John William Seawright 1837-1901

The 1831 census lists an Andrew Seright in Ballymacombs, also Martin, John & Robert:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinshollon/Ballyscullion/Ballymacombs/107/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinshollon/Ballyscullion/Ballymacombs/111/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinshollon/Ballyscullion/Ballymacombs/112/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinsho…

John’s household consisted of 4 males and 3 females and all were Church of Ireland. As were Robert’s household. Ballyscullion Church of Ireland’s early records were all destroyed in the 1922 fire so tracing the family back via church records isn’t going to be possible.

Andrew & Martin were Presbyterian. They probably attended Bellaghy Presbyterian. It has no baptism records before 1862. (The original church was burned in the 1798 uprising and the Minister had to flee to America. His successor didn’t keep any records.) So again tracing those families may be challenging.

The 4 homes were all close together so you would expect them to be related.

John William Seawright would only have been 17 in 1831 so was most unlikely to have his own household. So I’d have expected him to be living in one of the 4 houses listed in the census. There was no David Seawright as head of household in Ballymacombs in 1831. However there was one in the tithe applotment records for 1828 (so did he die between 1828 & 1831?):

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/tithe-applotments/ballyscullion-parish.php

Andrew looks to have died in 1878 aged 74. Can’t see likely deaths for the others. Death registration didn’t start till 1864 so if they died before that there may not be a written record. There might be gravestones though.

PRONI has John Sewright’s will dated 17th Aug 1850. D300/1/5/237 Might be worth getting? (It’s not on-line so you need to get someone to go there and look it up or pay PRONI to copy it).

The Strafford Estate papers are in PRONI D1062/1. They make reference to Ballymacombs. Might be worth looking at them too.

Researching in Ireland in the 1700s and early 1800s can be difficult due to the lack of records.

Not sure if you saw the marriage details for John:

He married Ellen Snipe on 16 Oct 1857 in the Presbyterian Church in the parish of First Kilrea, Co. Derry/Londonderry. John, a farmer, was a minor at the time of the marriage. He lived at Ballymacomb; Ellen at Moyknock. John's father was Wm., Ellen's was John Snipe. Both men were farmers. Witnesses: Stuart Lindsay and Joseph Snipe.--rootsireland.ie

Attached Files

Dear Elwyn and Patricia

Thank you for your prompt responses and the information you have provided. 

I have since found a detailed family tree put together by David Bradley on Ancestry and very generously made accessible to anyone. I have used this to put together a part tree that shows Mary Anne Beath was not David Seawright's mother but rather a distant cousin.

This document has also been very useful: https://cerberuscoins.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/seawrights-of-county-lon…

A few more questions:

David's tree has 1831 as the date of death of several people. Was there some sort of epidemic in N Ireland at the time? I have found a cholera outbreak in England but as yet nothing to suggest it spread to Ireland

Is Ballymacombs the same place as Bellaghy for the purposes of birth and other records?

Thanks for the link to the 1831 census. It seems as though the Seawrights lived in the town and not on farms. Is this correct, and the farmlands were outside the village? 

The Tithe Applotment Books: did the Church own all the land, or did the farmers own the land and pay an allotment to the church?

What sort of farming would the Seawrights have done? I see there are peat bogs near Ballymacombs. Or would they have been agricultural farmers? Can you point me to any articles that might describe the sort of life these families led?

Thanks very much.

Col

 

 

 

 

Col,

Not aware of any epidemic in 1831. 

Ballymacombs is not the same place as Bellaghy. It’s about 2 to 3 miles east of Bellaghy.  Ballymacombs is split into two townlands - Ballymacombs Beg and Ballymacombs More.  Beg & More in Irish (gaelic) mean little and big.

Looking at Griffiths Valuation (1859), the Seawrights were in Ballymacombs More.  John, Martin & Andrew jointly farmed plot 25, along with a couple of Dixons. Total size was 111 acres. The area where their farm is was known as Sewright Hill so they left their mark on the area geographically anyway. The farm today is down a lane off the Newferry Rd, near Strain Engineering. 

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

Population of Ballymacombs More in 1901 was 197 in 52 houses. 1 Seewright family:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Bellaghy/Ballymacombs_More/1541060/

Bellaghy is the nearest town/village to Ballymacombs and would be where the family went to church or register a birth etc. They didn’t live in the town. They lived in a rural agricultural area beside the land they worked.

The Seawrights didn’t own their land. They rented from the Earl of Strafford, who owned their land, (which is why I mentioned the Strafford estate papers in PRONI as a possible source for you. Those may contain details of their tenants over the years). The tithes were a tax levied on most land by the Church of Ireland which was the established (ie state) church. The tithe system was replicated in England and across most of Europe too, sometimes by the Catholic church and sometimes by a Protestant church depending on the country involved. You were supposed to pay 10% of your income to the church. Originally in kind ie a tenth of your crops but by the 1820s it had been converted to a cash equivalent. It was calculated on the basis of the size and quality of your land. Obviously not a popular tax, especially if you weren’t a member of the state church, as in your family’s case for example where some were Presbyterian and not Church of Ireland. The tithes were one of many factors which caused huge public resentment in Ireland in the 1800s. They were abolished in the 1860s. Church owned land was exempt from tithes, and those who didn’t have any land didn’t have to pay anything either.

