My great, great grandmother was Rebecca Armstrong. Born 1788 County Tyrone. Her father was David Armstrong born 1770. His wife was Rebecca Burnside also born 1770. Wonder if any connection to Catherine Armstrong?
Place of migration
Migrated to/Born in UK
Little is known in our family about the ARMSTRONG family in Clogher. Catherine, born before 3 May 1853 in Parish Clogher, was apparently the oldest child of 5 or 6 children; sibling names mentioned to one of my now deceased cousins were only Susan, George, "Bess."
Catherine married George GILLESPIE in estimated 1875 in Parish Clogher, and their first child William John "Jack", was born there, with "Marjerie" present at the birth: 23 Aug 1876. Marjerie might well be Catherine's mother. Catherine & George had their second child James Robert, born near Omagh in 1878.
In approximately 1879 or 1880, the Gillespie family moved to Barrow-in-Furness across in northern England for the work opportunities - foundries and ship-building.
This photo is from an 1895 photo of the family in my possession.
- Celia Lewis neé Gillespie in Vancouver BC Canada
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1853 | |
| Date of Death | 1st Jan 1923 | |
Comments
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Rehandra
Wednesday 2nd June 2021 10:27PM -
Hi Rehandra,
The names Rebecca and David don't show up in any of the 1800s Armstrongs... I'm wondering where in County Tyrone your Armstrongs were living? Catherine and her sibs George, Susan, Bess, John, father George, possible mother Marjerie, were born in County Tyrone, Clogher Parish, possibly in the village of Augher, according to the 1911 Census in Barrow in Furness, across the water in northern England.
Armstrong is definitely a Lowland Scots surname, so it is likely their ancestors came over, planted in the early 1700s. Oh to have more documents to drool over to find connections. With the little info I have to date, I'd say although there may be a connection back a half dozen or more generations, it wouldn't be a close one. I'll keep looking, who knows, something might come and surprise me! Cheers.
- Celia in Vancouver BC CanadaCelia.Lewis
Wednesday 2nd June 2021 11:25PM -
Hi Celia
The only other information I have is that she was born in Fintona, County Tyrone so would assume her parents were as well It is hard when you hit a brick wall as so much information is not available any more, sadly.
cheers Rehandra :)
Rehandra
Friday 4th June 2021 12:07AM -
Hi Rehandra,
Pulling out a Google map, I see that Fintona is relatively close - only about 10 miles away from Augher in County Tyrone, where Catherine was born... Close indeed. Interesting. Of course, it is possible there's a connection further back some generations, but it's challenging to find those connections, isn't it!
Wish we had a way to find more of our ancestors in Northern Ireland. I dream that someone will find an old letter or old Bible or old parish register with a small genealogy attached... Maybe, one day!!
Cheers, CeliaCelia.Lewis
Friday 4th June 2021 04:51PM -
Hi Celia
I think they ARE possibly all related but as you say going further back is the problem. Maybe someone on this site may have some information that would be of help. I will still keep looking and will get back to you if I find anything further. I would love to go to Ireland before I fall off the perch but with covid it is getting more remote :)
cheers Pam
Rehandra
Friday 4th June 2021 11:38PM -
p.s. have a look at this..maybe you know about it...I am thinking of joining as not a lot of money ..... https://www.armstrongclan.info/roots-researches.html
seem to be a lot of information to trawl through...you can go country by country
cheers Pam (Rehandra)
Rehandra
Friday 4th June 2021 11:49PM -
here is another site I have found....I have yet to look through it myself....a lot there......http://www.rootsweb.com/~nirfer2/Links.htm
cheers Pam
Rehandra
Saturday 5th June 2021 12:01AM -
Hi Pam, I looked at the Armstrong Clan Assoc, - I think it might be useful but I won't be able to pay for any further genealogy associations/expenses until into July. I've put it on my list now.
The RootsWeb site is a maybe-useful... Unfortunately, the link to County Tyrone is broken. Still, the Fermanagh page provides a long list of possible general Irish resources I could be searching - a good list of resources that I mostly know, but others are new to me.
I'm in the middle of teaching genealogy for beginners for our local society right now - so in July, I'll get back to digging into resources for my great-grandparents Armstrong and Gillespie.
Thanks for your comments - much appreciated! I'm most unlikely ever to get over to Tyrone - I'm in Vancouver BC, and retired on no pension, so life is interesting... My passion for genealogy keeps me connected and stimulated, particularly during the Covid19 lockdown!
Cheers - Celia
Celia.Lewis
Tuesday 8th June 2021 05:47PM -
Hello Celia, Your posts peaked my interest in that my 3x great grandmother was a Catherine Armstrong. She and Edward Heron had at least 4 children that I've learned of over the past several years, they being James, Thomas, Catherine and my 2x great grandfather William.
Daughter Catherine Herons death record indicates she was born in Trillick, Tyrone. She is the only child of Edward and Catherine that we've been able to find some documentation on place of birth and who knows if the informant provided the correct information.
The children all ended up in different countries mostly, and early, sometime in their 20's.
My William born abt. 1823 Ireland was in Canada sometime before 1850 when he married. James migrated in 1841 to Australia then New Zealand. Thomas and sister Catharine were in New York, USA in abt 1849-50. Thomas left in the mid 1870s for New Zealand and met up with brother James. Catherine lived out her life in New York.
James' ship immigration document indicates he "originated" from Urney, Cavan. Thomas was married in Letterkenny, Donegal (have documentation).
None of the other children have documents found indicating any place in Ireland other than just Ireland.
My 2x Great Grandfather named one of his daughters Cecelia. Your name stuck out since it isn't common in my family other than Williams one daughter.
I've been at my family research for 30 years, and in the past 3 turned to DNA which still hasn't produced any kind of concrete results.
Best wishes,
J.Jay
Wednesday 21st July 2021 02:49AM -
Hi Jay,
Your details are so interesting... wish there was a relationship there! I keep hoping that DNA might get me somewhere - I had my brother's Y-DNA done at FamilyTreeDNA, but the only two close matches live in Virginia USA, and aren't interested in genealogy/family history, and aren't willing to provide me with any information which would allow me to flesh out a possible tree back to Ireland. Sigh. Of course the Y-DNA match could be quite a ways back, unfortunately. Still, one day, perhaps.
I only started my genealogy research 3 years before I retired in 2008 - started because I didn't want to be bored after I retired!! I'm definitely not bored now. It's a tremendous passion, keeps me stimulated, in a friendly community, learning all the time. I also teach Genealogy for Beginners to keep me on my toes.
Cheers, enjoyed your message!
- CeliaCelia.Lewis
Tuesday 3rd August 2021 05:32PM
