Searching for John McClelland

Hi Gary,

Thank you very much for your message. I hope that someone recognises the family and helps you to further your research.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information without a more specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

Do you have any documentation pertaining to the family that mentions any place names in Armagh at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records,census records, letters, diary entries etc.

There are some places where you can search online, however it may be difficult to discern whether the results are relevant to your family or not without more information:

www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.

www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site. Here is a link that shows what church records they have available:

http://armagh.rootsireland.ie/generic.php?filename=sources.tpl

Have you tried looking into his emigration? Sometimes more infomation can be found at the port of arrival rather than that of departure. You may be lucky and find a place name here. For information on Canadian immigration records check http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html

Some other websites that may be helpful are:

The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm

Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm

Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/armagh/index.html

From Ireland: www.from-ireland.net

Remember to post any new information that you find here. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

Unfortunately no other information is available.  It wasn't until about 1865 that ships arriving in Canada had to maintain any records.  As for land petitions in Canada, my gg grandfather purchased the land outright from another owner, so no applications were made for land.  My only hope would be that he followed tradition and named his first born son after his father, which would be Samuel McClelland.