The Seawrights would typically have grown potatoes, barley, oats and flax. (Flax is the raw ingredient for linen, which Ireland mad e a lot of at that time). They would have had a few animals too. If you look at the additional pages for the 1901 census you will see that the farmhouse then had 2 rooms and 2 windows at the front. The roof would have been thatched likely with reeds taken from the River Bann which is close by. The enumerator rated it a 3rd class building. The census tells us there were some outbuildings ie a stable, a coach house, a cow house, a calf house, a piggery, a fowl house and a barn. They would have cooked and heated the house with turf (peat) which was available nearby in large quantities.

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 Domesday 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 permanent migration (often with lists of names of recent migrants). 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 there at that time. (It’s probably the most detailed contemporaneous summary that exists from that period).

There are copies on the bookshelves in PRONI’s main research room in Belfast. You can order a copy from the Ulster Historical Foundation. If you e-mail them with details of the parish(es) you are interested in, - Ballyscullion in Co. Derry in this case - they’ll send you the relevant volume(s). Generally there are 3 or 4 adjacent parishes in each volume. I think they are between £5 and £10 (sterling) per volume depending whether it’s old stock or newer reprints.

https://www.booksireland.org.uk 

Derry Journal of 4th August 1873 has the marriage on 31st July 1873 at Bellaghy Presbyterian church between John Adams of Moyagney to Mary Anne, only daughter of Andrew Sewright of Ballymacombs and niece to James MacMillan, Cookstown.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1873/11277/8136666.pdf

This looks to be the widowed Mary Ann, in Ballymacombs More, in the 1901 census:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Bellaghy/Ballymacombs_More/1541086/

There looks to have been at least 9 children. In addition to the ones in the census, I can see Samuel born 29.4.1878, William 2.1.1884 & Mary 29.6.1894.

Dear Elwyn,

Thank you so much for all of this information. I will follow  up your suggestions.
Much appreciated

Col

Attached Files

Hello Col,

This reply is a confirmation of much of the information that Patricia and Elwyn have kindly provided. As you’ll also see this reply includes attachments of several primary source records, such as marriage records, birth records, death records, and property tax records and maps pertaining to the Seawright and Snipe families.

Civil registration began in Ireland on 1 April 1845. But at this time only Protestant marriages and civil marriages were recorded by the government.

Civil Registration of births, marriages, and death for all religious denominations were recorded by the Irish government in 1864.

The free irishgenealogy.ie website has civil births, marriages, and death online. Birth records are available at irishgenealogy from 1864 to 1920. Protestant marriages are available from 1845 to 1945. Catholic marriages are available from 1864 to 1945.

Copies of original death records however are online from 1871 to 1970. Death indexes at irishgenealogy.ie can be accessed from the year 1864. Full death records from 1864 to 1870 at irishgenenalogy.ie will be available sometime in the future.

From the 1831 census records that Elwyn provided in his reply, you saw that members of the Seright households belonged either to the Church of Ireland or the Presbyterian Church, both of which are Protestant denominations.

In her reply Patricia noted that John and Ellen were married in the First Kilrea Presbyterian Church in 1857.

I looked for John and Ellen’s marriage at irishgenealogy.ie but didn’t find it initially. I looked under variations of the Seawright surname: Seright, Sewright, Seawright, Searight, etc, and Knipes, etc, but without success.

I knew from previous experience that the FamilySearch website has a very good collection of Irish civil registration indexes of births, marriages, and deaths. The homepage for FamilySearch can be found at: https://www.familysearch.org/en/

To look for records to you to first register. Registration is free.

I looked for John and Ellen’s marriage index at FamilySearch and found it. The index shows that John “Seeright” and Ellen “Snype,” were married in the Kilrea Civil Parish, County Londonderry, on 16 October 1857, which agrees with Patricia’s information. But unlike the information from Patricia, the index doesn’t record if this was a marriage in the Church or Ireland, the Presbyterian Church, or another Protestant denomination.

The FamilySearch marriage index is below:

Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898

Name John Seeright
Sex Male
Marital Status Single
Father's Name William Seeright
Father's Sex Male
Spouse's Name Ellen Snype
Spouse's Sex Female
Spouse's Marital Status Single
Spouse's Father's Name John Snype
Spouse's Father's Sex Male
Marriage Date 16 Oct 1857
Marriage Place Kilrea, County Londonderry, Ireland
Marriage Place (Original) Kilrea, Derry, Ireland
Source Details 259

Cite This Record
"Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGCD-3J3 : 6 February 2020), Ellen Snype in entry for John Seeright, 1857.
____

With the index from FamilySearch I went back to the irishgenealogy.ie website and located a copy of the original marriage record, which is attached to this reply.

