Land records hold interesting information for genealogists and historians and it is possible to search the historical records for a specific location in Ontario. Here is how to procede.
1. Connect to your account (if you don’t have an account you’ll need to create one).
2. Search for the closest Land Registry Office for the location you are interested in.
3. Select Historical Books
4. Select Abstract/Parcel Register Book
5. Click the Search Books Button
6. Find the book that fits what you are interested in according to the township and description.
7. Click on the View Details Button.
8. Browse page by page.
Note that the Lot number is usually indicated in the top of each page. The pages for a lot are usually arranged chronologically. Sometimes, you will find half of the lot first, followed by the second half.
1. In Ancestry, click on the DNA link in the top black menu. This will bring you to the DNA page.
2. If you manage multiple kit, select the DNA kit you wish to share.
3. Click on the Settings button of the DNA kit you wish to share.
4. From the DNA Setting page, go to the Visibility and sharing box
5. Click on the DNA test sharing item.
6. From here click on the Invite button.
7. You will need to put the email of the person you wish to share your results with and select the role they will have. The last step is to press the Invite button and you are done!
Here is what Ancestry has to say about the roles
Basically, If you simply wish to share your DNA results with family, friends or other genealogists, the Viewer Role is probably the best to give.
If you are working on a particular project with other genealogists that might give you a hand, you might consider giving them the Collaborator Role. They can take advantage of other functionalities such as tagging your match, adding notes, linking your DNA to a different tree which could be part of a research strategy they would certainly gladly explain.
Note that the access to a tree and to the DNA results are managed separately in Ancestry.
People who know me well know that I have been playing with autosomal DNA for years. These tests give the tester a chance to get in touch with numerous matches with whom he or she shares DNA. Usually, it is easy to find the family relation of matches having more than 100 cM (centimorgan – the unit of measurement for DNA). Some others are more challenging. It is the case for 6 descendants of Beatrice Millar and Randolf Holgate coming from three different branches.
Descendants of Randolf Holgate and Beatrice Millar. The green matches are from Ancestry, the red one is from 23andme and the yellow one is from both Ancestry and GEDmatch.
The diagram above shows the position of each of the descendants in relation to the couple that interests us today. Since common matches in Ancestry suggest that this family is connected to the McAllister, let’s see what we can find out about Randolf Holgate and Beatrice Millar and try to figure out try to find out how the histories of these two families intersected.
If you have been following this blog for a while, you might be thinking that you have heard of the Millar family before and you are quite right. In my blog post about The McKinley family we learned that Archibald McAllister’s sister-in-law, Sarah McKinley, married James Millar. The two Millar families aren’t closely related as we will see.
Randolf Holgate and Beatrice Millar
Randolf Holgate was born in September 1911 in Lancashire, England. His parents, John William Holgate and Martha Ellen Davis, and the rest of the family came to Canada later that year[1]. In 1922, Randolf and his family visited his older brother George then residing in Portland, Maine[2]. Randolf, a brother, a sister and their mother must have gone back to England sometime, maybe for a visit, in 1926. They came back aboard the Doric who departed Liverpool on October 1st, 1926. A few years later, after turning 21, Randolf married Beatrice Millar in Montreal on November 4th, 1932, in the middle of the great economic crisis.
Beatrice Annie Millar was born on June 16th, 1915, and baptized on the 20th at the Anglican church of Maniwaki. Her parents were William John Millar and Annie Maria Phipps. She is the last of 8 children born from their marriage, the others being born between 1891 and 1911. In order : George Arthur, Edith, Agnes, Mamie, Lillian, Dora and Mildred.
Baptism record of Beatrice Millar, June 20th, 1915.
It is interesting to note that William John Millar’s family is from the Maniwaki. This is also the area where the McAllister family settled. In fact, both families are in the Kensington Township in the 1911 census, a few years before Beatrice’s birth. Since the Holgate family comes from England, it seems only logical to research the Millar family. Note that sometimes the Millar family uses other names : Violon in the case of censuses, Vellow as mentioned in Beatrice’s birth registration.
Whoever digs a little more on the Millar family eventually finds the burial of Beatrice Millar’s father, William John Millar, in the records of the Maniwaki Anglican church. The burial is recorded on September 7, 1914, and the death occurred two days earlier, on September 5. William John Millar is said to have been 66 years, 8 months and 25 days old. That is precise! He was a farmer from Kensington Township and was husband to Annie Maria Phipps.
