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Consulting Griffith's valuation, census
data, graveyards records and local authorities we have been able to
establish the following about the 19th and early 20th Century inhabitants
of Gortaghragan. Numbers in brackets
refer to property reference from Griffith's Valuation
1) Sergeant John Kelly came to the area as a policeman. John married Mary McKillop from
Brablough and they had a daughter Mary.
Daniel McCormack resumed the lease when John Kelly moved to 2.
Adam Dinsmore married Catherine
McCormack and took the lease. Both
Adam Dinsmore and Daniel McDonnel were children of Jeanie Smith who arrived
in the area from Scotland.
We have idendified Adam and Catherine Dinsmore’s children
from RIC records. Their children
were John, Mary (married Alec Magee), Patrick (later joined the RIC),
Catherine (married George Connor from Straid), James, Margaret Ann (married
James Murray, known as ‘Bangor Murray’ career at sea) who inherited the
Dinsmore farm through his wife. According to Dennis McKillop it was Adam
Dinsmore encouraged James Murray to join the navy. James Murray built ‘the Hollies’, two
semi detached houses. He lived in
one and let out the other to Master Doherty, of Knocknacarry school.
Margaret Anne was the grandmother of the former Chief Constable of
Metropolitan police John McKay, who now lives in California. (Names of Dinsmores children were
established from going through Malachy’s RIC records.)
Many of Adam Dinsmore's family emigrated to America while his daughters
married locally and remained in the area.
Margaret Ann Dinsmore and her husband
James Murray eventually inherited the land as recorded in the 1911 revision
to Griffith's valuation.
2) Revisions to Griffith's Valuation indicate
that John Kelly took the property in 1868. Alexander O’Neill from Unshinagh
married John Kelly’s daughter and assumed the lease which is indicated in
the 1884 revision. Alexander had a
large family many of whom died young, the house eventually came into the
possession of Rose and John O’Neill (brother & sister). On Rose’s death her cousin Daniel McKay
inherited the house.
3A-C) This property has remained in the McKillop family since circa
1700.
The McKillops are one of the oldest families in this townland, St.
Patrick’s Cushendun has a gravestone for John McKillop died 26 Oct 1814
aged 86 and wife Margaret McKillop died 8 Oct 1816 aged 72
4A & B) Little is known of
John Leech who was later replaced
by Daniel McKillop.
4B) Rose McDonnell bought 4B and
4Bb from McKillops around 1870.
Rose was succeed by Daniel McDonnell in 1879.
Gravesone indicates that Daniel McDonnell died 1913, wife Ellen (nee
McKeegan) died 1926 and children Hugh died 1879 aged 3 years and Daniel
died oct 1894.
Mary Jane Delargy (nee McKeegan),
Ellen's sister,(?) died 1912 John died 1947 and James McDonnell (known as
‘the stout mason’) died 1956, Patrick died 1963 and Ellen Rose McDonnell
died 1968 aged 82 years. 1925 Land
Annuities document shows tenants John, James, Patrick and Rose (spinster)
Mc Donnell. Margaret married Jamie
Delargy.
5) James Magee is listed in the original valuation. His background is unknown. James McDonnell came into possession of
the property. From his gravestone
we know that James was a former Liverpool Customs Officer and died in 1883
aged 80. His wife Deborah (nee
Sharkey) died 1893, son John Died New York 1887, daughter Lizzie Duffy and
her children Mary Ann & May died 1913 sons James & Charles died
1908 , Lizzie’s husband Patrick died 1915, daughters Margaret died 1958 and
Kathleen died 1965.
Dan O’Neill (brother of Alec.
O’Neill mentioned in 2) who took the property in 1885 emigrated with his
family to America and sold the house and farm to the Richard
McFetridge. Richard had lived at
Mullart’s bridge where he kept a shop, he now set up shop in 5a, from where
the McFetridges continued to trade until very recently.
5a) eventually acquired the name ‘Castlegreen’. The name referred to the building itself but may have become
synonymous with the immediate area
(recalled by Patrick McKay).
Through neglect grass was allowed to grow up on the thatch of the
shop. Locals began to call the shop
‘Dan O’Neill’s Green Castle’. Over
time this became ‘Castlegreen’.
6) Michael McAuley. These several houses in the brae are the
central Clachan in the townland, known as ‘stonybatter’. The last people to live in the Clachan
were two McDonnell sisters. The Clachan has been deserted since the
1920s.
The Rev. Charles Gillis bought the property in 1865. Rev. Gillis was a Presbyterian minister
and farmer based in Mullarts, and ‘the father of Ballymena Presbytery’.
