Seeking information on Joseph Moggey or Moggy

Betty,

Belfast includes several different parishes. Most of the city is in Co Antrim so this board is probably as good as any for your post.

I looked for a death of a William Mogey in Belfast in 1867 in the indexes to statutory death records (1864 ? 1874) but didn?t see one listed.

There are 3 William Mogey probate files at PRONI (the public record office) but they are all for the 20^th century.

http://applications.proni.gov.uk/DCAL_PRONI_WillsCalendar/WillsSearchResults.aspx

There are also 3 Wm Mogey burials but again all 20^th century.

http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/community/burialrecords/burialrecords.aspx

Finding Joseph will be tricky. He was born long before birth registration and so you will need to rely on church records. To do that you need to know his denomination and where he was baptised. Some of the baptism records are on-line but many are not. And some have been lost due to enemy bombing in WW2 and other causes. Do you know what denomination he would have been?

Elwyn

Elwyn

Thank you so much for your prompt reply to my query. I checked in the Canadian census for Joseph Moggy and it just gives his birth as Antrim Co. His religion was listed as Presbyterian at that time. In my original post I gave the incorrect year of marriage in Canada. He was married 1846 in Canada. Thanks again.

Betty

Betty,

Yes it will be difficult. There are probably 150 Presbyterian churches in Co Antrim with records back to the 1820s and as many again whose records for that period are lost. Copies of most of the surviving ones are held in PRONI in Belfast but they are not indexed or on-line and so it would just be a question of slogging through them all in the hope of finding Joseph?s baptism. Needle in haystack.

Death registration started in 1864 so you ought to find William?s death (which could narrow the search for William?s baptism) but as I mentioned previously I couldn?t see one listed. So either the death wasn?t registered (not impossible) or he died before 1864.

It?s not a common name. Searching for Moggy(and variant) deaths 1864 to 1880, in the whole of Ireland, I found just 5. All in Co Antrim so at least you know you have the right county. 2 in Larne, 1 in Ballymoney, 1 in Ballycastle and 1 in Belfast. In the absence of any other clues, I?d probably start looking there.

Elwyn

I am interested in Moggys, especially those who went to Ontario; specifically to Manitoulin Island. I think possibly your Joseph may be of this connection. If so his family originated in north Antrim, not in Belfast; probably they departed from Belfast port, so that was what they put on the documents. I can place some at least of the Manitoulin Moggys very definitely in the Presbyterian congreagtion of Toberkeigh. Various townlands there as time went on, but originating in the 18th century in Ballyoglagh. I wil look at my files and reply again if I see a Joseph in the right time frame