BRYSON surname

Jay,

There aren’t very many records for the early 1800s and so further research may prove quite hard going. Do you know what denomination the Bryson family were? Which church did they attend?

What was their townland and occupation(s)?

Elwyn,

I know that the family was Presbyterian, as it is in the records of the Deer Creek Presbyterian Church that I have found many of their early records in West Deer Township, Allegheny County, western Pennsylvania.  Since both John and 2 of his sons had farms, I presume that John was a farmer in Ireland, but I cannot yet be certain of that.  The only geographic reference that I have is in a letter from 1838 in his estate packet.  It is from one James Ferguson, who references his first wife "Jane Ferguson otherwise Bryson" and refers to John as "my late Fatherinlaw John Bryson formerly of Ballywee in Ireland".

So my basis for research is slim.  Does this little bit of information suggest anything to pursue?

Thanks

Jay

Jay,

Yes that information helps a little. Ballywee is the name of a townland in Kilbride parish. (There is another of the same name nearby in Donegore so be careful when checking records that you have the right one). Ballywee is 298 acres of agricultural land. In the 1860s there were about 40 households in it. In the 1901 census there were 38.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Kilbride/Ballym…

The Kilbride Ballywee is near the village of Doagh. It’s between Hollybank Rd and the Ballymena Rd. There were 2 Brison (Bryson) farms there in the tithe applotment records of 1832. You might expect them to be relations of your John. One held by James and another by Robert Brison. The townland name has “McVicker’s land” attached to it which appears to be an alternative name for the place, at that time.

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/tithe-applotments/kilbride-parish.php#.WVH0txR9eg0

There were no Brysons in the townland by 1862 so evidently the 2 there in 1833 had died or moved.

There are a lot of Presbyterian churches in the area. Kilbride, Ballyclare (with 2), Donegore (with 2) plus a couple in Templepatrick. Not all have records for the 1830s and those that do are not on-line. There are copies of the surviving records in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. A personal visit is required to view them.

PRONI also has a lease which could well relate to your John Bryson. It is dated 1st July 1812 and can be found there under ref D509/1811. In the e-catalogue it is described as: “Counterpart lease of 29 acres 2r. 35 per. I.P.M. and of Mill, etc., for 61 years from 1 May 1812 - Rent: £21 2s. p.a. plus fees of Most Hon. George Augustus, Marquess of Donegall to John Bryson, Ballywee, Co. Antrim relating to Ballywee, Co. Antrim.”

This provides the information that John had a farm of just over 29 acres (29 acres, 2 roods and 35 perches to be exact), plus a mill. He leased it from the Marquess of Donegall who was a big landowner in the area. The mill may help identify where the property was.

Looking at Griffiths Valuation there was only 1 mill in Ballywee in 1862. That was on plot 5. So that’s probably the old Bryson property, I would guess. In 1862 the mill was occupied by a John Baird (miller). The mill is shown on Griffiths maps, at the junction of the modern Ballywee Rd and Hollybank Rd. There was a mill pond and other features there, though whether they are still there today, I cannot say. However the location would be easy enough to find.

Being Presbyterian, having a Scottish surname and living in Co Antrim indicates the family originated in Scotland. They probably moved to Co Antrim in the 1600s. Today they are called Ulster-Scots here (Scotch-Irish in North America).

Elwyn,

Thank you so much for the work and the guidance. I won't have time to deal with all of this properly until the weekend, and I will be in touch after that.

Jay

Elwyn,

This is a gold mine, and I cannot thank you enough.

First, I did not know of the irishgenealogyhub web site, and the site which I have been using for the Tithe Applotments does not include the Ulster Counties. So you have directed me not only to the Brisons, but also -- in McVicker's Land -- to the surnames Wilson (John married Margaret Wilson), Barr and Ferguson (there were Pennsylvania marriages between the Bryson family and both of these families).  That by itself is a nice breakthrough.

Then there is the lease.  I have no experience with research in the north of Ireland (thus far, I have been confined to Meath, Cork and Galway). Is the lease available via PRONI's web site, or did that require an on-site visit?  I would love to know what else I can reasonably do online, before visiting Ireland this Autumn. I clearly need to visit PRONI for the church records that you mentioned, and I also need to compile a list of the other things that I could/should be looking for in that visit.

On a somewhat related note, should I also be looking for a sub-lease (perhaps to John Baird), since John Bryson departed with 43 years remaining on his 61-year lease?

Finally (at least for now), I have 2 other questions:

1. Can you suggest a map which would show the townlands in the area? I ask because I would like to look further for the James Ferguson who was John Bryson's son-in-law.

2. I have a second Ulster line, seemingly unrelted to the Brysons, with the surname McCutcheon.  They arrived in the same Allegheny County in Pennsylvania a few years before John Bryson, and based on their local church records were also Presbyterian. Besides the irishgenealogy hub, are there other sites that you might suggest for research?  The John Grenham web site indicates a concentration of the McCutcheon surname in County Down.

Again, my deep thanks for your help.

Jay

The lease isn’t available via the PRONI website. It’s a paper document. You can view it free if you go there in person. Or if you can’t do that, either they or a researcher can copy it for you.  If it’s the typical size of most leases it will be too big to photocopy and so will need scanned or photographed. PRONI will do that for a fee.

John Bryson probably sold his lease on, rather than subletting (though he might have done that if he thought he might return to Ireland) but my guess is that he sold it on.  Whether that documentation survives is just pot luck.

By 1850 Baird was leasing directly from the Marquess of Donegall: D509/3051

“Counterpart renewal of lease for lives of 2 acres 3r. I.P.M. with corn mill etc.-Consideration: £3.6s.5d.-Rent: £1.16s. p.a. plus fees of John Hopton Russell Chichester, Lincoln's Inn and Thomas Verner, Cadogan Place, both Co. Middlesex 1st part and Most Hon. George Hamilton, Marquess of Donegall 2nd part to John Baird, Ballywee, Co. Antrim relating to Ballywee, Co. Antrim”.

D1349/4/8 covers the years 1844 – 1939 and is “John Jackson Baird of Ballywee, Co Antrim. Testamentary papers, title deeds and legal costs. Ballywee, Holestone, Curran, Co Antrim”.

You could search the Registry of Deeds records for Ballywee to see if Bryson ever registered a deed there. He wasn’t obliged to register his leases but many people did. The originals are in the Registry of Deeds in Dublin and PRONI has a duplicate set on microfilm. Search under the townland name as that’s easier than searching peoples names.

The maps attached to Griffiths Valuation show all the townland sin the area. Click on Griffiths places and it’ll take you there.

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

Re McCutcheon, I looked at the 1901 census. There were 663 of them in Ireland then. The 2 main counties were Down with 189 and Tyrone with 182. 82 in Antrim and then others scattered around here and there.  If you are looking at an ancestor who left Ireland in the 1700s or early 1800s, and you don’t know where in Ireland they came from, apart from this overview, then I would say you need to rely on DNA.  The paper records are too incomplete to enable much other research.

Thanks, Elwyn

I will incorporate all of your suggestions into my trip planning, and before then see if I can learn anything additional about the McCutcheons from U.S. records.

Jay