Great Great Grandparents

Brenda,

I think the marriage you are looking for was between Charles Gray and Kitty Craig (not Greig, though the one is obviously an alternative of the other) and was registered in Moyle (Ballycastle) on 27.12.1860. You can view a copy of the marriage certificate on the GRONI website for ?2. (You need to register and buy some credits. Use the search marriages function.).

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

The marriage cert should give you fathers names and occupations, the couples townlands (addresses) and occupations. That can be used to trace them back. In addition, tradition was to marry in the bride?s church, so that (which should be on the marriage cert) may be the place to look for her baptism, if the records still exist.

What appears to be Martha?s birth was registered in Ballycastle on 25.7.1866. Her death followed on 12.8.1866. Catherine was born 28.3.1864. No sign of Eliza Jane. Statutory birth registration in Ireland only started in 1864 and so I assume she was born before that, in which case you would need to find her baptism to get her birth date.

Let me know the couples townlands, fathers names and occupations and I?ll see if I can trace either family in Griffiths Valuation. Likewise let me know what denomination the marriage was and I?ll advise on possible church records for you to search.

Elwyn

Elwyn:

Thank you so much for getting back to me and so quickly.

I took a look at the marriage certificate and it looks like

• Charles Gray's father was John Gray
• Catherine (Kitty) Craig's father was Samuel Craig

Both fathers were farmers. Charles is also listed as a farmer. Both bride and groom are listed as residing in Moyarget, Ramoan. They were married in the Presbyterian Church.

Eliza Jane was 15 years old during the 1880 US census, so she would have been born sometime in 1864 - 1865.

Thank you again for your help. I greatly appreciate it.

Brenda Shafer-Pellinen

Elwyn:

Thank you so much for getting back to me and so quickly.

I took a look at the marriage certificate and it looks like

• Charles Gray's father was John Gray
• Catherine (Kitty) Craig's father was Samuel Craig

Both fathers were farmers. Charles is also listed as a farmer. Both bride and groom are listed as residing in Moyarget, Ramoan. They were married in the Presbyterian Church.

Eliza Jane was 15 years old during the 1880 US census, so she would have been born sometime in 1864 - 1865.

Thank you again for your help. I greatly appreciate it.

Brenda Shafer-Pellinen

Elwyn:

Thank you so much for getting back to me and so quickly.

I took a look at the marriage certificate and it looks like

• Charles Gray's father was John Gray
• Catherine (Kitty) Craig's father was Samuel Craig

Both fathers were farmers. Charles is also listed as a farmer. Both bride and groom are listed as residing in Moyarget, Ramoan. They were married in the Presbyterian Church.

Eliza Jane was 15 years old during the 1880 US census, so she would have been born sometime in 1864 - 1865.

Thank you again for your help. I greatly appreciate it.

Brenda Shafer-Pellinen

Brenda,

Griffiths Valuation for Moyarget Lower shows Samuel Craig farming plot 12 (shared with Hugh Craig). That was a 20 acre farm. Next door on plot 13 was John Gray with 24 acres. So it appears that Charles married the girl next door (literally).

Those farms today are off the Moyarget Rd. You can see where they are using the maps on the Griffiths Valuation site.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

You can follow through and see who live don those properties right up to 1929 using the revaluation records:

http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/val12b.htm

There were still Craig & Gray households there in 1901 & 1911:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Ramoan/Moyorget_more_Lower/

The families all appear to be Presbyterian so those would be the records to focus on for baptism and marriages before the start of statutory registration (1864 for births and 1845 for marriages). Ballycastle Presbyterian church?s records start in 1829. They don?t appear to be on-line anywhere but there is a copy in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. A personal visit is required to access them though.

There?s probate abstracts (summaries) on a number of Craig and Gray families in Moyarget on the PRONI website:

http://applications.proni.gov.uk/DCAL_PRONI_WillsCalendar/WillsSearchResults.aspx

An example is for Samuel Craig:

The Will of Samuel Craig late of Moyarget County Antrim Farmer deceased who died 28 September 1869 at same place was proved at Belfast by the oaths of Francis Kane of Moyarget and Nehemiah Craig M'Caughan of Islandboy both in (Ballycastle) said County Antrim the Executors.

The will itself is on-line. Samuel was 89 when he died (acc to the GRONI site).

Next step would be to look at the chruch records and also the tithe applotment records (c 1825) and the 1803 agricultural census, to see which Craigs and Grays were in Moyarget then. The tihes and the 1803 census are both on Bill McAfee's website.

http://billmacafee.com

Elwyn