Macguiresbridge

Barbara:

Welcome back!

Here is your message from last July.

http://www.irelandxo.com/ireland/fermanagh/aghalurcher-fermanagh/messag…

Elwyn provided you with a undertaker name and contact who likely can assist with your restoration. Enjoy your trip!

Roger McDonnell

Barbara:

Here is a link which has an e-mail address for the funeral home.

Roger

http://www.iafd.ie/sp/membership/details/165

Thank you for answering my post  I have contacted the funeral home.  Because I plan on visiting in June with my adult children I am doing as much research as I can.  Iam trying to find out wher they lived. I have the Griffiths Valuation of 1862  for Rutherford PORTIS(Porteus) but am unable to find where the property was.  It is in Killashanbally.  And on other documents they are living in GLEDSTOWN at that time. Do you know of Gledstown?  Rutherford C H Porteus was a sadler and harness maker.  Thank you again, Barbara

Barbara:

I will e-mail Elwyn and see if he can assist with the locations.

Roger

Barbara,

Rutherford Portis didn’t live in Killashanbally. He had plot 2 which was 2 roods of land (ie half an acre). No house. He presumably used the land for the usual agricultural purposes. It was tucked away in the corner of the townland, accessed, so far as I can tell, up a lane from the modern Tullyhill Rd.

His house was plot 18 in Gledstown which is part of Maguiresbridge. It was 2 properties along from the police station. He had a house, offices (outbuildings), a yard and garden there. 

Hello Elwyn,  Thank you for the information.  I understand that it is on the other side of the river.  Is the house and outbuildings still there?  Will I be able to find it?       I found Catherine Porteus(Rutherford's spinster daughter) on the 1901 census.  She lived Champerhill, house 12.  Would I beable to find that also.   One more question for now,  are the records for Christ Church on the internet yet?    Thank you again.  I really appreciate your help.   Barbara

Barbara,

It can be very difficult identifying an exact house in an urban situation from the census information or from Griffiths. The census house numbers were the enumerator’s private numbering system and don’t relate to any street number in use today. (There were no house numbers in rural areas in the early 1900s which is why the enumerators invented some for their own purposes). Likewise though there are maps for rural areas showing the Griffiths plot numbers, few exist for towns. Rutherford’s property was evidently a couple of houses along from the police station which was in the Main St. Beyond that I can’t help you. There are certainly properties still standing in the Main St today which were there in 1900 or earlier but I don’t know of an easy way identifying which was his. Same problem with Catherine’s house in Champerhill or Clamperhill. Her house had 2 to 4 rooms and 3 windows at the front. It was thatched then though if it’s still there today it will have a roof of more modern materials.

You could try contacting the Lisnaskea Historical Society to see if they can help you locate the properties using local knowledge. They might also have some old photos of Maguiresbridge which might interest you.

http://www.clogherhistory.ie/Lisnaskea-Historical-Society

Some of the Church of Ireland records are on-line but not all records for all years. You can see what’s on-line on this site:

http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/fermanagh/church.htm

I see Rutherford’s burial listed there in 1867, and against his address of Maguiresbridge, it has the additional information “lately of Limerick.”

The Church of Ireland is slowly putting all its records on-line but it looks to be a 20 year project. In the meantime you can view their records free in PRONI (the public record Office) in Belfast. A personal visit is required to view them. This is what they have for Christ’s Church:

Baptisms, 1840-1921; marriages, 1842-5 and 1882; burials, 1842-95; vestry minutes, 1870-1911.

You can also contact the Rector to see the church records. The Rectory, 15 Drumgoon Road, Maguiresbridge, BT94 4PB, Co Fermanagh. However be aware that the Church of Ireland charges for access to its records. So expect to pay. (I think it’s something like £19 an hour if the Rector agrees to search himself/herself and £12 if you do it). Whereas the same records in PRONI are free to access and you don’t need an appointment.

Thank you Elwyn for all the information.  I have followed up on some things and haven't had much luck.  I sent an e-mail to the Lisnaskea Historical Society asking for information and have received no reply.  I also sent an e-mail to the Reverend at St. Molaise church in Monea. I asked about visiting the church and looking at records.  I also did not receive a reply.

I am wondering if you can direct me to a local genealogist to help me along with my search.  I am now directing my search to the Devenish Parish.  According to family records, Rutherford was born(1787) in or near to Monea Castle.  There were lots of Porteus families in that area before the 1800s.  Rutherford's father (name unknowed)was buried in the family vault.  I just assumed in it was St. Molaise because Rutherford belonged to the Church of Ireland in Maguiresbridge.  I did purchase the CD of burials of Fermanagh Co. and only found a record for 2 Porteuses on the entire CD.

I am interested in books for purchase about Fermanaugh and the Parishes.  I have copies of some pages of the History of Fermanaugh by Rev.Wm. Steele.  Is that book still available?  Any others?  Any help would be appreciated.

Barbara
 

Barbara,

The Lisnaskea Historical Society is run by volunteers and they get a lot of enquiries. It can sometimes be a while before you get a reply. However I do know someone within that society and I’ll see if she can assist you.

The Church is in a similar position. Many churches here receive far more genealogical enquiries than they can cope with. Some are better resourced to deal with them than others. Some will reply in due course and some won’t. The normal explanation is that their priority is to their living parishioners, not the dead ones.  That’s life (or death in this case), I suppose.

I’ll ask my contact in Lisnaskea Historical Society if she can recommend a researcher locally. I do know that there is a local genealogical enquiry service at Enniskillen Castle on certain days of the week. See:

http://www.enniskillencastle.co.uk/explore-more/fermanagh-genealogy-centre/

Regarding books to purchase, it’s difficult for me to recommend anything without knowing quite what you want. However for a good description of life in the area in the 1830s, you could read the Ordnance Survey memoirs. These were compiled on the instructions of the Duke of Wellington (then Prime Minister) primarily for taxation purposes. So a bit like the Doomsday Book. They were compiled parish by parish, and describe the inhabitants, their occupations, pastimes, habits, they analyse the various different denominations by number, and report on health, schooling, seasonal migration patterns as well as migration patterns. And so on. A typical parish contains about 20 to 30 pages of information and some drawings. They are well worth reading if you want to get a feel for life in Aghalurcher or adjacent parishes at that time. (It’s probably the most detailed contemporaneous summary that exists from that period).

There should be a copy of the Fermanagh memoirs on the bookshelves in PRONI’s main research room in Belfast. Enniskillen library (local studies section) may also have a copy. I would also recommend you visit that library for other local books. They may well have a copy of Rev Steele’s book too. I doubt it is still in print.

Barbara,

I have been in touch with Linda Swindle, the chair of Lisnaskea Historical Society.  She says she is not aware of receiving an e-mail from you. So perhaps it went astray.

Linda knows of just one Porteous family in the area today. I won’t give the details here because the family are obviously alive and it’s not our policy to give out details of living people on an open forum.  However if you contact Linda she may be able to help. She may also be able to meet you, though she is not available on 8th June. She lives in Maguiresbridge and was born and brought up in the area.

lindasw@btinternet.com