Johnston-Mawhinney

Hi Sandra,

Was Ann Roman Catholic?

You can information about the frequency of the name in the mid-19th century and any other variant spellings of the name here: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/

Could you please post your message on the Templepatrick parish page here: http://www.irelandxo.com/group/templepatrick-antrim

There are Roman Catholic church records available for the diocese of Antrim (Down and Connor) (Muckamore). These date from 1874 for baptismal records and marriage records. You can find the baptismal records (only) at the National Library of Ireland, Pos. 5472, or the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI), MIC.1D/68. Or you can contact the Ulster Historical Foundation who have both baptismal and marriage records. http://www.ancestryireland.com/guild.php If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for more assistance.

Church of Ireland parish registers for the period up to 1870 are public records. Registers are available for about one third of the parishes, however many were destroyed in the Public Records Office in Dublin in 1922. Most are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. A list of all surviving registers is available in the National Archives. http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.

Prebyterian registers are held in three main locations: in local custody, in the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) and at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Belfast. PRONI has microfilm copies of almost all registers in Northern Ireland and also lists of records held by the Presbyterian Historical Society. For the rest of Ireland, almost all records are in local custody. It can difficult to locate these as many congregations in the South have moved, amalgamated, or simply disappeared over the last sixty years.

You could also try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64). Griffith's is freely available here: www.askaboutireland.com or here: www.failteromhat.com Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at.Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38). Microfilm copies of the books for all of Ireland are available at the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/tithe-applotment-books-and-the-primary-griffith-valuation/ or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS).

Have you tried checking the Ellis Island records (www.ellisisland.org) or the Castle Garden records (www.castlegarden.org)? Generally, more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at, this could be a good place to find more information.

www.proni.gov.uk/ulstercovenant

www.proni.gov.uk/freeholders

www.failteromhat.com

www.antrimhistory.net

www.ulsterancestry.com

Estate records: Landlord: Foster/Massereene: Rentals, 1830, PRONI D/1739, covering areas including Muckamore (Grange of).

Please make sure you link anyone else in your family who is interested in their Irish heritage to our site - and indeed anyone else you know of Irish heritage.

Kind regards,

Sinead Cooney

Genealogist (Ireland XO)