Burial record of William John Millar, September 7th, 1914.
Usually finding a death record isn’t a big deal, but this one raise an important question since it occurs 40 weeks and two days prior to Beatrice’s birth : Is William John Millar really Beatrice’s father? This might not be impossible since pregnancy can last up to 42 weeks. But when you also consider that the duration of a pregnancy tend to get slightly shorter when the number of pregnancy increases, that Beatrice would have been the eighth child born and that by June 16, 1915, Annie Maria Phipps would have been forty-four years old, going on 45, there are a lot of red flags showing up. Aren’t these red flags pointing a possibility of an illegitimate daughter? Could this be the hidden connection to the McAllister family? Let’s see what else DNA can tell us.
Assessing the Relationship From Ancestry
The first step of our analysis is to assess the relationship between the descendants of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley and those of Beatrice Millar and Randolf Holgate by using Ancestry. For each match, I compiled the number of segments and the shared cM, as displayed below in Ancestry. To have access to this information, you will require access to the list of match of each close cousin or obtain this information from them.
Shared cM and number of segments between B2 and grandchild 1 according to Ancestry.
Even though this compilation has been done between the 19 descendants of the McAllister family (as shown in this previous blog post) and the 6 descendants of the Holgate family that have undergone DNA testing, I only present the results gathered for Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley’s 2 grandchildren (GC1 and GC2) and 6 great-grandchildren. It was clear from the start that both grandchildren were the ones sharing the most segments and cM with the descendants of the Holgate family as it can be expected.
Compilation of DNA segments and cM shared between the McAllister and Holgate families according to Ancestry.
From this first analysis, we can see that GC1 is the grandchild who shares the most DNA with B1 sharing 286 cM dispersed in 12 segments. Taken alone, this information allow us to draw limited conclusions. According to the Shared cM Project 4.0 tool v4, the most probable relationship between B1 and GC1 would be half great-great-niece/nephew, second cousin, half first cousin once removed or first cousin twice removed all with a probability of 59 %. Because of the age of both B1 and GC1, it is possible to eliminate the half great-great-niece/nephew relationship.
Shared segments
To further the research of the connection between the McAllister family and Beatrice Millar’s family, one of her descendants, B1, uploaded his results to GEDmatch. This allows a better understanding of what DNA segments are shared between him and different members of our family that also uploaded their results.
In the previous section, we showed that Ancestry provides the number of segments and cM shared by one person with B1. What it doesn’t allow to do is to distinguish if these segments are unique to each relationship or shared with other descendants of Archibald McAllister. It would be a mistake to think that the maximum cM shared by the descendants of Archibald McAllister is 286 cM over 12 segments. Instead, it is 590 cM over 26 segments that the descendants of Archibald McAllister are sharing with B1 showing a closer family relationship than expected. Here is a breakdown of the shared segments and the cM they represent by the descendants of two branches (William and Archie) of Archibald McAllister that have uploaded their results to GEDmatch.
Breakdown of the cM of each shared segments between B1 and the descendants of two branches of Archibald McAllister.
This breakdown requires a few comments. First of all, the cM of three of these segments, those shown in red, are underestimated. They are combined segments of overlapping smaller segments. I simply took the cM value of the longest segment from which they were combined. For example, the segment on Chromosome 8 that runs from 22 to 113 is a combination of two segments, one running from 22 to 58 being 29,6 cM long and the other from 27 to 113 being 67,9 cM long. Only that last value of 67,9 cM has been considered. Let’s also note that the 107,1 cM shared with Archie’s branch is limited because the information comes from only two descendants : one great-grandchild and one great-great-great-grandchild. The McAllister DNA has been diluted over the generation.
The Possible Connections
Before exploring these segments more in depth, it would be useful to use the WATO (What are the odds?) tool from DNA Painter to see what connections are possible, and which ones are more likely, between the McAllister family and B1, a grandchild of Beatrice Millar. Since most of William McAllister’s DNA has been reconstructed, we are also using the 542 cM identified in the previous breakdown. This will narrow the possibilities offered by WATO.
Hypotheses of connections between the McAllister and Beatrice Millar’s descendant (B1).
