Alexander Mitchell

Cat,

You don’t say what denomination your ancestor was. If Church of Ireland, the parish has no records before 1871 (earlier records were lost in the 1922 fire). If Presbyterian then the records for Connor Presbyterian church start in 1819 (copy in PRONI, Belfast).

Alexander Mitchell is a fairly common name. Looking at the 1901 census there were 17 of them in Co Antrim alone. So you would really need parents names from a marriage or death cert to be sure of finding the right man.

Hi Cat

This is a baptism record from www.rootsireland.ie/ ; it is the only one from Antrim 1818 + - 5 years

Name:Alexander MitchelDate of Birth:24-Nov-1823
Date of Baptism:28-Nov-1823Address:Artigorran [artigoran]Parish/District:BallymoneyGender:
CountyCo. Antrim
Denomination:Church Of Ireland
Father:John MitchelMother:Hannah /

The only other one is from Down 1822

There were some inaccuracies in the years due to illiteracy & mistranscriptions so don't be too concerned about the year not being exact.

No luck with siblings or the parents' marriage I'm afraid

Col

Thank you very much Col and Elwyn, So near and dear was Alexander's birthplace that he (once in Canada) put Kells, Country Antrim on everything.  It's even on his tombstone.  He was a Presbyterian.  I can find nothing in Canada of a parent of sibling.  

I had a look at the tithe applotment records for Connor parish (which includes Kells) for 1835. There were no Mitchells listed. That doesn’t mean there weren’t any living there just that none had any land. So typically they’d be agricultural labourers and weavers etc.

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/tithe-applotments/connor-parish.php#.V4ZXVjd9eg0

You could try Kells Church of Ireland graveyard for any Mitchell graves. (The Presbyterian churchyard only opened around 1890 and prior to that they used the Church of Ireland graveyard instead. However agricultural labourers were often not wealthy enough to afford gravestones, so may not lead to anything.

Update for you Cat: I had a look at the surviving passenger lists to Quebec and Grosse-Ille quarantine station database from that time period and couldn't find an Alexander Mitchell, or any Mitchell from the right area of Antrim. The databases are extremely limited prior to 1865 though, so this means very little! I can have a look in Connor Presbyterian church records in PRONI for you if you're not able to go yourself--if you're planning a trip over here anyway, you may want to do so yourself for the sake of discovery :) Please let me know. I could also have a look in St Saviour's graveyard for gravestones; if his parents died here, that may help you so I'll send along any likely candidates from the right time. My mother-in-law is a Mitchell from Kells, so I'd be interested to see what this turns up--you could share common ancestors!

Thank  you all for you generous responses.  Perhaps these Mitchell were Church of Ireland at the time.  Who knows?

Whitney, Thank you for your offer, I asscept.  I do think that Alexander's parents died in Ireland, I think he went to Montreal alone.  He joined a Scottish Highlander Dragoon based in Toronto while in his 20's, but there is never any evidence that he arrived with parents.   The fact that he joined a Scottish Highlander group makes me think he was probably Scottish-Irish.  I saw on some Canadian census that he listed his father (not as part of his household) as having been born in Ireland.  He married Sarah Harrison in Toronto, she was from someplace in Monaghan, and her parents came with her.  

Thanks for all the work you all have done thus far.  

Catherine

To Whitney,     I am wondering if you have had any conversation with your mother-in-law?                                               Catherine

Hi Cat, Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you! I had no luck at PRONI with baptism records (as Elwyn says, the earliest ones from the parish are from 1819, but I looked up to 1823 in case the date was wrong or in case he was baptised later). I also checked the graveyard but there are no Mitchells on any legible gravestones--many people couldn't afford gravestones of course, or perhaps they are one of the illegible ones. Next I'm going back to PRONI to check school records. I probably won't find Alexander himself on any National School registers, but I'm hoping to get some Mitchells of the same time that may be siblings or other relatives. I spoke with my mother-in-law about the likely location of their school (most of these schools no longer exist so local knowledge is essential) and we've narrowed it down using records of where more recent family went to school. And yes, the Mitchells in this area are what Americans would call Scots-Irish, or what here is called Ulster Scots (people who settled in Ulster from mainly the lowlands of Scotland during the Plantation of Ulster period, when land was granted to them or their lords). Many of them were Presbyterians who were fed up being persecuted in Scotland, so they chose to settle here for better opportunities and a bit more freedom to practice their religion.

Whitney,        Thank you ever so much.  Alexander moved to Montreal Canada, and married a nice girl by the name of Sarah Harrison.  She wrote in the family Bible that she was born in Monaghan.  Her parents must have taken her to Canada, because they are all buried together.  I know that her father's name is Robert Harrison and that her mother's first name was Isabelle.  Do you have any suggestions on how I might find what parish they were in?   I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the work and searching you are doing on my behalf.  Next July I am leading a pilgrimage to Iona and it is my hope that we will finally make it to Ireland.      Cat

Hi Cat,

Regarding Sarah Harrison and her parents, have you checked for immigration records in Canada's governmental website? http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/P… Or you could try passenger lists, which are sporadic but may help, on this website: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ote/iriship.htm (scroll down halfway on the page; the top half is full of advertisements but it is a free site). The passenger lists are gold because they usually list the specific town people originated from. I looked on all these for Alexander, but no joy!

Whitney