The record shows the marriage took place in the Kilrea First Presbyterian Church.

At the time of the marriage John Seeright was a farmer. His residence was Ballymacombs. His father is William Seeright, also a farmer.

No occupation is recorded for Ellen Snype. Her residence at the time of marriage was Mayknock, which, as Patricia mentioned, is actually the town of Moyknock. Patricia also mentioned that Ellen’s father was John “Snipe.”

When you access the attached marriage record, you’ll see that Ellen’s maiden name is spelled two different ways—"Snype,” and “Snipe.”

The name of the Presbyterian minister who performed the marriage was G. Masewell Rodgers. The witnesses to the marriage were Stewart Lindsay and Joseph Snipe. Joseph may have been Ellen’s brother.

Your information shows that John’s father was John William Seawright. But in the marriage record John’s father’s first name is William. There is the possibility that the father went by his middle name William instead of John.

According to a Wikipedia submission, the First Kilrea Presbyterian Church was opened in 1839, but the church had originally been located in Moykock, where Ellen was from. The church in Moyknock however, burnt down in 1642. See the Wikipedia submission as well as a photo of the First Kilrea Presbyterian Church at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Kilrea_Presbyterian_Church

You can see the location of the First Presbyterian Church in Kilrea on a Google Map at: https://tinyurl.com/n4rrvmnz

For a Google Street View of the church and cemetery, see: https://tinyurl.com/2fxske

The Kilrea First Presbyterian Church may have also been where Ellen was baptized and also where her parents married. To see how far back in time the registers of baptism and marriages exist for the church, I went to the online, “A Guide To Church Records,” from the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), which can be accessed from:
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/proni-guide-church-records

The PRONI Guide shows that the Kilrea First Presbyterian Church baptisms are extent for the years 1825-59 and 1862-70; and marriages from 1825-99. These records are on microfilm number MIC1P/87. See the alphabetical listing of churches at:
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/sites/default/files/d7_files/publications/G…

There should be a Kilrea First Presbyterian Church marriage record for John and Ellen, as the year 1857 is covered in the marriage registers noted above.

The marriage record for John and Ellen shows that John was a “minor” when he married, which means he was under 21 years of age. Ellen was of “full” age when she married. If Ellen was anywhere from 21 to 32 years old, there may be a Kilrea First Presbyterian Church baptism record for her if she had been baptized in the church.

You would either have to visit PRONI in Belfast to search the registers of the Kilrea First Presbyterian Church, or engage PRONI’s fee paying service to have staff look for baptism and marriage records. For more information about the fee-paying service and PRONI’s enquiry service, go to: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/proni-enquiry-service

The website RootsIreland also has Kilrea First Presbyterian (as well as Kilrea Second Presbyterian registers) that you can access. The Kilrea First Presbyterian Church baptisms cover the years 1824 to 1859 and marriages from 1825 to 1936.

The Kilreas Second Presbyterian Church records of baptism span the years from 1840 to 1885, and marriages from 1845 to 1929.

You would have to have one of four subscription packages to obtain the church records. There are subscriptions for a day, a month, six months, and a year. For more information about subscription packages, see: https://rootsireland.ie/ifhf/subscribe.php

The RootsIreland homepage can be found at: https://www.rootsireland.ie/

Records from RootsIreland are not copies of original records, but transcriptions.

In the long run the least expensive and quickest way of obtaining records for the Kilrea First Presbyterian church, may be to tie into one the subscriptions to RootsIreland. Even with a one day subscription you can access a lot record records for County Derry and the other 31 counties of Ireland as well. See the coverage map at: https://www.rootsireland.ie/map/

FAMILY SEARCH CIVIL REGISTRATION BIRTH RECORDS

Back at the FamilySearch website I located the civil birth record indexes for seven children of John and Ellen Seawright. With these birth indexes I would later be able to access copies of the original birth records at the irishgenealogy.ie website without having to do a great deal of hit-and-miss research.

The names and years of birth of the children from the FamilySearch indexes are:

Robert Seawright, 1865
Ellen Seawright, 1866
Eliza Sewright, 1868
Joseph Sewright, 1869
Catharine Seawright, 1871
Ann Sewight, 1875
Sarah Ellen Sewright, 1877
____

I suspect that John and Ellen Snipe also had children between the year of their marriage in 1857 and the year that their son Robert was born in 1865. There will not be civil records of the births of any children they had prior to 1864, as births weren’t recorded by the government until 1864.

For children born from 1858 to 1863 I would have to see if there are any baptism records for them. Because John and Ellen were married in the Presbyterian Church, the baptisms of their children may have also taken place in a Presbyterian Church. I’ll have more on this later.

Below are the civil registration birth indexes uncovered at FamilySearch. You’ll see the birthplace of the children is recorded as either Magherafelt, or Ballyscullion, Magherafelt, or Ballymacombs, Ballyscullion, Magherafelt.