The main hypotheses to be considered are the one shown in light blue (numbered 1, 2, 4 and 6). Let’s take a closer look at what is suggested :
Hypothesis 1 suggests that Beatrice would be born from a child of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McAllister. At this point, we can’t negate this hypothesis.
Hypothesis 2 suggests that Beatrice Millar would be a daughter of Archibald McAllister and another woman. At this point, we can’t negate this hypothesis.
Hypothesis 4 suggests that Beatrice Millar, who was born in 1915, would be a sister of Archibald McAllister. However, both his parents died before 1915. For that reason, this hypothesis is not valid.
Hypothesis 6 suggests that Beatrice Millar, who was born in 1915, would be Archibald McAllister’s mother. We know that Archibald was born in 1853 and for that reason this hypothesis is not valid.
At this point, we are left with two hypotheses : either Beatrice Millar is the daughter of Archibald McAllister and another woman, or she is a daughter of one of his children. Using Ancestry, we see that none of the descendants of Beatrice Millar share DNA with the know descendants of Henry McKinley and Mary O’Hara, Eliza McKinley’s parents. This tends to validate hypothesis 2. A more detailed segment analysis could shed some more light on this.
Segment Analysis
When we compare the segments previously identified to the genome map prepared for both Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley as shown in this previous blog post, we find that 18 of the 26 segments totalling 471,4 cM are associated to Archibald McAllister’s DNA while the remaining 8 segments representing 119,3 cM haven’t been associated. These remaining segments could be from either Archibald McAllister of Eliza McKinley’s DNA. Surprisingly, no segment is associated with the McKinley family.
Another element to consider is the X-DNA inheritance. No matter if Beatrice Millar’s connection to the McAllister’s family is on her paternal or maternal side, she would be a carrier of X-DNA shared with some descendants of Archibald. If hypothesis 1 is accurate, X-DNA would be shared with three descendants of William McAllister who are carriers of X-DNA from Eliza McKinley. If hypothesis 2 is accurate, X-DNA would not be shared with these descendants. In this precise case, none of the three descendants of William are sharing any X-DNA with Beatrice’s grandchild.
While most of the elements examined so far tend to validate that Beatrice Millar would be a daughter of Archibald McAllister and another woman, we can’t discard hypothesis 1 out of any doubt. There is still a possibility that William McAllister’s three descendants just didn’t share the exact same DNA segments on the X chromosome as Beatrice Millar’s grandchild.
Conclusion
This article explored the possible connection between Beatrice Millar and the McAllister family. Not without any doubt, it tends to show that Beatrice Millar would be the daughter of Archibald McAllister and another woman, adding a new branch to Archibald’s descendants in Canada and abroad.
This conclusion will be reviewed when more cousins from either the Holgate or McAllister families transfer their DNA to GEDmatch. This will certainly help to confirm or disprove that Archibald McAllister is Beatrice’s father. It could also be useful to validate that Annie Maria Phipps is indeed Beatrice’s mother. Couldn’t it be one of her daughters? After all, we all know the custom of keeping in the family the baby of an unwed daughter.
[1] 1921 Canadian Census, Province of Quebec, Montreal (Ste-Anne), sub district 29 – Ste-Anne Ward, p 5 of 14.
[2] Manifests of Passengers Arriving at St. Albans, VT, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895-1954. M1464-St. Albans, Vermont, 1895-1954, 401-450, 442, p. 640 of 998.
Time flies by quickly with school, the full-time job and the snow teasing the downhill skier in me. I can’t believe February is already here!
Last May, I briefly talked about the Visual Phasing and DNA painting techniques. I also presented the reconstructed genome maps of Joseph Leclair and Lisa Kelly. Now more than ever, DNA can play a great part in genealogical findings when the archives and records are no longer of any help. Such is the case for anyone researching the McAllister and McKinley families. For that reason and in order to help further research about those families, I share with you the genomic maps of both Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley.
Here is a diagram showing Archibald and Eliza’s descendants who have done DNA testing. The yellow boxes show cousins that contributed to reconstructing Archibald and Eliza’s DNA. The green boxes show known cousins that have tested but that haven’t transferred their DNA to GEDmatch.com, where it can be used to unearth McAllister and McKinley DNA.
Known descendants of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley that have undergone DNA testing.
From the DNA results of these 10 descendants, it was possible to rebuild 41 % of Archibald McAllister and 38 % of Eliza Mckinley’s DNA. Here are their respective genome maps as of February 2, 2022.
