Category: Genealogy

Thomas Allingham (1798-1883) of Glencar, Killasnet Parish, Co. Leitrim, Ireland.

Thomas Allingham (1798-1883) of Glencar, Killasnet Parish, Co. Leitrim, Ireland.

Posted on by jack

Thomas Allingham (c1798-1883) was a farmer in Sracreeghan, Killasnet Parish, Co. Leitrim, Ireland. This part of the parish was called Glencar or Glenlough.

He had 4 children that we know of but I think there must have been more. Elizabeth Allingham was born about 1826 and married John McBrien. Ruth Allingham was probably born in the 1830s and her marriage to Matthew Greer is Continue reading “Thomas Allingham (1798-1883) of Glencar, Killasnet Parish, Co. Leitrim, Ireland.”

My Gows are in disarray

My Gows are in disarray

Posted on by jack

I thought I had it. Not real convincing but plausible. A few weak spots but still the best I had. Seemed like the best I could do a few years ago. Now my Gows are in disarray.

Why the Gows? My great grandmother is Emma Cash McKenzie. I’ve made good progress on my McKenzies but gotten nowhere with Emma until very recently. And then very quickly things went downhill. Continue reading “My Gows are in disarray”

Scottish Military Disasters

Scottish Military Disasters

Posted on by jack

Near the end of my  post for yesterday  on the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge  I cited a book called  Scottish Military Disasters by Paul Cowan.  I had read the chapter on the battle and the role of Flora MacDonald.  It did seem rather an unlikely coincidence but it appears to be true.

Anyway I liked what I had read and that evening starting looking around to see if I could find more about the book.  Well, learning about the book  Scottish Military Disasters was my starting point.  I learned a bit that was expected and some that was totally unexpected.
Continue reading “Scottish Military Disasters”

Ancestry Irish Catholic parish records

Ancestry Irish Catholic parish records

Posted on by jack

A few days ago I wrote about free access to Irish Catholic parish records on Find My Past. These records are also availble on Ancestry,

In my experience to date I prefer the Ancestry Irish Catholic parish records. I have found a few new members of my extended family via the Ancestry Irish Catholic parish records. The records seem more complete, although that may or may not be true in general, it seems to be the case for my family.

I also like that the Ancestry index seems to be more often linked to an image of the actual record. That may be of limited value since the records are written in Latin and often hard to read. But it is nice to se the oriinal record and verify that it was indexed correctly. (I have not found a mistake yet.)

Free genealogy offer better

Free genealogy offer better

Posted on by jack

The free genealogy offer from Find My Past is better than I thought when I wrote my post on free access to this morning. I thought access to these records was free until March 7.

When I went online and started searching I noticed all sorts of Irish Records were being pulled up. Then I re-read the email from Find My Past: Continue reading “Free genealogy offer better”

Irish Catholic parish records

Irish Catholic parish records

Posted on by jack

Good news for those with an interest in Irish genealogy. For some time now, we have known Irish Catholic parish records would be put an the internet with a searchable index.

Find My Past has put a searchable index of Irish Catholic parish records online, and it is free for a limited time. This has long been desirable since the are the state of useful records for Irish genealogy is so poor. In fact, births of Catholics were not included in public records until 1864.

Many of those records that did exist were destroyed during the Irish civil war. So the state of genealogical records in Ireland is pretty bad for everyone and worse for those of us with Catholic ancestors. That is why a searchable index for Irish Catholic parish records is so important. Continue reading “Irish Catholic parish records”

Brick wall broken by DNA

Brick wall broken by DNA

Posted on by jack

Genealogists trace a family and then get to a point where is seems very difficult or maybe even impossible to get beyond. These involuntary stopping points in genealogy are often called “Brick Walls”. I have several and I suppose a good many people doing genealogy have several brick walls. This is the story of a brick wall broken by DNA.

To be more specific it is the brick wall in my McKenzie line. I had been able to go back as far as my great grandfather Malcolm McKenzie and his wife Emma Cash McKenzie. Over a year and a half I wrote a very short post about them, mostly Emma Cash McKenzie.
Continue reading “Brick wall broken by DNA”

Mary McKenzie Hogge McDougall

Mary McKenzie Hogge McDougall

Posted on by jack

This is one of those things where I am not sure if Mary McKenzie Hogge McDougall is a relation. I’ve previously written about my McKenzie/MacKenzie search including Colin of Ellsworth and his possible brother Malcolm (my great grandfather).

