Little Family od Drumbulcan/Drumbulkin Fermanagh

http://www.fermanaghlakelands.com/Genealogy-in-Fermanagh-A253

This link will take you to some genealogists and tourguides in Fermanagh.

You say that you think the couple's marriage was registered in Clones in 1856. I do see a likely marriage in the 1856 civil indexes. If you haven't already done so, it might be worth ordering a copy (or getting the details from rootsireland) in advance of your visit so as you have that information when you start your local visit. Townlands and fathers names & occupations are vital for tracing the right families. A research copy should cost €4 from GRO Roscommon. They can e-mail it to you.

Thank you Elwyn.

I'll investigate further.

Best wishes,

Glenda

HI Elwyn,

I ordered the marriage certificate but John Little and Mary Jones were married to different people and not each other.

Thanks,

Glenda

Glenda,

I am sorry to hear that. Sadly I have no other suggestions for finding the marriage. I don’t see any other likely marriages in the records for the Clones area.

I also looked in Griffiths Valuation for Drumbulcan (1862) but don’t see any Little household there.  Perhaps they had moved by 1862. There was one John Little in Forthill, in Derryvullan, in 1862. He had a labourer’s house with an acre of land.  I have no easy way of saying whether it was your family though. No Littles there in the 1901 census.

Hi Elwyn,

From the Fermanagh lakelands details I contacted Frank Roofe and Frank McHugh about being taken to Coraleehan in Leitrim and Drumbulkin in Fermanagh and learning about the history etc but they were not interested so I have contacted near libraries to see if there is anyone with local knowledge who would be prepared to show us about.  I'm sure you'd agree it would be a pity to come all the way from Australia to stand on ancestral ground and know nothing about it.  We will be there in September so fingers crossed.

Thanks,

Glenda

Glenda,

For a good description of life in the Derryvullen area in the 1830s, you could read the Ordnance Survey memoirs. These were compiled on the instructions of the Duke of Wellington (then Prime Minister) primarily for taxation purposes. So a bit like the Doomsday Book. They were compiled parish by parish, and describe the inhabitants, their occupations, pastimes, habits, they analyse the various different denominations by number, and report on health, schooling, seasonal migration patterns as well as permanent migration patterns. And so on. A typical parish contains about 20 to 30 pages of information and some drawings. They are well worth reading if you want to get a feel for life there at that time. (It’s probably the most detailed contemporaneous summary that exists from that period).

The relevant book for Derryvullen appears to be Volume 14. There should be a copy on the bookshelves in PRONI’s main research room in Belfast. The North of Ireland FHS Library in Newtownabbey also has a copy, and Enniskillen Library Local studies section might also have one.

Dear Elwyn,

Thank you so much for your help.  I will be in Belfast in September and will be able to go to PRONI to read the Ordinance Survey memoirs.

I do appreciate your help.

Best wishes,

Glenda

In PRONI, the OS Memoirs are on the bookshelves at the back of the main reading room near the microfilm readers. The staff there will show you where to get them. They are just beside the cabinets holding the Derryvullen church records. Two of the microfilm readers have printers attached so if you want a copy of the church records, use one of those machines. 30p per sheet copied.