Une version française de ce texte est disponible ici. Special thanks to my dear friend and cousin Lois Thornton Eldridge for her help in the translation of this text.
When I started doing genealogy back in the 1990s, I was fortunate enough to meet Gary Millar. He didn’t hesitate to share what bits and pieces he knew about our family history. He told me that my great-great-grandmother, Eliza McKinley, was not the only one of her family who came to Canada. She also had two other sisters who settled in the Upper Gatineau area : Sarah who married James Millar and Mary who married Jeremiah Quaile. Gary was a descendant of both Sarah and Eliza McKinley. I shortly found out who were the McKinley sisters’ parents because Mary married in Canada and the marriage record tells us their names : Henry McKinley and Mary O’Hara. Further research allowed to find out that the three sisters had a brother in Scotland, but his name wasn’t mentioned in Mary’s obituary. To sum up the extent of my knowledge when I started digging up in archives overseas, I knew that Henry McKinley and his wife Mary O’Hara had three daughters, Eliza, Sarah and Mary, and a son. This was the prelude to other discoveries about the McKinley in their motherland: Ireland.
On St. Patrick’s day of 2019, Lorena Arsenault, my mother’s first cousin posted, on Facebook, a lovely picture of Eliza McKinley. I had seen this photo before and seeing it online reminded me that, hidden somewhere in a drawer, research done on this branch of the family was just waiting to be published. This blog post sheds light on what is now known of the McKinley family.
Rose and Eliza McKinley
With a little luck and a lot of imagination (the name McKinley being spelled many variations), I was able to trace the birth of some of Henry McKinley’s children. Using RootsIreland.com, I was able to find Eliza and Rose McKinley’s baptism recorded on July 1, 1842, in Kirkinriola Parish (Ballymena’s Catholic Church). It is not clear if they were twins or if their baptism was simply celebrated at the same moment since their date of birth isn’t shown on the transcription of the records available online. One would think that we are in luck as the Roman Catholic Parish Registers have been digitized and are available online. Unfortunately, the digitized baptism registers for Kirkinriola parish only start in 1848.
What more can be found about this new sister, Rose McKinley? The Irish records tell us that she marries James Cromie on January 22, 1861, in Ballymena. She was a 24-year-old spinster, living in Aghaboy and her father, Henry McKinley, was a labourer at that time. According to her marriage record, Rose would have been born in 1837 instead of 1842. The witnesses of James and Rose’s marriage are Adam Davison and Sarah McKeen.
Marriage of James Cromie and Rose McKinley, January 22, 1861.
James and Rose had four children born in Antrim County : Joseph, Mary, William Henry and Eliza. They migrated to Canada between 1873 and 1875 where they had a third daughter : Esther, born in Ontario in 1875. Rose McKinley died in Canada before 1891, but the exact date isn’t known at this moment.
A previous blog post described Eliza McKinley and Archibald McAllister’s family. From that post, we remember that her father, Henry McKinley, is a scutcher from Aghaboy. A major discrepancy should, however, be highlighted. When she marries in 1875, Eliza McKinley declares to be 21 years of age. According to this age, she would be born around 1854, which doesn’t match the birth date of 1842 that has been found in RootsIreland.com. Other sources put emphasis on this discrepancy :
The immigration record from 1886 indicates that she was 27, which would make her born in 1859;
The 1891 census gives her age as 36 years old, which would make her born in 1855;
The 1901 census indicates that she was born on November 18, 1859;
The 1911 census screwed up on the years of birth of everyone, making them 10 years older. It indicates that Eliza would be born in December 1849, but based on the 10-year discrepancy, that date would be December 1859;
The 1921 census gives her 70 years old, which would make her born in 1851;
Her death certificate indicates that she was 79 years old in 1930, which would make her born around 1851.
One thing is for sure, all those dates are quite far from the record of 1842 found on RootsIreland.com. Three sources mention her being born in 1859, two in 1854-1855, and two other in 1851. At this point, her birth date is still a mystery.
Sarah McKinley
A third daughter was born from Henry McKinley’s marriage to Mary O’Hara : Sarah McKinley. Her baptism has been recorded in Drumaul’s parish on October 1, 1848. Her parents are said to live in Ballytresna, just outside of Randalstown. The godparents are James Johnston and Amelia Douglas.
