Ancestors who operated Corn Mill in Moneymore

You don’t say what denomination the Workman family were but looking at the 1901 census, the majority in Ireland were Presbyterian, so I’ll assume that. There are 2 Presbyterian churches in Moneymore but unfortunately neither has nay records earlier than 1827, so tracing Benjamin’s family won’t be possible from those church records. Brookend is in Arboe parish. Ballygoney looks to be the nearest Presbyterian church. Again it has no records before the 1840s.

There are very few comprehensive sources in Ireland in the late 1600s and early 1700s and so tracing Benjamin senior’s family will be tricky. PRONI might have records of the family. Or perhaps they are in Blackwood’s pedigrees. Otherwise I would struggle to suggest where you might find this information.

You could try the Registry of Deeds (records start 1708) to see if the family registered any leases or other deeds eg a marriage settlement there. A 3 lives lease or a marriage settlement might throw up some new family.

You are right about denomination being Presbyterian. My info says William was buried in Ballinderry churchyard. Do these ancient cemeteries still exist or are they pretty much grown over?
Tombstones would not likely be legible as I know my Great great grandfathers is pretty faded.
Thinking ahead to an Ireland vacation to walk the family origins.

Is there online access to the registry of deeds, and if so do you have a link?

I have found several leaves but tying them back into a coherent tree is a challenge.
My sources author only documented his determinate line often overlooking siblings which may be relevant to me.

Thanks again for your help.
Bob

Bob,

Yes Ballinderry graveyard exists. I don’t know what condition the older gravestones are in but the Ulster Historical Foundation has transcribed them, and 3 Workman gravestones are listed for that graveyard. It’s a pay to view site: https://www.ancestryireland.com

The church and graveyard are on Brookmount Road about 5 miles east of Moneymore, on the road to the Loup and Ballyronan.

Though your ancestor was a Presbyterian it was common for them to be buried in a Church of Ireland graveyard. Many Presbyterian churches didn’t have graveyards and so they just used the Church of Ireland (which is open to all denominations).

The Registry of Deeds is not on-line. There is a project to put its records on-line and a small percentage are now on-line (I think about 5%). You can search them here: http://irishdeedsindex.net/index.html

There are Workman deeds listed there but I don’t see any for Tyrone or Derry. Possibly they haven’t started on those counties yet. The originals are in Dublin and PRONI have copies on microfilm. There’s a complex index system and you may need to get the staff to help you with them. You can search by surname or by townland. Townland is usually easier if you know it.  Allow a fair bit of time if you intend to search for say 100 years.

The main documents in there are leases, marriage settlements and some wills. With a lease you sometimes get details of relatives, and obviously if you get a marriage settlement that’s a real winner. Presbyterians were a bit sceptical about using the Registry of Deeds (there was a fee involved) but since there are 2 parties to most agreements you might find the other side registered it.

Brookend is a townland in the barony of Dungannon Upper. Moneymore is in Loughinsholin. (You’ll find that some of the records are filed by barony, so you need to know which one).