I am searching for information about John Johnston and Martha Wilcock. They were apparently married in Drumreilly church on 28 October 1839 (or 1840). Martha Wilcock's parents were George Wilcock and Hannah Ireton. John Johnston's parents are not known. John Johnston was apparently born on 22 March 1820 in Co Fermanagh (or Cavan). Martha Wilcock was born on 12 February 1820 in Bawnboy (not necessarily the town), Co Cavan. Their first child was Eleanor Johnston born 31 October 1841 in Drummany (or Drumrary) Co Leitrim. Their second child was Catherine Johnston born 22 November 1843 in Templeport, Co Cavan. Their third child was Margaret Johnston born 16 September 1845. Their fourth child was John George Johnston born 22 July 1847 in Co Cavan. The family moved after this time to Manchester England where two more children were born: Hannah Johnston born 16 November 1850, and Alexander Johnston born 17 October 1852. The family then emigrated to Australia on 30 March 1855 arriving in Australia on 8 July 1855 where they stayed. It is believed that they lived in Killywilly (or Killywillin) after they were married. It is possible but unconfirmed that John Johnston's father was George Johnston and was living in Corramahan in 1834. It is possible but unconfirmed that Martha Wilcock's father who was George Wilcock was living in Cully in 1834. We have never been able to find any church records of any of the family to confirm anything that we believe. We have documents from Australian and from Manchester and a family bible with some of the information. We do not know if John Johnston had any other relations that stayed in Ireland in Leitrim/Cavan (or possibly Fermanagh) but we hope there was. We do not know if John Johnston is related to the Johnston's of Killywilly/Killywillin. We do not know if Martha Wilcock is related to the Wilcox/Wilcock families who were involved in the St Peters Templeport church. Martha had at least two sisters who also emigrated to Australia: Elizabeth Wilcock born about 1827 in Co Cavan, and Grace Wilcock born about 1837 (or maybe 1832) in Co Cavan. And there is a possible third sister Eleanor Wilcock(Wilcox) who emigrated to Canada and was born 15 May 1825.
Saturday 2nd Feb 2013, 10:44PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi,
Thank you for your message.
As most Catholic records are held locally, it may be an idea to write to the parish priest for possible assistance locating the church records that you need. One website which you may find helpful however, is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. Follw this link to a map of Leitrim/Cavan. Simply click on the relevant parish to see what records are available there:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/leitrimrc.htm
Have you tried looking for the records online? Family Search have a huge collection of records available you can search this here: www.familysearch.org
You can also search rootsireland.ie however please note that you have to pay to search this website.
It may also be an idea to contact Cavan Genealogy for assistance- a fee may apply. Here are their contact details:
Cavan Genealogy,
1st Floor,
Johnston Central Library,
Farnham Street,
Cavan.
Phone: +353 (0) 49 4361094 Email: cavangenealogy@eircom.net
I hope this is helpful.
Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Monday 8th Apr 2013, 09:01AM -
Hello Emma
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
My ancestors were Methodist and none were Catholic so I am interested in Church of Ireland records or Methodist records for the circuit that would have gone through Drumreilly and Templeport areas.
I have full subscriptions to ancestry.com.au and findmypast.com.au and regularly use familysearch.org and many other online sites. I have tried rootsireland.ie but there is nothing of use there.
I have also visited Ireland on three occasions to look for things, have contacted the Templeport church as some of the children's births are in Templeport however there are no church records for the period 1820-1850; which is the period that I am interested in. I believe there are no records held at the Drumreilly church for that period either that I am aware of. I have been to the Cavan Genealogy center twice, once when it was up the hill in Cavan and once when it was moved to the Johnston Central Library. On both occasions they were unable to help at all.
I have checked with the RCBL and they apparently have no records for the period in question for Drumreilly church or Templeport.
I have never been able to find out which Methodist circuit they might have belonged to and whether there are any surviving records for the period 1820-1850 for that circuit.
I am unable to visit Ireland again any time soon due to family reasons otherwise I would be knocking on more doors to try to find some trace of my ancestors. I have managed to find out a bit about their lives once they moved to Manchester and I know heaps about their lives once they moved to Australia. However in 13 years of searching I have not managed to unearth a single document in Ireland about them.
Regards
David Johnston
Monday 8th Apr 2013, 09:44AM