Ballymacombs refers to the actual townland of birth. Ballyscullion refers to the Civil Parish where Ballymacombs was located. Magherafelt is the Civil Registration District where the births were recorded by the Registrar:

Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881

Name Robert Seawright
Sex Male
Birth Date 11 Dec 1865
Birthplace Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland
Birthplace (Original) Magherafelt
Father's Name John Seawright
Mother's Name Ellen Snipe

Cite This Record
"Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPRD-WTR7 : 17 October 2019), Ellen Snipe in entry for Robert Seawright, 11 Dec 1865; Birth; Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland; citing General Register Office, Southern Ireland; FHL microfilm .
____

Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881

Name Ellen Seawright
Sex Female
Birth Date 18 Dec 1866
Birthplace Ballyscullion, Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland
Birthplace (Original) Ballymacombs, Ballyscullion, Magherafelt
Father's Name John Seawright
Mother's Name Ellen Snipe Seawright

Cite This Record
"Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP8X-JGMN : 30 January 2020), Ellen Snipe Seawright in entry for Ellen Seawright, 18 Dec 1866; Birth; Ballyscullion, Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland; citing General Register Office, Southern Ireland; FHL microfilm .
____

Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881

Name Eliza Sewright
Sex Female
Birth Date 18 Jan 1868
Birthplace Ballyscullion, Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland
Birthplace (Original) Ballyscullion, Magherafelt
Father's Name John Sewright
Mother's Name Ellen Snipe Sewright

Cite This Record
"Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL3W-BBJT : 16 March 2021), Ellen Snipe Sewright in entry for Eliza Sewright, 18 Jan 1868; Birth; Ballyscullion, Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland; citing General Register Office, Southern Ireland; FHL microfilm 101,160.
____

Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881

Name Joseph Sewright
Sex Male
Birth Date 11 Apr 1869
Birthplace Ballyscullion, Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland
Birthplace (Original) Ballymacombs Ballyscullion, Magherafelt
Father's Name John Sewright
Mother's Name Ellen Snipe Sewright

Cite This Record
"Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGVS-BCDF : 15 November 2021), Ellen Snipe Sewright in entry for Joseph Sewright, 11 Apr 1869; Birth; Ballyscullion, Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland; citing General Register Office, Southern Ireland; FHL microfilm 101,185.
____

Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881

Name Catharine Seawright
Sex Female
Birth Date 30 Oct 1871
Birthplace Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland
Birthplace (Original) Ballymacombs, Magherafelt
Father's Name John Seawright
Mother's Name Ellen Snipe Seawright

Cite This Record
"Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGYW-GV8X : 30 January 2020), Ellen Snipe Seawright in entry for Catharine Seawright, 30 Oct 1871; Birth; Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland; citing General Register Office, Southern Ireland; FHL microfilm 255,832.
____

Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881

Name Ann Sewight
Sex Female
Birth Date 29 Mar 1875
Birthplace Ireland
Birthplace (Original) Ballymacombs, Magherafett
Father's Name John Sewight
Mother's Name Ellen Snipe Sewight

Cite This Record
"Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGYW-451J : 30 January 2020), Ellen Snipe Sewight in entry for Ann Sewight, 29 Mar 1875; Birth; Ireland; citing General Register Office, Southern Ireland; FHL microfilm 255,928.
____

Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881

Name Sarah Ellen Sewright
Sex Female
Birth Date 21 Jan 1877
Birthplace Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland
Birthplace (Original) Ballymacombs, Magherafelt
Father's Name John Sewright
Mother's Name Ellen Snipe Sewright

Cite This Record
"Ireland Civil Registration, 1845-1913," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGY4-HP75 : 30 January 2020), Ellen Snipe Sewright in entry for Sarah Ellen Sewright, 21 Jan 1877; Birth; Magherafelt, County Londonderry, Ireland; citing General Register Office, Southern Ireland; FHL microfilm 255,969.
____

Because of the FamilySearch indexes above, I found copies of the original birth records for the seven children of John and Ellen at the irishgenealogy.ie website. The birth records are attached to this reply.

I next wanted to see if the Presbyterian Church that served Ballymacombs had baptism records for the late 1850s, the 1860s, and the 1870s.

Ballymacombs was located in the Civil Parish of Ballyscullion. According to the PRONI’s “Guide To Church Records,” the Presbyterian Church for those living in the Civil Parish of Ballyscullion was located in Bellaghy. The Guide shows a Bellaghy First Presbyterian Church and a Bellaghy Second Presbyterian Church with combined registers. Baptisms are recorded for 1862 to 1987. Marriages for the First Bellaghy Presbyterian Church are from 1845 to 1850. The Second Presbyterian Church marriages are available from 1845 to 1919. The Bellaghy baptism and marriage records are available on PRONI microfilm number MIC1P/377. See: https://tinyurl.com/6988f5b3

The Bellaghy baptism registers start too late to have recorded John Seawright’s baptism if this had been the church where his family had attended. But the baptisms of John and Ellen Snipe Seawright’s children may be in the baptism registers.