Baptism of Sarah McKinley, October 1, 1848.
Before digging in the Irish Archives, it was known that Sarah McKinley was married to James Millar, but the exact date and location of their marriage were a mystery. Their marriage took place on April 6, 1867, in Ballymena. Sarah is a 19-year-old spinster from Aghaboy. This is consistent with her birth record mentioned above. Her father, Henry McKinley, is a scutcher. He seems to have been one of the witnesses, the second part being Elizabeth Hammill.
Marriage of James Millar and Sarah McKinley, April 6, 1867.
James Millar and Sarah McKinley had at least four sons in Ireland prior to migrating to Canada : James, Henry, William and Thomas. I am not sure when James Millar came to Canada, but Sarah and her four boys appear on the passengers list of the Moravian which arrived in Quebec City on November 16, 1876. James and Sarah also had two other sons in Canada : David and Alex. Sarah died in 1932.
William McKinley
Almost three years after Sarah’s birth, Mary O’Hara gave birth to a baby boy : William McKinley. He was baptized in Drumaul’s parish on February 9, 1851. The godparents were James Johnston and Catherine McAllister.
Baptism of William McKinley, February 9, 1851.
When we found this birth record, it became clear that William is the unnamed brother from Scotland whose name is unknown. Thankfully, autosomal DNA has given us at least 8 of his descendants to help us find out where exactly he settled in Scotland.
Marriage of William McKinley and Ellen Simmonds, April 12,1883.
William McKinley and Ellen Simmonds marriage was celebrated on April 12, 1883, at Saint Andrew’s church in Edinburg. The marriage record shows that William McKinley is indeed the son of Henry McKinley and Mary O’Hara. Both of them are deceased at the moment of William’s marriage. William and his wife had 11 children : William, Mary, Martha Magdalene, Henry, Albert, James, Ellen, Ellen (yes, a second girl by the same name), Charles, Frederick and Peter. William McKinley died in 1934.
Mary McKinley
The last child born of Henry McKinley and Mary O’Hara’s wedlock is Mary McKinley. Her birth still hasn’t been found in the registers of either Drumaul or Kirkinriola parishes. Here is her age given from various documents :
The 1881 census indicates that she is 22 years old, she would be born in 1859.
The 1891 census indicates that she is 29 years old, she would be born in 1862.
The 1901 census indicates that she is 40 years old and born on July 17, 1860.
The 1911 census indicates that she is 45 years old and born in November 1866.
Her tombstone indicates that she died on July 19, 1913, at the age of 52, she would be born between July 20, 1860, and July 19, 1861.
Her obituary doesn’t mention her age at death.
She arrived in Canada prior to 1881 since she appears on the census of that year. Her obituary mentions that she lived in River Desert for 35 years which would make her cross the ocean in 1878. She might be the Mary McKinlay boarding the Peruvian in Londonderry and arriving at Quebec City on August 9, 1879.
Marriage of Jeremiah Quaile and Mary McKinley, September 23, 1891.
Mary McKinley and Jeremiah Quaile married at L’Assomption church in Maniwaki and their marriage was celebrated on September 23, 1891. The marriage entry indicates that both of Mary’s parents have passed and mentions the presence of William Millar as witness. Let’s also note the signature of Mary Crummie at the end of the wedding entry. They are respectively Mary McKinley’s nephew and niece. Jeremiah and Mary had three children : Margaret, Thomas and James. Mary died in 1913.
Henry McKinley, Mary O’Hara and their land in Aghaboy
From the records found, it is clear that Henry McKinley and his family settled in Aghaboy between 1848 and 1851. Henry lived there until his death on January 24, 1879. His death record mentions him as a 63-year-old married scutcher. From the age mentioned on the death certificate, Henry would have been born around 1816.
Death of Henry McKinley, January 24, 1879.
This document suggests that Mary O’Hara is still alive at that time, otherwise Henry would be a widower. We know from William McKinley’s marriage that Mary O’Hara died prior to April 12, 1883. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a death record for Mary O’Hara.
Lots 8, 9 and 10 of Aghaboy townland, Griffith Valuation Rolls, 1861.
Henry McKinley appears on the Griffith Valuation Rolls of 1861 as the occupant of the lot 9d leased to him from Charles Davison. He is also listed in the Valuation Revision books of 1864-1880, 1881-1896 and 1897-1912. For some reason, the revision books don’t seem to have been updated for that townland.
