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.