For more information about the Bellaghy First and Second Presbyterian Churches, go to the georgemcintyre.tripod website links at: https://georgemcintyre.tripod.com/id8.html and https://georgemcintyre.tripod.com/id10.html

Going to the RootsIreland website, I found that only marriage records are available for the First and Second Bellagh Presbyterian churches. Marriages for the First Bellaghy Presbyterian Church cover the years 1845 to 1936. Marriages for the Second Bellaghy Presbyterian Church cover the years 1845 to 1849.

DEATH RECORDS

Earlier, while at the irishgenealogy.ie website I found the civil registration death records for two Sewright children whose father is recorded as John. I believe these are John and Ellen’s children. The children died three days apart and are recorded one after the other in the same death register, which is attached to this reply.

The children were 6 year old Ellen Sewright and 10 year old Sarah Sewright. Ellen died in Ballymacombs on 22 October 1873. The cause of death was, “Post-scarlatinal Dropsy 14 days.” Ellen’s Occupation is listed as, “Farmer’s Daughter.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the registrar was John Sewright of Ballymacombs.

Sarah Sewright died in Ballymacombs on 25 October 1873 at the age of 10 years. The cause of death was “Secondary Bronchitis 14 days.” Sarah’s “Occupation” is listed as, “Farmer’s Daughter.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the registrar was John Sewright of Ballymacombs.

John Sewright signed both deaths with “his x mark,” meaning he could not write.

Ellen would be the child who was born on 18 December 1866. She would have turned 7 years old in December of 1873.

At 10 years old in 1873 Ellen would have been born in 1863, the year before births were recorded by the government.

As you saw earlier in the birth records, John and Ellen named another daughter Sarah Ellen Sewright, who was born in Ballymacombs on 21 January 1877. She would have been named after her two sisters who had died in 1873.

The death of Sarah in 1873 means that John and Ellen had at least eight children, though they may have had one or two more children before Sarah was born circa 1863. There may be a baptism record for Sarah in the Bellaghy Presbyterian Church registers.

GRIFFITHS VALUATION

I next wanted to see if John Seawright had been recorded in an Irish property tax record called Griffiths Valuation. I specifically wanted to see if John Seawright was living in Ballmacombs, Civil Parish of Ballyscullion, County Londonderry.

Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland from 1847 to 1864. The valuation for the townlands in the Civil Parish of Ballyscullion was printed in the year 1859, though the men, called “Valuers,” who assessed the property may have visited the townlands in the Ballyscullion Civil Parish in 1858, or perhaps 1857, the year John Seeright and Ellen Snype were married.

Unlike a census, Griffiths Valuation did not enumerate individual members of a family, such as husband, wife, and children in a household residence. Those named in the valuation were individuals who paid to lease property, such as land, houses, and outbuildings. Each person who paid to lease the property was called an “Occupier.” The other person listed in Griffiths Valuation was the person who owned the property, or who worked as the middleman collecting the rent for the owner. The owner, or middleman, was called the “Immediate Lessor.”

You can access Griffiths Valuation transcriptions and original copies for free at the Ask About Ireland website link at: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

Griffiths Valuation shows that John Seawright, Martin Seawright, and Andrew Seawright had leased 111 acres of land in common with two other Occupiers in Ballymacombs More. The two others were John Dixon Senior and John Dixon Jr. Though they leased the land in common, each had his own separate house and offices.

An “office” refers to a type of outbuilding, such as a barn, stable, blacksmith shop, piggery, etc.

The valuation further shows that John Seawright leased a little over two acres of land on his own.

John is also recorded as the middleman for an “Unoccupied” house in Ballymacombs More.

The owner of the land and houses the men had leased was the Earl of Stratford, Sir Robert Bateson and Lady Louisa Trench. Robert Bateson had the title of “Bt.,” which means Baronet.

Griffiths Valuation for the Seawrights and Dixons in Ballymacombs More is attached to this reply. They are located at map references 25 a,b,c,d, e, and also at map reference 26, and 26 a.

John Seawright in Griffiths Valuation may be the John Seeright who married Ellen Snype in 1857.

Also leasing 6 acres of land together in Ballymacombs More, are David and Martin Seawright at map reference 36. This would be the same Martin Seawright who had leased the land in common with John and Andrew Seawright and John Dixon Senior and John Dixon Junior.

David and Martin leased the land from Sir Henry H. Bruce, Bt. This Griffiths Valuation entry is also attached to this reply.

It wasn’t until locating the Seawrights in Griffiths Valuation that I realized there was a Ballymacombs More. I also found out there was a Ballymacombs Beg.

The word “More,” is an anglicization of the Irish word, “mór,” meaning big.

The word “Beg” is an anglicization of the Irish word “beag,” meaning small.

