“Half of Ireland must have left.  Everyone we meet seems to have Irish ancestors!”  exclaimed our new Irish friends, Eric and Sylvia.

I had mentioned my grandfather had been from the Belfast area.  They too, were from near Belfast, only 80 or so miles away.

We were having this conversation in New Zealand, half a world away from both Ireland where Eric and Sylvia were from, and Canada where we live.

Indeed this conversation took place not far from where my Irish grandfather’s sister Sadie had settled in New Zealand.

The Irish left the country in droves in the 1840s fleeing the Great Famine and they settled all over the world.  Later generations followed in their search of homesteads or jobs and a better life.  My grandfather settled in Canada, two of his sisters and one brother went to the USA and his youngest sister Sadie migrated to New Zealand.

No wonder our new Irish friends were convinced everyone they met abroad had Irish ancestors.

We certainly weren’t the first!

Thousands headed for Canada, often on ‘fever ships’ rampant with typhus.  According to Sharon Doyle Driedger, in her new book “An Irish Heart“, many thousands settled in Montreal.

The Irish built a working-class enclave marked by strong religious faith and an indifference to the political authority that endured for over a century.

This story of Irish Montreal may contain genealogy gems for those with Irish ancestors.  Even if your immediate ancestor didn’t settle in Canada, their brother or sister may have.

As Eric and Sylvia said “Everyone we meet seems to have Irish ancestors!”

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An Irish Heart is available at HarperCollins. Used copies are starting to appear on Amazon.

Today’s post will be a journey through some of the documentation we have to date of James KERR in Canada.

They settled in Quebec some time between 1841 and 1847 based on the birth places of their last two children.

James and Jane KERR and the family appear on the 1851 Census of Canada.  James, age 43 is listed as a shoemaker.  His wife Jane is 41.  The family were from Ireland (we know that that the last child was born in Quebec so this census notification was incorrect for Sarah).  We also know the family are Methodist.

Children showing on the 1851 Census are James, Catherine, Jemina, William and Sarah  and are aged 22,17,14,11 and 4 years.

The location of the census (not shown on the page below) is in Compton Township which is located in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Jump forward a few years to the 1861 Census of Canada and we find the family again.

Click on the image for a larger view.

There is more information on this image with regards to location – No 1 Township of Compton, in the County of Compton.

The KERRS appear at the bottom.  James is now listed as a Farmer from Ireland.   The family is Methodist as before but this time Sarah, the younger child is listed as being born in “Lower Canada”.

Ages of the family (on next birthday) are James (58), Jane (55), Catherine (25), Jemina (23), William (20) and Sarah (14).  There is no sign of the eldest son, James.  More on him in another post.

We also know the gender, whether they are married or single, whether the residents were members of the family (all were in this case).  We also know the youngest two children were still attending school (even William at age 20?).  The house is a 1 story frame house and that there is only one family living there.

So where is Compton?

Compton Township appears on the lower right hand corner of the Eastern Townships (Map reference – Marlene Simmonds Eastern Townships Genealogy )

The town of Compton is very close to Stanstead Township on the left hand side of Compton Township.  Please note this is not an historical map and the township borders may have changed.

Our next piece of evidence is the youngest child’s baptismal record in 1848. From that we have James and Jane’s signatures as witnesses.  We also know their church is the Methodist Church in Compton.

Sarah’s birthdate was the 20th of October 1847.  She was baptised on the 17 April 1848

Click on the image for a larger view.

James and Jane’s signature appears on many other vital documents on their family, including his will.

I’ll save them for another day and another post, but I will close with his burial record from September of 1873.  Witnesses were Jane S Kerr (his wife) and daughter Jemina Kerr.

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Source of Census and Church Records -Ancestry

1.  GENUKI:  www.genuki.org.uk/big/irl

2.  Fianna Hideaway & Guide to Irish Genealogy:  www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fianna

3.  Irish Ancestors: www.irishtimes.com/Ancestor

4.  National Archives of Ireland:  www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

5. The National Archives (UK) - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

6.  Public Records office of Northern Ireland: www.proni.gov.uk

7.  Cyndis List: http://www.cyndislist.com/ireland.htm

[Please comment below if you have have additional websites for Irish Genealogy research].

I’ve been borrowing books from the Alberta Family Histories Society library, some of which I wish I had available all the time at home for reference.

