James & Elizabeth Murphy - Kilrea prior to 1856

Lynnea,

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church (after which she’d attend her husband’s). So the location of the marriages tells you where to look for the bride’s baptism etc, but not necessarily where the husband attended church. So the Murphy family church isn’t certain (to me anyway).

Catherine and John married on 2.11.1854 in Kilrea 2nd Presbyterian which is in Co. Derry but just across the river from Rasharkin in Co Antrim. So it seems likely to be the Scott family church.  Her father was Archibald Scott. A witness was Archibald Murphy. (Rootsireland transcripts).

You will probably know that most of the 1851 Irish census was destroyed in the 1922 fire. However some fragments have survived and those include Rasharkin. I don’t know whether it includes all of Rasharkin – I doubt that it does -  but it does include some of the parish. Here appears to be Catherine Scott with her family in the townland of Lisnagaver:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1851/Antrim/Kilconway/Rasharkin/Lisnagaver/8/

The 1851 census asked for details of members of the family who had died in the past 10 years, and so from that we know that Catherine’s father Archibold died in 1850 of consumption. He was born around 1790 and since none of the churches in the area have any records for that century, we probably won’t be able to learn anything about his antecedents (from church records anyway).

No Scott households listed the townland in Griffiths Valuation of 1861. However there were 2 in the 1901 census:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Killoquin_Lower/Lisnagaver/946364/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Killoquin_Lower/Lisnagaver/946367/

John Scott was married to Mary Carson but I can’t find their marriage to say who John’s father was. His age just about makes him a possible sibling to Catherine but we’d need baptism records to check that. Kilrea 2nds records don't appear to be on-line anywhere, so you would need to get someone to go to PRONI to look them up. Kilrea 2nds baptism records start in 1840, so they may not be early enough for Catherine, but John born c 1852 could be there..  (Worth checking Kilrea 1st in case the family had attended that before the 2nd started. Their records start in 1825).

Probate abstracts from the PRONI wills site:

Scott John of Lisnagaver Kilrea county Antrim farmer died 14 March 1925 Administration Belfast 4 May to Robert Scott farmer. Effects £28 8s.

John died intestate but his probate file should be in PRONI in paper format.

Scott Robert of Lisnagaver Rasharkin county Antrim farmer died 23 February 1935 Administration Belfast 25 March to Ellen Scott the widow. Effects £5 12s. 6d. D.B.N. P.R. 17.4.81. DBN (deo bene non) means that the executor wasn’t able to deal with the administration of the estate due to reasons outside his/her control eg living overseas or being dead, and so there was a small delay of 45 years until a replacement executor was appointed in 1981. However that tells you there were some Scotts in the area in the 1980s. Might be useful if you try to track the family down.

I don’t see the Murphy, Connoly or Burns families in the 1851 census fragments.

Joseph Murphy married Mary Ann Burns on 8.10.1852 in Rasharkin Church of Ireland. Both were 22, he was a weaver. His father was James Murphy, farmer. His townland was Tamlaght, hers Granagh. Her father was John, a weaver.

Can’t trace them after their marriage.

James Murphy married Esther Connoly on 9.3.1852 in Rasharkin Presbyterian church. Both gave their townlands as Tamlaght.  James occupation was a farmer. Esther’s father was Malcolm a farmer. The tithe applotment records for 1834 show Malcolm Connoly farming in Churchtamlaght:

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/tithe-applotments/rasharkin-parish.php#.XBAv2BSqCns

Malcolm Connolly is listed in Church Tamlaght in Griffiths Valuation for 1861. He had plot 13 which was an 18 acre farm. (That’s off the modern Church Lane, just south of Rasharkin Village).

John Connolly was a widower when he married Nancy McMullan at Ballymena 2nd Presbyterian church, on 17.11.1870. Both lived in Rasharkin. His father was Malcolm. (I can’t find a death for Malcolm so presume he died pre 1864 when death registration started). So he appears to be a sister to Esther.

Family in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Killoquin_Lower/Churchtanlaght/946283/

And 1911:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Killoquin/Church_Tamlaght/129978/

Probate abstract:

Probate of the Will of John Connolly late of Church Tamlaght County Antrim Farmer who died 2 January 1914 granted at Belfast to Robert Scott Connolly and James Quinn Farmers

Rasharkin Presbyterian gravestones are on the UHF website. There are no Murphy stones listed. So that might not be the family church. Not immediately obvious what theirs was. Perhaps Kilrea 1st or 2nd which are close by. Presbyterians weren’t always buried in the graveyard of the church they attended. Not all Presbyterian churches had graveyards but even when they did some families used Church of Ireland graveyards because there were family plots there etc.

There are no Murphy households in Rasharkin in the tithe applotment records in the 1830s. Nor are there any in Tamlaght O’Crilly (the parish which includes Lisnagroat) where Archy was reportedly born in the 1830s). No Murphy households in Lisnagroat in Griffiths in 1861, so no evidence any member of the family stayed behind after yours left. (Though the 1850s marriage records seem to suggest they had moved across the river Bann to Rasharkin anyway).

The 1831 census has 1 James Murphy household in Lisnagroat. It had 3 males & 3 females (all Presbyterian):

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinshollin/Tamlaght_O_Crilly/Lisnagrot/47/

So that would suggest James & Elizabeth plus 2 sons and 2 daughters, or perhaps some other relatives (mother-in-laws etc). There’s no way of knowing from the census because it doesn’t say. Next door was Joseph Mulphay with 1 male and 3 females (all Presbyterian). Mulphay is a most unusual name. Not one found regularly in Ireland. (There are none in the 1901 census of the whole island of Ireland). I’d wonder if that was Murphy misunderstood, and they might be relatives. Can’t really say.

You may struggle to get back much further than James Murphy’s marriage to Elizabeth, due to the common Irish research problem of lack of records, both in Kilrea and Rasharkin. Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.

The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project and can offer FTDNA testing kits at a reduced price.  http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).

Dear Elwyn -  Thank you so much for your reply with all of the wonderful information!  It may take me a while to go through the data, but at first glance, it appears that a number of my questions will be answered.  Thank you again!  Lynnea 

Hello Lynnea,

I have just discovered this post.
I am a relative of Archibald Scott (Catherine's father) and have a letter from Catherine to her brother John which you may be interested in.

Kind regards,
John Scott

Hello Lynnea,

I have just discovered this post.
I am a relative of Archibald Scott (Catherine's father) and have a letter from Catherine to her brother John which you may be interested in.

Kind regards,
John Scott