You can see reference to Ballymacombs Beg and Ballymacombs More, Civil Parish of Ballyscullion, from the IreAtlas Townland Data Base link at:
https://tinyurl.com/6sts59de

The IreAtlas shows that Ballymacombs Beg was 655 acres in size, and that Ballymacombs More was 954 acres in size.

Accompanying Griffiths Valuation is a map, which can be accessed from the Ask About Ireland website. The map has numbers and letters that correspond with the numbers and letters for each Occupier named in Griffiths Valuation. For example, Griffiths Valuation shows John Seawright was an Occupier at map reference 25c and 26, and an Immediate Lessor for an unoccupied house at map number 26a. Martin Seawright is at number 25d and Andrew at 25e.

I found these references on the Griffiths Valuation map, showing they were living in a section of Ballymacombs More called “Sewright Hill.” The gray, oblong structures on the map represent the houses and outbuildings they and the Dixons had leased on Sewright Hill. The map is attached to this reply.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find the 6 acres of land that David and Martin Seawright leased at map number 36 on the Griffiths Valuation map.

JOHN SNIPE

The 1857 marriage for John Seeright and Ellen Snype shows that Ellen had been living in the townland of Mayknock (Moyknock) and that her father was John Snype.

I looked for John Snipe in Griffiths Valuation to see if he was leasing property in Moyknock, Civil Parish of Kilrea.

I found a John Snipe Sr, James Snipe, George Snipe, and John Snipe Jr, all leasing houses, offices and land in Moyknock. John Snipe, Senior may have been Ellen’s father and John Snipe Jr., her brother.

John Snipe Sr. is at map number 14. James Snipe is at map number 15, and George Snipe at map number 16 in the Griffiths Valuation record. John Snipe J., is at map number 18. They leased their houses, offices, and land from the Worshipful Company of Mercers, who were a guild of the cloth merchant trade. See the Wikipedia article at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilrea

Attached to this reply is a Griffiths Valuation map for Moyknock. You can see map numbers 14, 15, 16, and 18, where John Snipe Sr.; James Snipe; George Snipe; and John Snipe Jr, had leased their land and houses.

TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS

An agricultural land record that predates Griffiths Valuation is called the Tithe Applotment Books, where farmers across Ireland were required to pay a percentage of their income for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland.

Paying tithes to the Church of Ireland was not popular with the majority of the farmers in Ireland, who were Roman Catholic, nor popular with those who belonged to the Presbyterian Church.

A good explanation of the Tithe Applotment Books can be found at the following National Archives of Ireland links:

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/about.jsp
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/aboutmore.jsp

Tithe Applotment Books for many of the 32 Irish counties are available to search at the National Archives of Ireland website. County Londonderry is one of the exceptions where the Tithe Applotment Books are not available to search. Access the drop-down box at: http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp

I found that Tithe Applotment Book indexes are available at the irishgenealogyhub.com website for both Ballymacombs and “Maynock.”

Names of farmers in the Ballyscullion Civil Parish can be found at:
http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/tithe-applotments/ballyscullion-…

The Ballyscullion Civil Parish tithe entries show that Andrew, David, John, and Martin are recorded in “Ballymacomb.” David Seawright is recorded twice. Once in Ballymacomb and once in Ballyscullion. Also recorded is a Seawright in the townland of Ballynease. No first name is given for the Ballynease Seawright. The tithes for the Ballyscullion Civil Parish are from the year 1828. See below:

Tithe Applotment Books: Ballyscullion Parish, County Derry

Seawright, Townland: Ballynease Year: 1828
Seawright, Andw. Townland: Ballymacomb Year: 1828
Seawright, Davd. Townland: Ballymacomb Year: 1828
Seawright, David Townland: Ballyscullion Year: 1828
Seawright, John Townland: Ballymacomb Year: 1828
Seawright, Martin Townland: Ballymacomb Year: 1828
____

Next, John Snipe and William Snipe are recorded in Maynock, Kilrea Civil Parish for the year 1826 at:
http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/derry/tithe-applotments/kilrea-parish…

See below:

Tithe Applotment Books: Kilrea Parish

Snipe, John Townland: Maynock Year: 1826
Snipe, William Townland: Maynock Year: 1826
____

Moving forward in time I looked for John and Ellen Seawright in the 1901 and 1911 census returns for County Derry, but didn’t find them. I also looked for them in other counties, but again without success. I then looked for their individual death records at the irishgenealogy.ie website but with no results.

The family of John and Ellen Seawright, I suspect, emigrated either to the U.S. or Australia/New Zealand.

At the irishgenealogy.ie website I found the civil registration death index for David Sewright. This may be the same David Seawright recorded in Griffiths Valuation and the Tithe Applotment Books.

As mentioned earlier death indexes are only available at irishgenealogy.ie for the years 1864 to 1870 at this time. Full death records after 1870 can be accessed from irishgenalogy.ie

The index for David Sewright shows his death was recorded in the Magherafelt Registration District in the second quarter of 1866. At the time of death he was 54 years old, which places his year of birth circa 1812, if his age of 54 is correct.