My latest purchases are:

• Finding Your Ancestors in English Quebec by Althea Douglas

• Finding your Irish Ancestors by Dr. Penelope Christensen

• Researching Irish Court Records by Brian Hutchinson

• Researching Irish Census Records…Including Census Substitute Records by Brian W. Hutchison

The more I know about the hows and whys the more likely I’ll solve our KERR brick wall and get them out of Quebec and back to a specific place in Ireland.

P.S. I am sooooo lovin’ being retired.  I have time to play

Religion in the Homeland

Do you know much about Methodism in Ireland in the 1800s?  I sure didn’t when I started my latest quest.  My goal was to learn more about the probable religion of my ancestors during the time leading up to when our James KERR (married to Jane HENDERSON) left Ireland for Canada (which was sometime between 1841 and 1847).

Our KERR ancestors were Methodists in Quebec and I suspect they were Methodists in Ireland.

The  Irish Methodist states that the Founder of Methodism, John Wesley first visited Ireland in 1747.  John went on to pay twenty-one visits to Ireland, lengthening in time and extent until they covered almost all of it.  Samuel Handy offered his residence, Coolalough in the parish of Ardnurcher, as a base from which they might work in the Irish Midlands.  Methodist societies were established within a 50 km radius of his home.

“The development in the Midlands encouraged John Wesley to send preachers from England to pioneer in different counties. They tended to visit the cities and market towns, and to attract attention by preaching wherever they could attract a crowd. Wesley began to visit Ireland regularly to encourage the societies they formed, and the growth of the movement can be plotted by his lengthening itineraries, first to south and west, but then to the north. His first visit to Ulster was in 1752.”

A large British garrison, finding themselves in Ireland, considerably strengthened, or even started Methodist societies in garrison towns.

Member of TWO Religions

From the Irish Methodist:

Although there have been Methodists in Ireland since the 1740s, for the first 70 years Methodists usually had dual membership as both Methodists and also members of the parish church. In terms of births, marriages and death the place to look for these will normally be in the local Church of Ireland parish register.

The first tentative step in breaking the sacramental link with the Established Church was taken at the Methodist Conference of 1816 but not finally authorized until 1818 when for the first time Methodist societies and preachers were permitted to have the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion in their own preaching houses. Societies in the north of Ireland were quicker to avail of this facility than those in the south but by the 1830s most societies were recording baptisms in their local chapel or in central ‘circuit’ registers.

Finding the concentrations of  historical Methodist societies along with KERR and HENDERSON surname concentrations could narrow my search down somewhat but this could also be equivalent to searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Irish Methodist Reminiscences

Add to the search areas of poverty in Ireland on the eve of the Great Famine in 1841;  the areas where the Great Famine of Ireland  hit the hardest in 1845-1847 and regions where the population fell the greatest from the time period of 1841-1851 may lead to a clearer understanding.

One book a genealogy friend suggested was Irish Methodist reminiscences; being mainly memorials of the life and labours of the Rev. S. Nicholson – Thomas, Edward, of Lisburn, Antrim, published in 1889.  The full text is available free through Cornell University Digitized Library Collection (under no known copyright).

I downloaded the pdf file of this 268 page book and did a quick search on the word “county” to see what I might find.   Mentions were of County Derry and County Monaghan.  I also searched for my two surnames and didn’t find a mention.  I then went back to the online version of the book so I could ‘flip’ pages like I would if I was reading it.  This time I was looking for anything of interest including more county names and any mention of Canada where my ancestors settled after they left Ireland. There was a Mission to Canada mentioned and I had to chuckle at these words:

The Rev. W. McClure, himself a first-class penman, in a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson, from Canada, in 1867, says, Dear Mrs. Nicholson, write yourself, for I can’t read some of Mr. Nicholson’s writing; if he don’t preach better than he writes, it must be awful.”

Talk about getting side tracked…back to the search at hand

Missions

I did find this under “Places Missioned” on page 81.

