Mccormicks or Sheridans

Hi David,

The son's name was John according to this record from www.rootsireland.ie/:

Name:John McCormickDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:14-May-1870Address:
Parish/District:CULFEIGHTRINGender:MaleCountyCo. Antrim
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:John McCormickMother:Ann SheridanOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Thomas Clarke Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Ann McDonnel

I couldn't find the marriage record or the baptisms of any siblings.

As they were R C you might want to check the National Library of Ireland's R C registers which are available free at http://registers.nli.ie/. There are baptisms & marriages for Culfeightrin.

An easier site is  geni.nidirect.gov.uk/ which will show any records free but charges for certificates; I couldn't find the marriage there either however.

I couldn't find them in the Irish Census 1901 (free at census.nationalarchives.ie/)

Col

The birth cert gives the family townland as Ballyreagh and the father’s occupation as miner. (There were some very small coal mines in Ballycastle in the late 1800s). The Valuation Revision records list a row of cottage sin Ballyreagh Upper in 1867. House 3 was occupied by John McCormick. However it, and the rest of the row were noted as vacant by 1872. So presumably he had moved.

Hi it seems that John and Ann were married in Scotland, they had 3 children born there before John McCormick 1870, they went to Ireland where John was born but returned to Scotland where John appears on the 1871 census as a 10 month old child, they had more children born in Scotland after John.

Why would they go to Ireland for Johns birth?

I doubt they went to Ireland specifically for the birth. They were probably back there either because John had work there, or because they were visiting family. One of the attractions of going to work in Scotland over countries further afield was the fact that you could go home very easily and at little cost. In the 1870s there was a regular passenger and cargo service from Ballycastle to Glasgow, and the fares were very low. (Cargo being the main business and passengers just top up revenue). People went back and forth all the time. (As they still do today).

Was John shown as a miner in the Scottish censuses or on his childrens birth certificates there? If so, he may have decided to try his luck working in the Ballycastle coal mines. They were never very big or profitable though and were closed down in the early 1900s.

Hi Elwin. John was indeed an Ironstone Miner , he had daughters born either side of young John, one in 1868, the other in 1873, John being born in Ireland in 1870.The two daughters were born in Airdrie, Scotland, so it looks like he went to Ireland within that 5 year window.

Hi david mccormacks in my family need to check parents michael mccormack maria o neal they lived in scotland patrick married my grandfathers sister her name meechan my grandfather born ballycastle his sister culfeightrumsome born in scotland other ireland went back and forth in 262 family in scotland port glasgow 2861 census