Excerpt from the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, 2nd edition. Lot 9d is represented by a red start and lot 10b by a green star.
Multiple times, the name James Johnston was mentioned in this post. Who is he? What is his connection with the McKinley family? I was unable to find any blood relationship so far, but the families are close one to another. Eliza McKinley and Archibald McAllister were even witness to James Johnston’s marriage to Susanna McLean in 1874. It is sure that James Johnston also lives in Aghaboy. He was there in 1861 when the Griffith Valution occurred. He is listed as the occupant of lot 10b of Aghaboy leased to him from Adam Davison.
Davison Mill in Aghaboy townland, around 1905. Reproduced from the book Old Randalstown and District published by the Randalstown Historical Society. Reproduced with their agreement.
Both these plots of lands, the one occupied by James Johnston and the one occupied by Henry McKinley, are located near the Davison Mill where both men might have worked.
Conclusion
Even if Henry McKinley and Mary O’Hara’s marriage record still hasn’t been found, let’s remember that they had five children born between 1842 and 1860. The family mostly lived in Aghaboy townland from the early 1850 until 1879, when Henry died. Being a scutcher, he most likely worked at Davison’s Mill in Aghaboy adjacent to the plot of land where he settled with his family. One after the other, his four girls migrated to Canada. First, Rose between 1873 and 1875; then, Sarah and her sons in 1878; Mary followed, most likely in 1879; and, finally, Eliza in 1886. Their brother William also left Ireland and went to Scotland where he married and had a large family.
Using the Visual Phasing and DNA painting techniques a genealogist can slowly reconstruct the DNA of his ancestors. From their reconstructed DNA, he can learn a lot about his ancestral heritage and find more easily the connection with new genetic cousin. These methods require the continually adjust the genome map with the new genetic cousins that test. I intend, in this blog, to follow up on the development of the genomic maps of both Joseph Leclair and Lisa Kelly in the coming months to show their evolution in time.
Here is a diagram showing Joseph and Lisa’s descendants who have done DNA testing. The yellow boxes show cousins that contributed to reconstruct Joseph and Lisa’s DNA. The green boxes show known cousins that have tested but that haven’t transferred their DNA to GEDmatch.com, where it can be used to unearth Leclair and Kelly DNA.
Known descendants of Joseph Leclair and Lisa Kelly that have undergone DNA testing.
From the DNA results of these nine descendants, it was possible to rebuild 40 % of Joseph Leclair and 37 % of Lisa Kelly’s DNA. Here are their respective genome maps as of May 16th, 2021.
Genome Map of Joseph LeclairGenome Map of Lisa Kelly
A French version of this text is available here. Special thanks to my dear friend and cousin Lois Thornton Eldridge for her help in the translation of this text.
We have already established that Ennis McAllister, his wife Mary McMullan and his family have lived in Muckleramer for a long time. Maybe saying it three times will give me luck to find the exact plot of land where they lived during all these years? This blog post explores valuation rolls in search of our ancestor’s land.
The Griffith Valuation
The Ask about Ireland website allows genealogists to search the Griffith Valuation. It is the first comprehensive property assessment in Ireland. It was supervised by Richard Griffith and published between 1847 and 1864. The site is easy to use since it offers a search engine by the name of an ancestor. A search in it quickly returns the McAlisters and McAllisters from Drummaul, County Antrim:
Rose McAlister of Feehogue
John McAlister of Ballytresna
Daniel McAllister of Ballygrooby
Patrick McAllister of Magheralane
Constantine McAllister of Magheralane
Eneas McAllister of Muckleramer
This evaluation was carried out in 1862 for the parish of Drummaul. Here are the details given by Griffith’s Valuation on Ennis McAllister. He occupies a house and a small garden on lot 9a that he rents from William Gordon. Lot 9a is part of Lot 9 which has an area of 14 acres, 2 chains and 15 perches. William Gordon rents this land from Reverend William C. O’Neil who owns the vast majority of Muckleramer’s townland. The remaining occupants of Lot 9 are Hill Thompson (9b), Ann Orr (9c) and Margaret Magee (9d). Also note that on lot 8 we find Martha Picken (8a), James McMullen (8b), Samuel Wade (8c) and Daniel Boyd (8d). Who is this James McMullen? Is he related to Mary McMullan? It will be necessary to dig some more in order to discover that.