(See Malachy McSparran's article in 2004 Glynns, p.110-111) Born in 1821 the son of William Gillis
of Castlefin, Donegal, Charles Gillis was educated in Belfast, ordained in
Cushendall in October 1849 and died in 1903. Gillis married Jane McCambridge (nee Jackson, originally from
Larne) the widow of Daniel McCambridge who died in 1859. Jane already had one son and with
Charles she bore four more children: Charles, who succeeded to the property
at Mullarts, John who was a doctor who died young, Elizabeth who married
the Rev Samuel Reid, Gillis’ successor, and Anna Maria who died at an early
age after an accident.
During the period of land agitation in the mid-late 19th century Gillis
along with his Catholic counterpart in Cushendun, Rev. Eugene McCartan
‘took a leading role in supporting the tenants in their campaign for
reduction of their rents.’ (M. McSparran, Glynns 2004, p.110) The Whites agreed to reduce rents but
Gillis found that White’s agent Edmund McNeill was not willing to extend
that leniency to him, apparently because of the clergyman’s part in the
campaign. An altercation ensued,
which is colourfully recounted by Father McCartan in a letter to Sir George
White (M. McSparran, Glynns 2004, p.111).
James McDonnell, the former customs officer of no. 5 bought the land from Rev. Gillis. Wife Deborah
and child Annie.
8) Danny Murphy received property from
McKillop. The house was sold to a McGlinchy and demolished.
Knocknacarry School Records
Knocknacarry National School was opened in 1851. The records from the
Boys’ school are fairly extensive but the girls’ school are incomplete.
Using the school records of Knocknacarry Boys’ and Girls’ National Schools,
our knowledge of the families who once lived in Gortaghragan can be
augmented. Griffiths’ Valuation
dates only from circa 1860 and is concerned mainly with those who hold
leases of land and houses directly from the landlord.
Oral evidence was unable to supply much information about the clachan of
Stoneybatter. A local source recalls two sisters surnamed ‘McDonnell’ who
lived there but suggests the site was abandoned in the 1920’s. Schools
records show one child whose address is actually recorded as Stoneybatters,
Robert McCauley, whose father was a butcher. He was registered in Knocknacarry Boys’ School aged 8 in
1876. There was another family of
McAuley’s whose son Daniel attended the school and who is registered as
Gortaghragan. He was aged 10 in
1852 and his father was registered as a farmer and labourer*. They may or may not have been
related. No significance can be
attached to the spelling of surnames as most families would have been
illiterate and the orthography was probably at the discretion of the teacher
who registered the child.
Other surnames which are not recorded in Griffiths are Ramsey, Reid,
McGinley, Laverty, McLoughlin, McGee and McHenry.
John Ramsey has appeared three times in the register. He is recorded as aged 13 in both 1865
and 1867 while his parent/s are recorded as Servant and later as widow. He
is back in school in 1876 aged 21 with a different townland given
(neighbouring Mullarts) and registered as a farmer.
James Reid (Capt.) is a very interesting entry. He was aged 21 at
registration and for occupation the entry (Cert. S. Captain) appears. It was quite a custom for sailors to enrol
in Knocknacarry Boys’ School, between spells at sea, to study navigation.
It would appear that Capt. Reid was furthering his education even though he
had obtained his captain’s qualification.
Patrick Laverty was 7 when first registered. His father is registered as a farmer.
There are eight separate entries for him and he went to sea aged 19 in
1872.
James McGinley was at school in Knocknacarry
from 1853 (aged 12). His father
may have died during his school years as occupation is firstly ‘farmer’ and
later ‘widow.’ The last ‘entry’(of 4) was 1858. His age in that year was given as 13! The notes tell us he went ‘to
service.’
Another entrant’s father was a ‘ragman.’ Michael McHenry’s time in
Knocknacarry may have been brief for no date of entry was recorded. A terse statement dated July 1854 states
‘left the place.’
An Alexander McGee is registered as living in Gortaghragan. He was aged 4
in 1891 and his father is recorded as a farmer. It is strange that no family of McGee’s show up on Griffith’s
Valuation, the RIC Register of 1881 or the 1901 census. A family of McGee’s who emigrated to the
USA in the early years of the twentieth century lived in neighbouring
Dunurgan but although there was an Alexander in that family he was born
circa 1861.
The notes also tell us that Cassie McLoughlin came from Glasgow aged 12 in
1909.
*Children habitually attended school for a few months and then were
withdrawn. Thus they were
officially ‘struck’ from the register and had to be re-registered when next
they presented themselves at school.
Therefore the same child may have been registed five or six times
and the father’s occupation etc. often varies slightly as do other
categories eg. discrepancies in age.
Indeed sometimes the age of the child is so questionable that the
interpreter of the records is taxed to discover whether it is indeed the
same child. Probably less emphasis was put on birthdays and ages than in
modern times so the children’s ages given
may be quite approximate or even just an estimate.
If, having read what we have to say about this clachan and
the families living in it, you think you could supply further information,
please contact us.
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