McKeag and Montgomery in Comber, Down 1820 - 1850

What townlands (addresses) are given for the couple on the marriage certificate? What were the father’s occupations (as per the marriage cert)? What was John’s occupation? Which church did they marry at? That information may enable me to locate the families in Griffiths Valuation.

The marriage took place on 22nd July 1845. John is in the in indexes as McKeay. Presumably a typo. I assume you have a copy of the cert but if not, you can view the original on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option:

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2 (sterling) to a view a certificate.

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church which should be on the certificate, (unless it was a Registry Office marriage). That church may be the place to look for her baptism and that of any siblings.

Appreciate your reply Elwyn. The following may be of help.

I have the marriage certificate, as copied from the Mormon Library, Belfast,  on 30 January 1997. Index details: 1845, Vol No 9, Page 9.  The relevant details on the certificate are:

Date of marriage: 22 July 1845

Parish Church in the Parish of Comber in the County of Down accoding to the United Church of England and Ireland by R  A Parke.

Groom: John McKaig, 21, Bachelor, Labourer, resident at Comber. Father: James McKaig, Bleacher.

Bride: Agnes Montgomery, 21, Spinster, no occupation, resident at Comber. Father: Robert Montgomery, labourer.

Witnesses: John Montgomery and Thomas McMeekin.

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church so that may be where you will find Agnes’s baptism. There’s a copy of Comber Church of Ireland records in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. This is what they have:

Baptisms, 1683-1910; marriages, 1683-1913; burials, 1683-1927 vestry minutes, 1700-1914, which include a list of churchwardens, 1797-1834, and poor lists, c.1799-c.1834.

Extracts from Comber parish registers, 1712-1840.

The records are not on-line and a personal visit is required to view them.

John might also have been Church of Ireland, in which case you might find his baptism there too. But he could also have been of another denomination. (For example, there are a lot of Presbyterians in Co. Down).

Occupations such as bleachers and labourers make people tricky to trace. They tend to move around a lot, following the work and don’t often appear in street directories or in the land records. I had a look for James McKaig in Griffiths Valuation (1863) but he was not listed in Comber. There is 1 entry for Robert Montgomery in Griffiths. He had plot 41 in The Crescent, Comber. That was a house, outbuildings, yard and small garden. The sort of property that a labourer might have rented. However there’s no way of telling from Griffiths whether it was Agnes’s family.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

According to the revaluation records, he moved from that property in 1874. However whether that was because he died or had just moved, I don’t know. At the same time, an Eliza J. Montgomery appeared on plot 42.  When women are listed in Griffiths they are usually widows, so I don’t know if this was Robert’s widow who moved to the hosue next door for some reason. Or it could just be a coincidence.

http://apps.proni.gov.uk/Val12B/ImageResult.aspx

Church records are probably your best line of enquiry for these 2 families.

Hi,
I'd be interested to know if this couple is related to my Great Great Grandfather William McKeag who married an Annie in 1877. They had a child (one of six) called Agnes Montgomery which has thrown me a little but wondered if she was maybe named after a relative. Agnes was born in Houghton-le-spring in 1880.

Judray,
On further research, I've discovered this couple is related to my GG grandfather. If you could give me any further information, I'd be very grateful.

Kitty

The McKeag name has me confused. I know very little. My records suggest we may be talking about the same people. On Family Search William McKeag is listed as being born at Moorsley, Durham, England c. 1850 and married to both Ann and Annie McKeag.

By Annie he had six children but no Agnes Montgomery. By Ann he had three children, again no Agnes Montgomery. Joseph and Beatrice appear with the same birth year in both marriages however a Harriet born 1878 was delivered to Ann whereas Annie had a Margaret in that year. Could Harriet and Margaret be the same child with one of the names a pet name used by the family?

Could the two families be he one family and the mothers name not resolved (Ann or Annie)?

Should you have better records you could try mailing me at judray@iinet.net.au so that we can confer privately.