The Magherafelt Registration District is the district where births, marriage, and deaths were recorded for the townland of Ballymacombs and surrounding area.

See the index below:

Name DAVID SERIGHT
Date of Death 1866
Group Registration ID N/R
SR District/Reg Area Magherafelt
Deceased Age at Death 54
Returns Year 1866
Returns Quarter 2
Returns Volume No 6
Returns Page No 592
____

For instructions about how to order the death record, go to:
https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/civil-records/help/i-want-to-get-a-cop…

You can order a photocopy of the death record for €5, payable by credit card.

1901 AND 1911 CENSUS RETURNS OF IRELAND

Looking at the 1901 census for Ireland, I found 48 year old “Marton” Seeright, his sisters Mary Ann, 50, and Eliza, 46, and their niece, 18 year old Sarah Jane Seeright, living in Ballymacombs More, District Electoral Division (DED) of Bellaghy, County Londonderry. Everyone in the household was born in County Derry and everyone was Presbyterian. Marton was a farmer who could not “wreed.” Mary Ann was a housekeeper, while Eliza and Sarah Jane were seamstresses.

The 1901 census transcription from the National Archives of Ireland can be found at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Bellaghy/B…

Once the census downloads, make sure to click on “Show all information” to view the full census page.

A copy of the original 1901 census for the Seeright household can be found at:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000638003/

Toward the bottom right of the census form you’ll see that Marton, as the head of the family, signed the census with “his x mark.” His name would have actually been written by Constable Jas. Topping, who collected the census.

I also found Martin and his sisters Marianne and Eliza in the 1911 census still living in Ballymacombs More. Their married niece, Sarah Jane Russell, and Sarah Jane’s two children, are in the household with them. This would be the Sarah Jane Seeright recorded in the 1901 census.

You’ll see in the 1911 census that Martin is recorded as being 58 years old, but in the 1901 census he is 46. The 1911 census shows that Marianne is 71 years old, but in the 1901 census she is 50 years old. The 1911 census shows that Eliza is 70 years old but in the 1901 census she is 46 years old.

As you can see the age of a person or persons in a household do not always match up between the 1901 and 1911 census returns.

The 1911 census shows that Sarah Jane Russell is 28. In the 1901 census she is 18, and so her age between the 1901 and 1911 census returns does add up. Sarah Jane’s children are 2 year old Ellen Jane Russell and 1 year old William Russell. The census also shows that Sarah Jane Russell had been married 2 years and in that time period had two children with both children still living.

The census shows that Sarah Jane Russell and her children belonged to the Church of Ireland, but that Martin and his sister were Presbyterian.

You can access the 1911 census at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Londonderry/Bellaghy/B…

Again, make sure you click on “Show all information” to view the full census page.

A copy of the original 1911 census for the Seawright household can be found at:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002857355/

Martin Seeright/Seawright in the 1901 and 1911 census returns for Ballymacombs More, may be a direct descendant of the Martin Seawright found in Griffiths Valuation and the Tithe Applotment Books.

THE MARRIAGE OF SARAH JANE SEAWRIGHT AND JOHN RUSSELL

Sarah Jane Seawright, age 27, and John Russell, age 29, were married in the Church of Ireland Parish Church of Bellaghy on April 12, 1909. At the time of marriage John was a bachelor and Sarah Jane a spinster. John’s occupation was labourer. His residence at the time of marriage was Ballymacombs, Bellaghy. His father is William Russell, a labourer.

No occupation is recorded for Sarah Jane. Her residence at the time of marriage was also Ballymacombs, Bellaghy. The name of her father is not recorded in the marriage record, which is an indication that she was born out-of-wedlock.

The name of the Church of Ireland clergyman who married John and Sarah Jane was Samuel Fenton. The witnesses to the marriage were David James Vance and Mary Elizabeth Vance. The marriage record is attached to this reply.

THE BIRTH RECORD OF SARAH JANE SEAWRIGHT

At age 27 in 1909 Sarah Jane Seawright would have been born circa 1882. Her marriage took place on April 12, 1909. If Sarah Jane was born after April 12, she would have turned 28 in 1909, placing her year of birth in 1881.

I looked for her civil registration birth record at the irishgenealogy.ie website and found it. She was born in Ballymacombs on 16 June 1881. Her father’s name is not recorded. The name of her mother is Mary Anne Seawright.

The person who was present at the birth and who reported the birth to the registrar was Sarah Anne Dickson, who signed the birth register with “her x mark.”

The Registrar, D. Allen Charles, recorded Sarah Jane’s birth in the Magherafelt Registration District on 27 June 1881. The birth record is attached to this reply.

CONCLUSION

Col, you may have a lot of the records I found, but I didn’t know if you had copies of original records, such as the 1857 marriage record for John Seeright and Ellen Snype; the birth records for seven of their children; the death records for Ellen and Sarah Sewright; or the Griffiths Valuation records and maps, etc.

