Mullaghbrack

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Richard,

If you have the marriage certificates for Robert to Mary Jane Clements, and John to Elizabeth Waggott, they should both give you the grooms fathers name and occupation. If the marriage was in Armagh, the groom?s townland may also tie in with the revision records. I would expect it to be Drumfergus.qw

Similarly, the 1885 death certificate should contain Wm Alexander?s townland and occupation. The informant may also be a useful clue. If it?s the right man, it will also tell you whether his wife pre-deceased him or not, which will help you focus on her dates.

John & Robert were born before the start of statutory birth registration (1864), and so you won?t get parents names from birth certificates. However you may get the information from church baptism records. The 1901 census indicates the family were Church of Ireland. Mullabrack COI baptisms start in 1764. There?s a copy in PRONI, Belfast and they also have  a document entitled ?notes on families in Mullaghbrack parish 1847 ? 51? which might be helpful. The baptisms are not on-line anywhere so far as I can tell. So a visit to PRONI or to the church is probably called for to access them. (If you visit the church, be aware that the COI charges ?12 an hour for viewing them. PRONI?s set is free to access).

I see that the farm in Drumfergus passed from William Alexander to Robert Spence in 1877. That?s quite unusual if Wm A didn?t die till 1885. Usually it stayed in the father?s name till his death. But as I say, the death certificate should clarify that for you.

Couple of Probate abstracts for you (I presume you already have Robert?s):

Spence Mary Jane of Drumfergus county Armagh married woman died 11 March 1923 Probate Belfast 24 April to David A. Greer farmer. Effects ?207 16s. 6d.

Spence Robert of Drumfergus county Armagh farmer died 10 May 1935 Probate Belfast 4 September to Jackson Pillow farmer and justice of the peace. Effects ?200 18s. 9d.

Both files should be held by PRONI in Belfast.

The tithe applotment records in PRONI should tell you who was on the Drumfergus farm in the 1820s/1830s.

Bear in mind that Drumfergus is not very big (82 acres). In the 1901 census, there were only 4 households there, so if the marriage, death certificates and baptism records all tie into that townland, then you can be pretty sure it?s the same Spence family.

Elwyn

Elwyn,

Thank you for your incredibly fast, comprehensive and helpful response. It's appreciated and I shall follow up on your suggestions.

Many thanks,

Richard