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I have a family tree that says Hugh Watson (1825-1883), son of John Watson, emigrated to Baltimore, Maryland in 1848 from Aughnacloy, County Tyrone. I have not been able to verify this and don't know where the information came from. Hugh Watson helped establish a Masonic Lodge in Baltimore shortly after arriving. Could he have been a Mason in Ireland? Any help regarding this family would be much appreciated.

Larry944

Tuesday 30th Jun 2015, 10:49PM

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  • Statutory birth registration only started in Ireland in 1864, so you won’t find a birth certificate. Prior to that you need to rely on church baptism records, where they survive.

    You don’t say what denomination Hugh was. If he was Church of Ireland then the Carnteel parish baptism records start in 1805. If he was Presbyterian, then the Aughnacloy Presbyterian church has records from 1812, save for 1828 & 1829 which are missing. If he was RC, there are no records earlier than 1846.

    So far as I can tell neither the Church of Ireland nor the Presbyterian records are on-line. The churches hold the originals but there are also copies in PRONI, the public record office, in Belfast. Their copies are not on-line and so a personal visit is required to access them. If you are unable to go there yourself, you may need to employ a researcher.

    http://www.proni.gov.uk/guide_to_church_records.pdf

    The RC parish records will be on-line free on the National Library site after 8th July.

    I had a look in Griffiths Valuation  for the mid 1800s but there is no trace of a John Watson listed in Carnteel (which includes Aughnacloy). It doesn’t mean he didn’t live there, just that there’s no listing for anyone of that name. Your best bet at this stage is probably to search the church records.

    Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Tuesday 30th Jun 2015, 11:14PM
  • Thank you so much for the timely response. I do not know what denomination he was but his descendants in America were all protestant, although, to my knowledge, none were very religious.I hope to get over there in 2016 or 17 and do some research at the National Library then. Maybe in the meantime, I can hire some one to help.

    Thanks again.

    Larry Blount

    Larry944

    Wednesday 1st Jul 2015, 04:28AM
  • Larry,

    If Hugh was of a protestant denomination then the church records you want won't be in the National Library in Dublin. They will be in PRONI in Belfast. If you go to the PRONI website, there is a list of professional researchers on it.

    http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/research_and_records_held/can_someone_else_do_research_for_me/independent_commercial_researchers.htm

    Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Wednesday 1st Jul 2015, 07:03AM
  • Hi Larry

    Long time ago when you posted your query. I have a John Watson and wife Mary who lived at Glenroe, Aughnacloy. I would be a third Great-Grandson. His daughter Elizabeth  married James Bailey at Aughnacloy in 1845 at the local Presbyrterian Church. They had a small holding of eight acres at Glenroe, just north of the town. Yes he is in the Griffiths valuation  books.   After all this time trust you receive this note. One unfortunate problem being is that there are many John Watsons so we maay be talking of a completely differest family. Daughter Elizabeth is the only child I know for certain, though there may have been a Mary, who was later mentioned in Griffiths.

    All the best Richard

    Richard TB

    Tuesday 23rd Apr 2019, 03:47PM

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