In this research I also found the 1847 civil marriage for Andrew Seright and Margaret McMillin, as well as the 1878 death record for Andrew Seawright.

Earlier you saw that an Andrew Seawright was recorded in both Griffifths Valuation and the Tithe Applotmnt Books living in Ballymacombs. I can send you Andrew’s marriage and death records in a follow-up reply if you would like.

The records in this reply show that your primary towns of ancestry in County Derry are Ballymacombs More, Civil Parish of Ballyscullion, where John Seawright and his family had lived, and Moyknock, Civil Parish of Kilrea, where Ellen Snipe and her family had lived.

Hopefully, you and your family will get to visit these towns someday.

Kind Regards,

Dave Boylan

SOURCES

irishgenealogy.ie
Reply from Ireland XO Volunteer Elwyn
Reply from Patricia
FamilySearch
Wikipedia
Google Maps
Google Street Views
PRONI'S A Guide To Church Records
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/proni-enquiry-service
georgemcintyre.tripod website
National Archives of Ireland 1901 and 1911 Irish Census Returns
Ask About Ireland: Griffiths Valuation
IreAtlas Townland Data Base
Griffiths Valuation Maps
Tithe Applotment Books: National Archives of Ireland
Tithe Applotment Books indexes: irishgenealogyhub.com website

Attached Files

Dear Dave,

Thank you SO  MUCH for all of this wonderful information, the tips and the images. You have gone to so much trouble, and it is very much appreciated.

To respond to some of your comments:

I have used FamilySearch quite a bit, but never knew that I could go to the Irish genealogy site to find the original records. This will be invaluable in future!

The original record of Seeright/Snipe marriage is terrific - thank you. I wonder where the Knipe version of the name came from? The burial record for Ellen for example, refers to her father as Knipe.

(Daughter of John Knipe and Sarah Irwin
Married John William Seawright Jr. on 16 October,1857, Kilrea, County Londonderry
Passed away at her residence, Albert Street, Bowen Hills)

RE their children - I have added the additional ones I have in italics into your list:

Mary b 1857.  I can find no further record of her.

William James 1859-1935. Died in Brisbane

John, 1860-1899,  married Eliza Smyth in Queensland in 1891, buried in Charters Towers

Thomas, 1862-1930.  Was the first of the family to emigrate. Died trying to cross a flooded creek at Wallumbilla, buried there. HE IS THE ANCESTOR OF INTEREST, and I have a little bit of information about him after his arrival in Australia.

IASSUME SARAH would come here (d1773)

Robert Seawright, 1865 died 1927, buried in Townsville QLd
Ellen Seawright, 1866
Eliza Sewright, 1868
Joseph Sewright, 1869 died in Brisbane

Charlotte 1870-1901. Buried in Toowoomba

Catharine Seawright, 1871 arrived in Brisbane 1888
Ann Sewight, 1875

Andrew Charles b 1875. Died Brisbane 1961

Sarah Ellen Sewright, 1877 . died in Brisbane in 1945
 

JOHN and ELLEN/HELEN

You say " Moving forward in time I looked for John and Ellen Seawright in the 1901 and 1911 census returns for County Derry, but didn’t find them. I also looked for them in other counties, but again without success. I then looked for their individual death records at the irishgenealogy.ie website but with no results.

The family of John and Ellen Seawright, I suspect, emigrated either to the U.S. or Australia/New Zealand."

This is correct. They sailed on the Tara in 1890, with Sarah, Charlotte and Andrew (passenger list attached).

Joseph, Willian and Robert emigrated on  the "Wistow" in 1885

 

RE SARAH JANE SEAWRIGHT

You say "Looking at the 1901 census for Ireland, I found 48 year old “Marton” Seeright, his sisters Mary Ann, 50, and Eliza, 46, and their niece, 18 year old Sarah Jane Seeright, living in Ballymacombs More, District Electoral Division (DED) of Bellaghy, County Londonderry. Everyone in the household was born in County Derry and everyone was Presbyterian. Marton was a farmer who could not “wreed.” Mary Ann was a housekeeper, while Eliza and Sarah Jane were seamstresses."

I had a look at the birth record you provided for Sarah Jane. Mother listed as Mary Ann.  I suspect her mother was Mary Ann 50, above.

I think this line of the tree are distant cousins of John William Seawright. I have attached a rough tree (drawing very heavilty on the research by David Bradley and his tree on Ancestry) that shows where they all fit in .... I think!

 

Finally, Hopefully, you and your family will get to visit these towns someday - this would be wonderful! We have always wanted to see Ireland. The Seawrights are a key part of my husband's ancestry, but my family also have Irish roots. The many tips you have provided will, I hope, help me with unanswered questions  regarding other people in both our family trees.

 

Thanks again, so much, for all your help.

Col

I think that Snipe is simply Knipe mis-read or mis-transcribed. Knipe is a common enough name in that area. Snipe is not.

You're welcome Col, and many thanks for your response. Don't hesitate to write with any further questions.

All the Best.

Dave