Birth of John Hamilton

Brentj,

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church. The 1833 marriage licence you have found was for the Church of Ireland (ie Anglican). It doesn’t mean the groom was that denomination, just that Hannah was. The record is for the Diocese of Down, Connor & Dromore.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Connor_(Church_of_Ireland)

It’s a large area but doesn’t include Co Tyrone, nor do the records include marriages in other denominations eg Presbyterian. So if your Hamiltons came from Tyrone is it the right couple? The equivalent records for Tyrone haven’t survived but if the marriage wasn’t Church of Ireland, it wouldn’t be recorded there anyway. 

If we accept John’s 1846 information then the place where he came from (Donnymannah) is most probably Dunnamanagh (sometimes Donemana), which is in the parish of Donaghedy, in Co. Tyrone. Local pronunciation would fit all perfectly. I’d expect he knew  where he came from.

Statutory birth registration didn’t start in Ireland till 1864. Prior to that you have to rely on church baptism records. Not all churches have baptism records for the period you need (ie c 1802) and of those that do, not all are on-line.  In fact, most are not.

You haven’t said what denomination your Hamilton family was. If they were Church of Ireland, then the good news is that Donaghedy’s records start in 1697. They are not on-line but there is a copy in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. A personal visit is required to view them. If you are unable to go yourself, you could employ a researcher. Researchers in the PRONI area: http://sgni.net

If the Hamilton family was Presbyterian (which I suspect may have been the case) then there are 4 Presbyterian churches in the area (1st Donagheady, 2nd Donagheady, Donemana & Magheramason) but none has records that go back to the early 1800s. That doesn’t mean they weren’t functioning just that they weren’t keeping any records. That was common at that time.

As far as sorting out the conflicting trees you have encountered, one possibility is that someone has trawled the internet and found events that appear to fit their expectations. Probably from one of the few churches that does have records for the early 1800s. Whereas, if your family come from Donagheady, then unless they were Church of Ireland, no records exist and so the trees may be inaccurate. You may need to decide whether that might be the case here.

Thanks Elwyn

I think it's the right couple.  One of their children has his mother's middle name, Shubridge. The question remains, where are they from? The only reference to Tyrone is that his uncle lived there, so I & others have assumed he came from there, particularly since his age at death per headsone and death cert. is consistent with the Tyrone birth in 1802 I mentioned.  Also 2 of his children are named Charles and Sarah (after his parents?), and one is named William (after his uncle?).  Several of his children were married in Anglican churches in Australia.

I appreciate your response and the clarification of issues.

I guess I'll have to come to Ireland one day and visit PRONI.

Regards

Brent