Parishes for Ballymena

Statutory registration of births & deaths did not start in Ireland till 1864, and statutory registration of non RC marriages did not start till April 1845. The children?s births and John & Catherine?s marriage all pre-date that. Therefore you won?t find birth or marriage certificates in Ireland for any of them.

You might find the children?s baptisms and the parents marriage in church records but to do that you need to know what their denomination was and where they lived or went to church. Do you know anything about John or Catherine?s denomination? Scott is a very common surname. In the 1901 census for Ballymena, there were 48, the majority of whom were Presbyterian. So statistically that?s what I?d expect her to be. But there were some Church of Ireland too. Tradition was to marry in the bride?s church, after which she?d attend her husband?s, so it does not always follow that the subsequent baptisms of children will be in the same church as the marriage. If John Linn was born in Scotland then, again statistically, he was probably Presbyterian too (in Scotland, that?s Church of Scotland).

Your one firm piece of information is that Agnes Lynn/Linn was born in Ballymena in 1839. I?d therefore start by looking for her baptism, in the records of the Presbyterian churches in Ballymena. (There are 6 in the town itself, though they don?t all have records that go back to the 1830s). If you don?t find her there it?d be worth checking the Church of Ireland records for Ballymena (Kirkinriola parish) just in case the family were of that denomination. After that you might want to widen the search to churches near Ballymena (Unfortunately that?s quite a lot of churches).

Presbyterians in Ireland don?t use the parish system. Which church you attend is therefore a matter of personal preference and is not always the nearest to where you live. That makes tracking baptism and marriage records tricky, especially in an area like Ballymena which is awash with Presbyterian churches. (There are about 20 within 5 or 6 miles of the town).

I looked for a death of an Archibald Scott in the Ballymena area 1864 ? 1901 but none is listed. So either he died before 1864 or he died elsewhere. There are several deaths in the Ballymoney area. No Marion/Marianne Scott deaths in Ballymena either.

Few of the church records you need are on-line. However copies of most surviving church records for that area are held in PRONI, Belfast. I would suggest that when you get to Ireland, you start by spending a day or two going through them. You can look at the PRONI catalogue on this link:

http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/research_and_records_held/catalogues_guides_indexes_and_leaflets/online_guides_and_indexes.htm

You can have a look at the gravestones in the Ballymena area on this link. (There is at least one Archibald Scott listed). Bear in mind that only about 10% of the population could afford a gravestone so the majority of burials have no stone. Few cemeteries have burial records for the 1800s, and Presbyterian churches generally didn?t keep death/burial records either, so no help there.

http://www.thebraid.com/genealogy.aspx

Elwyn

Thank you for your response to my query.  Sorry I didn't explain that the family was Presbyterian.  Could you provide me the names of the six Presbyterian churches in Ballymena and what I should do next?  It could be a solid start to finding them in Ireland.

Ballymoney area could also be an area to look into. I know that there are John Lynn's listed there in Griffith validation.  Could you explain to me what Upper Carnary and Dunluce means?  This might be another area to check on if I understood it better.

As for PRONI, I always have difficulty finding anything on the website.  Are there records online or do we need to research while in Belfast?

Thanks for your help and quick reply!

Cindy

Cindy,

None of the church records held at PRONI are on-line. Their catalogue is on-line so you can see what churches they have and what years, but the records themselves are not on-line. They are on microfilm or, in some cases, paper format, and you need to go and browse them yourself (or employ a researcher).

This is what PRONI has for Ballymena Presbyterian Churches:

P. 1st Ballymena Baptisms, 1812-1938; marriages, 1812-1906; session minutes, 1812-1925, with gaps.

P. 2nd Ballymena (High Kirk) Baptisms, 1813-1941; marriages, 1845-1936.

P. Wellington Street, Ballymena Baptisms, 1863-1962; marriages, 1864-1920; minute books, 1862-93.

P. West Church, Ballymena Baptisms, 1829-1945; marriages, 1830-32 and 1845- 1903.

N.S.P. Ballymena or Kirkinriola Marriages, 1849-63.

P means Presbyterian and NSP is non subscribing Presbyterian. There is also a Reformed Presbyterian Church (aka Covenanter) but they don?t have any records for the 1800s.

The staff in PRONI will show you where the records are kept, and how to operate a microfilm reader. You then scroll through the films which are copies of the registers, page by page, till you find something you are interested in. You can then either transcribe the entry, or take a photocopy (30p a page).

Carnany Upper is a townland; Dunluce Upper is the barony that it is situated in. Carnany Upper consists of 187 acres of mostly agricultural land. It is just to the east of Ballymoney. The modern Frosses and Landhead Rds both run through it.

The smallest unit of land in Ireland is a townland. (There?s no not necessarily a town in a townland and in the case of Carnany Upper there isn?t. There?s a Carnany Lower too, so you need the Upper to distinguish the two).

Groups of townlands forma parish; groups of parishes form a barony. That?s roughly how it works.

In 1901 there were 9 households in Carnany Upper (no Linns by then).

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Enagh/Carnany_Upper/

Griffiths tells me that in 1861 John Lynn had a farmhouse, outbuildings and just under 45 acres (making it a prosperous sized farm for the area). In 1864 the tenant changed to Walter Lynn. (Probably passed from father to son on the father's death). He left in 1895 and James Torrens acquired the farm. (Source is the revaluation records):

http://applications.proni.gov.uk/dcal_proni_val12b/RelatedVolume.aspx?3414

Dorothy Arthur has published several books on graveyards, listing all the inscriptions, in the Ballymoney area. I should think there are copies in Ballymoney library and/or in Ballymena library local studies section. You might find them helpful.

Elwyn

Hi Elwyn,

Thank you so much for the information and your time.  You have provided me with good leads to continue my research. If I discover any other documents or information and need further help, I'll check back.  Looking forward to investigating this site further.

Your kindness is greatly appreciated!

Cindy