This one is more of a “Hail Mary”. I stumbled upon an abstract of a death certificate for Mary McDougull at FamilySearch. (A big “thank you” to those volunteer indexers.) The thing that got me interested was that it said she was born in Nova Scotia in 1854 and her parents were Alexander and Anna McKenzie. This could match as a potential sister of Malcolm McKenzie but may just be coincidence.

Show me the records

Continue reading “Mary McKenzie Hogge McDougall”

MacKenzie search New Hampshire

MacKenzie search New Hampshire

Posted on by jack

A few days ago I wrote about our McKenzie/MacKenzie search. Specifically I wrote about Colin McKenzie of Ellsworth, Maine. I was hoping this might bring a few comments from distant relatives.

But it did not, at least not yet. We genealogists are an optimistic bunch.

A genealogy book

Continue reading “MacKenzie search New Hampshire”

Colin McKenzie of Ellsworth, Maine

Colin McKenzie of Ellsworth, Maine

Posted on by jack

I think Colin McKenzie of Ellsworth, Maine is a brother of my great grandfather Malcolm McKenzie.   I’m not sure at this point but it does seem likely.  It would be great to hear from a descendant or 2 of  Colin McKenzie of Ellsworth but I am jumping way ahead in this story.

Colin McKenzie of Ellsworth

As far as I know Colin McKenzie of Ellsworth was born in or near Middle River, Victoria county, Nova Scotia.  This is on Cape Breton Island.  His marriage certificate is even more specific placing his residence and place of birth as Hunter’s Mountain which is between Baddeck and Middle River in Nova Scotia. But then other records say he was born in Scotland.  So he was born in old Scotland or New Scotland.  I suppose I’ll eventually get it straight. Continue reading “Colin McKenzie of Ellsworth, Maine”

Mary McKenzie Nolan

Mary McKenzie Nolan

Posted on by jack

Where was Mary McKenzie Nolan born?

I guess she was just Mary McKenzie then. She married John Nolan much later but I don’t know when or where. I imagine it was New York City or near there and occurred sometime after 1900 but before her death in 1923.

Why do I think Mary McKenzie became Mary Nolan then? And why am I unsure of where she was born? Continue reading “Mary McKenzie Nolan”

Ruth Allingham Greer (about 1835-1887)

Ruth Allingham Greer (about 1835-1887)

Posted on by jack

Genealogy facts seems to come in unexpected bunches. For years you try to break a brick wall in your research and suddenly the wall breaks and a flood of new information comes your way.

One brick wall involved Ruth Allingham Greer, my great great grandmother. The first record we have is her marriage to Matthew Greer in 1854 in Glencar, Co Leitrim, Ireland.

From that marriage record, we thought she was probably born around 1835, give or take a few years. We also found records of several births to this couple in Sligo. Continue reading “Ruth Allingham Greer (about 1835-1887)”

William Greer Scotland to Brooklyn 1849-1943

William Greer Scotland to Brooklyn 1849-1943

Posted on by Jack

One branch of my family is descended from Ruth Allingham of Glencar, Leitrim, Ireland who married Matthew Greer.

William Greer (1849-1943) was Ruth’s stepchild. Born of Matthew Greer and Jane Burkhard in Scotland on Feb 14 1849 (according to his death cert). He was raised in Sligo, Ireland by Ruth and Matthew. It seems he was the first in the Allingham-Greer family to emigrate to New York (about 1872) and played an important part in gradually bringing over the rest of the family. He married Elizabeth Farrington around 1875.

Children of William and Elizabeth Continue reading “William Greer Scotland to Brooklyn 1849-1943”

Drescher mystery

Drescher mystery

Posted on by jack

A little over a week ago I posed several question in the bog in my entry Is Marie Greer really Maria Dresher ?. I have found some answers but not the one asked in the title.

I found an index entry of Marie Jennie Drescher ‘s birth certificate at family search (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WZ9-FVJ). She was born 05 Sep 1909. Her father is William Drescher and the mother is Lottie Grae Drescher. I assume “Grae” is really Greer.

I found a marriage cert that seemed to confirm the names of the parents.

So now I am pretty sure who Mr. Dresher is. But this still leaves several of my questions unanswered.