We have examined the letters of the Superintendents
and those of the Missionaries which appeared in the New
Methodist Magazine, from 1825 till 1840, and have collected
the following list of preaching places, with the view of
giving some idea of the extent of the Society’s operations
during those years. The names were transcribed as they
occurred, without reference to geographical situation or
connection. Some names may have escaped our notice :
Belfast Bangor Newtownards
Ballinahinch Lisburn Smithboro’
Newtownbreda Priesthill Downpatrick
Newcastle Broomhedge Selchin
Antrim Moira Blackwater
Ballymuldery Lurgan Tonnycoogin
Cornearney Eichill Largey
Ballymena Gracehill Carnlea
Randalstown Tubbermore Cullybackey
Gloonen Seuford Lanehill
Drumnall Bryansford Killough
Ring-Woody Armagh Lismore
Ardglass Quintin Bay Magerhafelt
Scotchtown Cohan Monagban
Drumnail Anna Cramp Deny Corr
Portadown Ballyhaise Dumnali
Woodburn Xockranagan Innisrush
Derrehalla Tullyserran Loughgall
Stradone Slash Charlemount
Glasslough Crossforth Ballyhay
Clones Bailieborough Ballyhornen
Ballyhulbert Crewe Stonyford
Ballinderry Moyrusk Milltown

More place names are mentioned on page 82 and 89 including mentions of members leaving to emigrate to Canada and the United States.  Bangor and Newtownards are mentioned on page 156 and 157.

On page 88:

but migration and emigration were, as they continue to be, a constant drain upon the membership, keeping the numbers down. Young people cannot find suitable or sufficient employment in the small
or rural districts in Ireland, in which most of the mission Stations are situated. All over the Island, the population has been steadily going down.  Some of the Irish missionaries were early induced to leave for Canada, and their reports and letters from the “goodly land “attracted many of the Irish members to the Dominion, and these, in their turn, induced others to follow : so that there continued a constant exodus of Irish Methodist New Connexionists to Canada.

Famine, Pestilence and Death

The Irish had additional burdens.  Cholera was ‘alarmingly prevalent in 1846-1847.  (Irish Methodist Reminiscences, page 155.)  The church members attended to the sick, starving and dying.

From page 157:

The years 1816 till 1849 in Ireland were years of famine and disease following upon the “potato blight,” when thousands of sufferers perished. Newtownards suffered from the “famine” more than any other town in the North.

Page 159 by Mrs. Nicholson, wife of Reverend Nicholson.

Oh ! the scenes of filth and wretchedness, hunger,
nakedness and disease which my dear husband witnessed
and tried to relieve. Hundreds had no bed-clothes whatever,
and but an excuse for a bed or none at all ; and they
covered themselves at night with the scant garments
which they wore during the day. I can never forget
many individual cases which came under our special notice.
A poor man came for a ‘ line ‘ to get his wife into the
hospital. The poor woman was ‘ down in fever,’ and had
a baby just six weeks old. The man said he ‘ dooted they
wad both d’e, but he added ‘ a dinna care for ‘am caught
mysel’.’ They were all admitted to the hospital : the
poor fellow himself was the only one that succumbed. We
had meal to give out to the starving ones ; and of a morning
above a hundred poor creatures would be gathered
about our door. One day a poor woman fainted in the
crush. The patients in the hospital were dying daily

These were likely the conditions my ancestors were fleeing when they left Ireland for Canada sometime between 1841 and 1847.

Does this foray into one of the books of Early Irish Methodists give me the answers I am seeking?  Not yet, but it does give me a better understanding of the Irish Methodist church and its localities and the horrific conditions of the times.  This was the era when my ancestors left for Canada.  The more I understand about the times and their religion the more likely I will find my answers.

Please share your thoughts below.

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Resources:

Irish Methodist reminiscences; being mainly memorials of the life and labours of the Rev. S. Nicholson

*The Ireland Story

Historical county map of Ireland

Ireland’s Historical Mapping Archive ($)

He married Eliza Victoria GODWIN on 02 June 1857 in Ontario, Canada. 

They had one child Samuel Franklin WOODLAND.

Connections? 

Please comment below no matter how remote the connection might be.  Thanks!

To access the collection click here.

We can’t get this family out of Canada and back to a specific place in Ireland.  I’ve researched extensively in Quebec and have the names of the spouses of the children, death certificates, census records, obits, land records etc but no luck yet.  The documentation says….born in “Ireland” but not “Where” in Ireland!

The indexes to the Irish Civil birth, marriage, death registrations have been uploaded on a pilot site at a LDS webpage.

I can use the Irish Civil Registrations to locate pockets of Kerrs and Hendersons.  Alas our James Kerr won’t be in this database.  He was born before the time period of this index and died outside the country….BUT perhaps I can find him in another collection.

For an index of all the collections (many countries) go here.

