Sunday, November 24, 2013

Salt Lake City research Trip to Root’s Tech



It is with great anticipation that I decided to go to RootsTech 2013 in Salt Lake City. I admit that one the big draws, was the Family Search Library was there. I did a lot of homework at home on my paternal grandmother’s side. Her father was born in Scotland and I only remember hearing about her Scottish roots. It was only after I read her death certificate that I realized her mother was from Ireland, but where in Ireland. Trying to find what County Sarah Nolan was from through her American records was proving very difficult. No living relative could help me at all and most were not interested in finding their roots. Her death record[1] did give me a clue to her Mother’s name- Anna McGuinness and that both her parents were born in Ireland; her husband Alexander Steele was the informant so I thought it could be trusted. She died on 15 Aug 1907 at the age of 41 years 1 month 25 days so I was able to calculate that she was born in June of 1866.  Therefore I searched on FindMyPast.com and there was only one Sarah Noland[2] not Nolan under births year 1866 and registered in year 1866, district Banbridge. I decided to stop searching for her for a while.
All good genealogists tell you to start on this side of the pond and exhaust your resources here. I tried contacting relatives, but most of them were not interested in the family history. I did manage to speak to a cousin once removed (a lot older than me) who told me she thought her father was from Johnstone, Scotland, (which turned out be very helpful). She could not tell me where our great grandmother came from. So, I decided to look for my great grandmother and her family in the district of Banbridge, Ireland, since there were records on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
My first trip to the library and my Irish search was just about to get a big boast. They were from County Down in Northern Ireland. I was very elated to find something at last. Here are the results:
·         Sarah Noland was born 31 June 1866 at Dunbarton to William Noland, Dyer of Thread and Anne Eliza Maguinnes.[3]
·         William Noland, age 20 ( ?  ink smudged) bachelor, thread dyer and Eliza Magennis, age 20 a spinster were married on 22 July 1850[4] residents of Gilford, parish of Tullylish. His father is Daniel Noland a weaver and her father is James Magennis, also a weaver.
·         James Noland born about1859 in Ireland.[5]
·        Joseph Noland was born 20 February 1869 in Guilford to William Noland of Gilford, thread worker, and Anne Eliza Noland formerly Maguinis.[6]
·        John M.  Noland was born 30 July 1873 at Bridge End, Lisburn to William Nolan, dryer of Longstone, Lisburn and Ann Eliza Nolan formerly Maginness.[7]
I have looked for other children’s birth but to no avail. Also have looked for Anne Eliza (Maguinnes) Nolan’s death record between 1873 after John’s birth and April 3 or 4 1881 when the Scotland Census was taken and so far have found nothing.



[1] Grafton, Massachusetts Vital Records Pg. 321
[2] FindMyPast.com, vol.6:225
[3] FHL microfilm 0,101,130 item 225 Banbridge, Co. Down, Northern Ireland Birth Registyer
[4] FHL microfilm #0,101,313 Town of Banbridge Registyer’s Office
[5] FHL microfilm #0,203,566, pg. 21 1881 Scotland Census Parish Paisley Abbey, County
Renfrewshire, Johnstone
[6] FHL microfilm #0,101,180, Vol. 1 pg. 215 item 394, Banbridge, Co. Down, Northern Ireland Birth Registyer.
[7] FHL microfilm 0,255,883 Pg. 649, item 105, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, Ireland.