to them:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Donegal/Manorcunningha…

So your family evidently had a farm and shop, whilst another McKinley family lived in an adjacent farm. Bound to be related, I would say.

That your family were Presbyterian tells you that their ancestors came from Scotland. (Presbyterianism was brought to Ireland by Scots settlers). Most probably they came in the mid 1600s, and probably from counties like Ayrshire and Stirlingshire. They came as a part of the Plantation of Ulster. Figures vary but many estimates say that about 100,000 Scots (representing 10% of the entire population of Scotland) moved to Ireland at that time. See:http://www.ulsternationalist.freeservers.com/custom2.html

I assume you have no idea what happened to the McKinley family that moved to Scotland around 1911? If they didn't emigarte, I would expect some of them may have stayed there. (There wasn?t a lot of work to go back to in Donegal). I did look at the valuation records for 1915 in Scotia St but cannot see the family listed so suspect they had moved by that date.

The latest census that is available in Scotland is 1911 so searching for the family after that becomes a bit tricky. You could search the records on the Scotlandspeople site (pay to view) for marriages for the 6 other children. Scottish marriage certificates will have both parents names including the mother?s maiden name, so that helps with the research. You can be pretty sure whether you have the correct family.

I would expect that there are some descendants still living in Scotland today. (That?s been my experience from other similar research). Note that the surname appears to have been spelled McKinlay in Scotland.

Regarding Sarah?s husband?s birth etc, I?d say you need to find their marriage certificate in order to get his father?s name. That way it would be easier to look for him in UK censuses and birth records, to ensure you get the correct person.

Elwyn

Apologies for the delayed response Louise. Appreciate your help.

Yes, Elwyn has just been fantastic :)

Exciting news, I can confirm that Sadie's mother was indeed Elizabeth McConnell. I don't have any more information as of yet, I was able to order Sadie's death cert. here in NZ and that is how I managed to get Elizabeth's maiden name.

Thank you so much Louise, I would GREATLY appreciate any information you have as I am starting from scratch!

Regards,

Alisa

No problem, Alisa,

I have sent you a reply to your email this evening :-)

Kind regards

Louise