Looking for Margaret Jamison's family near Magheralin, County Down.

Cunningham,

Do you know what John Jamieson’s occupation was? Was he a small farmer? And what religious denomination were the Jamison family?

The tithe applotment records for Magheralin list those with land ie mainly farmers. There was 1 John Jamison listed. He farmed in Ballymacbredin in 1834:

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/down/tithe-applotment-books/magheralin-parish.php

He was still there in Griffiths Valuation in 1864. He had plot 15 which was a 2.5 acre farm. That today has mostly been built on. It’s a housing estate on the Ballymacbredan Rd outside Magheralin. 

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

The Valuation Revision records on the PRONI website take Griffiths forward. John Jameson was deleted in 1871 (and replaced by John MacDonald). So possibly John had died some time near 1871. There is a possible death on 22.10.1866 aged 72, registered Lurgan. You can view the original certificate on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option. You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2.50 (sterling) to a view a certificate: 

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

I also spotted this death for a John Jamison where the informant was his son Thomas. He was a labourer living in Portadown at the time of his death. He wasn’t quite old enough but ages on death certificates were often just guesses and could be out by 10 years or more.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1883/06379/4831052.pdf

No Jamisons living in the Magheralin electoral district in the 1901 census.

A Margaret Jamison was born to Jane and John Jamison of Drumlin in the parish of Magheralin and baptized in the COI on 17 Dec 1839. Her father was a weaver. She as 9 weeks old at the time of her baptism.—from rootsireland.ie. You had thought 1827-1830 was the proper age, so this disagrees with those years. But the names and location match yours. I hope this is helpful.

The 1839 Margaret had brothers John and James.

Dear Patricia and Elwyn,

Firstly, thanks for all that great information and the prompt replies. To answer your questions, the Jamisons were either COI or Presbyterian, but most likely the former. As for John's occupation, we don't know. I can only tell you that Margaret herself could neither read nor write, and after arriving in Philadelphia, ended up in Pittsburgh where in 1853 she married Hugh Cunningham from Donegal who owned a bar. In 1858, they moved to southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia, where they successfully farmed for the rest of their long lives.

Concerning John Jamison the laborer with the son/witness named Thomas, I noticed that John is married at the time of his death. Is there any way to find out if his wife was Jane? Just FYI, Margaret's oldest daughter was Jane, but they called her Jennie.

Regarding the Margaret baptised in 1839, is there any chance of a mistake and her age is actually 9 years and not 9 weeks or that the acttual date of the baptism is 1829 and not 1839? I only ask because I have come across similar transcription errors of dates; for example, Margaret's niece Martha who died at the age of 17 weeks but was recorded to be 17 months old. 

Thanks again,

Jeff Sandy

Jeff,

Jennie is a common diminutive for Jane and Janet in the north of Ireland and also in Scotland. 

The baptism that Patricia has found is Church of Ireland (COI).  Rootsireland only has transcripts. We can’t see the original record so can’t say whether a mistake has been made with the age or date. You would need to check the originals for that. They are not on-line yet. There’s a copy in PRONI in Belfast but you would need to get a researcher to look it up. (Or pay PRONI to do it).

Not sure of the nearest Presbyterian church to Magheralin. It’s probably Moira. However Moira Presbyterian don’t have any records for the period you need. Their marriage records start in 1845 but they have no baptisms before 1866. Early baptism records either weren’t kept or have been lost. Let’s hope the family were COI. I can see a number of Jamison marriages in Magheralin in the COI, so suspect that’s the likely denomination. I note a John Jamison marrying Jane Erwin on 15.10.1833 at Magheralin COI. 

Also a John son of John marrying in 1852. See:

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/genealogy/SURNAMES/J/Jamison.htm

Marriage cert here:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1852/09434/5417732.pdf

That ties into the Ballymacbredan family I identified earlier.  The father is a labourer according to the marriage certificate.  That could be so. 2.5 acres is not really a viable farm so he might have been described more as a labourer rather than a farmer. John junior was 21 in 1852 so born 1831 or thereabouts.  That doesn’t fit well with an 1833 marriage, so possibly the 1833 marriage is a different couple. Perhaps the Drumlin family. Or John junior lied about his age.

Drumlin is a different townland to Ballymacbredan so sounds like a different couple to the one I found. No Jamison households in Drumlin in Griffiths (1864) so either they had died or moved away by that year.

I looked for a widow to John J who died in 1883. This is the only one I could find. Her maiden name appears to have been Miller:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1894/05970/4697189.pdf

I think she was married to Alexander Jamieson, so if correct, it's not the right family:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1846/09313/5372340.pdf

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1876/020579/7220845.pdf

So I don’t know who the 1883 death was married to. Nor can I locate the son Thomas who was the informant at his death. He presumably moved away.

Looking for any information on James Jamison b. 1858 in Magheralin, Down, Ireland, d. 1915 New Brunswick, NJ, USA. His son was William Alexander Jamison, my great grandfather.

Margaret Donnelly Jamison, married my great grandfather, her father was John Donnelly born 1851 in Pennsylvania. He married "Delia" Glenn born 1852 in NewBrunswick, NJ.

I don't think this is any help, my grandfather William A Jamison was married to Margaret, but her maiden name was Donnelly.. My grandfather's parents came from Magheralin Down. He was born circa 1858 and died in 1915 in New Brunswick, Middlesex, New Jersey. I haven't been able to verify it, but there may be a connection to a John Jamison born in 1834 in Ballymacbreedin, Magheralin, Ireland.