James Lindesday/Lindsay, born Gortagowan abt 1835

Griffiths Valuation lists John Lindsay in Gortagowan in 1859. He had an agricultural labourers cottage (plot 2c) on John McKeever’s farm. That is on the modern A29 Dungannon Rd at the point where the Killygarvan Rd joins it. It’d be surprising if the cottage was still standing but easy enough to locate the site.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

The revaluation records show that James Lindsay left the property between 1860 and 1863 and was replaced by Jane Purvis. Jas Lindsay is not listed in Gortagowan after that. Since son William James was evidently born there in 1867, it looks as though the Lindsay family were lodging with some other family in the townland.  That makes them hard to trace.

The Menary family are not listed in Gortagowan in 1859 or in the next 10 years. They either didn’t stay long enough to get recorded in Griffiths or they too were lodging with someone else.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

The Belfast Workhouse admission records are held in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. They are not on-line but can be accessed free if you or a researcher makes a personal visit. Or you could ask them to search for you (for a fee).  You might want to look them up to see if you can get any more information. Don’t expect too much from the admission records. It’s fairly basic information. The format varies slightly according to when the records were compiled but, in 1904, you could expect to see:

1. Admission number
2. Date of admission
3. If previously relieved, reference to last register number
4. Name of Inmate
5. Residence previous to admission
6. Sex
7. Age
8. If adult, whether single, widower or widow; if child whether orphan, deserted, legitimate or illegitimate
9. Employment or calling
10. Religious denomination
11. Whether disabled and description of disability
12. Name of spouse
13. Number of children (which appears to be the number of dependent children, as opposed to the total number of children the person has ever had).
14. Observations of inmate when admitted eg “Casual & clean” or “To the infirmary”
15. Date of discharge or death

In general, you were admitted to the workhouse in the Poor Law Union where you resided. So, if this is you Rose Ann, how and why did Rose Ann get from the Cookstown PLU to Belfast, some 60 miles away? The admission records might just help clarify whether this is your Rose Ann or not.