Here is the story of my Grandmother, the MAIL ORDER BRIDE…

My grandfather, William (Bill) IRVINE arrived in Canada from Ireland in 1911 at age 19 to make his way in a new land.  At age 20 he took up a homestead of 160 acres in the rocky hills 20 miles south west of Young, Saskatchewan.  The going was tough.  The winters were long and harsh, the house (basically a shack) and barn were built with the labour of his own hands, the soil turned and the crops planted.  When old timers talk about having to walk uphill both ways, this is what they meant!

My grandmother, Isabel WOODLAND was born in April of 1898 in Ottawa, Ontario, the second daughter of Samuel F. WOODLAND and Isabel Mary NESBITT.  Her father was a planer and a millwright and they moved west to make a living after losing most of their possessions in the Great Ottawa Fire in the year 1900.  The family lived in BC for several years before returning to Ontario to her grandparents’ house after the death of Isabel’s mother in a runaway horse and buggy incident.  Her grandparents were living in Morrisburg, Ontario at the time.

Grandma was a strong woman; a person of conviction and she had a dream.  She wanted to be a dentist. This in an era where most women didn’t have professional careers (early 1900s).  In preparation for a career in dentistry, she worked as a dental assistant for three years.  Imagine her dismay when she discovered her senior matriculation didn’t qualify her for dental school.  She then turned to nursing and graduated number five of the first graduating class of the Ottawa Civic Hospital on June 10, 1925.

Grandma was also a family historian and in her later years she recorded this story….

Isabel’s story in her own words….

“A couple of days before graduation, there was letter for me postmarked Young, Saskatchewan. The letters had started some time earlier when my cousin, John Woodland, had given my address to his friend, Bill Irvine. This developed into a continuous correspondence and we got to know each other quite well.”

At this point my grandparents had never met face to face. They were penpals and a budding romance had developed, all by correspondence. (how they would have loved the internet!).

Isabel’s story continues…

“Bill had a good crop and decided to check on his mail-order bride. Arrangements were made by letter and he arrived in Ottawa in January 1926 for a visit at which time he proposed. I showed off my new ring when I returned to specializing at the Civic Hospital. Wedding plans were made for February 18, 1926. My cousin, Vida Smith, was my bridesmaid and her friend, Allan Boyd, was best man. My dress was royal blue cut velvet and Bill wore a navy suit.”

This is an interesting family story and we are fortunate to have it but the story gets even better.  At this point we turn to Grandpa’s diary.

Grandpa William Irvine kept a daily diary for well over SIXTY years….

Under a heading of “Things of Paramount Importance” he wrote:

“Miss Isabel Woodland Sept 26, 1925.

On January 7, 1926 we find the following entry shortly after his arrival in Ontario to meet his penpal Isabel face to face.

“Out to see Isabel. Our discussion never to part. Those pleasant moment I will never forget.”

Grandpa was in love…

And on January 12, 1926 we find another notable entry in his diary.  Grandpa was never a demonstrative man and I find this following entry to be particularly touching.

“Gave Isabel Ring. W( I  I) W”

with a circle around the two”I”s for William Irvine and Isabel Woodland.

On the day William IRVINE married Isabel WOODLAND, his mail order bride, February 18, 1926 he wrote:

“The greatest event in life, got married. Married bliss.”

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This, in my humble opinion, is what makes a family history.

Warmly,

Joan

P.S. Special thanks to several family members for your help.  You know who you are..:)

——–

The moral of this touching story?  Please include as many stories as you can in your roots research and reports. Paste them into the notes section of your family tree software, record them in a word document, or better still audio or video record the stories of the elders of your family.  Whether you publish a blog post or a long report for the extended family, these are the stories that will enrich your family tree and make it truly a family history.

We are searching for a James KERR b1804 in Ireland married to Jane S. HENDERSON b. 1810 who emigrated to Canada sometime between 1841 and 1847. Children born in Ireland were James, Catherine, Jemina, and William.  They had one more daughter Sarah born in Quebec. They were Methodist in Canada.

We can’t get this family out of Canada and back to a specific place in Ireland.  I’ve researched extensively in Quebec and have the names of the spouses of the children, death certificates, census records, obits, land records etc but no luck yet.  The documentation says….born in “Ireland” but not “Where” in Ireland!

If you have any suggestions or connections to might help resolve this brick wall please use the comment form or contact me here.

Thanks!

Joan