Excerpts from Griffith’s assessment rolls showing Ennis McAllister at Muckleramer, 1862.
Valuation Revision Books
The Northern Ireland Archives, Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI), have digitized the valuation revision books and these can be viewed on the Web. A search returns four registers that cover the period from 1864 to 1929. Ennis is found in all four registers.
Excerpts from the Valuation Revision Book of Muckleramer, 1864-1880.
Excerpts from the Valuation Revision Book of Muckleramer, 1881-1896.
Excerpts from the Valuation Revision Book of Muckleramer, 1897-1912.
Excerpts from the Valuation Revision Book of Muckleramer, 1913-1929.
From 1864 to 1929, Ennis McAllister would have rented a house and a small garden on the lot 9a of the townland of Muckleramer for the sum of 15 shillings. If so, he should appear in the 1901 and 1911 censuses. Since he is missing from both sources, it is likely that the revision books weren’t updated when the property was passed to another tenant. A comparative study of the valuation revision book and the two censuses will shed light on the shortcomings of the revision book or vice versa. Nevertheless, we know for certain that Ennis and his family were on lot 9a of the Muckleramer townland. But where is this plot of land? This is again a document preserved by PRONI that will allow us to answer this question. The map shows the subdivision of land in several townlands including Muckleramer. It has been annotated making it difficult to read and arduous to identify lot 9a.
Plan of subdivision of Muckleramer townland.
The enlargement below and the highlighting of lot number make it easier to find the desired lot. It can be seen that the house is located beside the road at the edge of the Muckleramer townland. It faces the townland of Coolsythe.
Location of lot 9a of Muckleramer townland.
The satellite image below, from 2010, shows the location of Lot 9a in Muckleramer townland. In July 2018, while visiting during my summer holidays, it emerged from a discussion with the owner that the house on the left is a recent construction and that the building on the right is the original house dating back to the 19th century.
Satellite image of lot 9a of Muckleramer townland, 2010.
Unfortunately, the little old house was destroyed shortly after the construction of the new house. There is no trace of it today. It was located near the tree to the right of the photograph below taken this summer 2018. Perhaps one day we will find a photograph of this house that no longer exists today! In the meantime, you can still explore the surroundings in Google Street View.
The land where Ennis McAllister and his family lived, taken July 2018.
Sometimes wishes we make are heard! It is the case this time. Barely two days after publishing this blog post, my Uncle Steve got his hands on this Google Street View image showing the house of Ennis McAllister and his family. This is where our ancestor Archibald McAllister, his brothers and sisters would have grown up. Congratulations on this detective work!
House of Ennis McAllister, Mary McMullan and their family, November 2008.
Conclusion
It can be remembered that Ennis McAllister’s family lived on lot 9a of Muckleramer townland and that the ancestral home still existed in 2010, but has since been destroyed. Note also that Griffith’s evaluation and subsequent revision books testify the family’s presence on this land from 1862 to 1929. However, since we know that Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan were married in 1833 and that they are absent from the 1901 and 1911 censuses, it seems more than likely that the valuation revision books were simply not updated when the property was transferred to another tenant. Finally, further research will be needed to shed light on this James McMullan who is listed on lot 8 of Muckleramer townland.
A French version of this text is available here. Special thanks to my dear friend and cousin Lois Thornton Eldridge for her help in the translation of this text.
We know a little more about the arrival in Canada of Archibald McAllister, his wife Eliza McKinley and their children. I am often asked about where our ancestors come from in Ireland, and this is one of the first questions that made me curious and prompted me to dig up our family history.
Fortunately, I was not the first to do genealogy in the family. Already in the mid-1990s, Gary Millar and Sandra Ban were interested in our family history. Sandra had gone to Ireland to research our ancestors. Her notes told us that Archibald and Eliza were married in Randalstown, County Antrim, in 1875, and that Archibald’s parents were Aeneas McAllister and Mary McMullan. In addition, Sandra had found the baptism of Archibald and three brothers (Samuel, Patrick and Daniel McAllister) in the registers of the Catholic parish of Randalstown in County Antrim. This post digs a little more into the history of the McAllister’s in Ireland.
Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley
The marriage of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley can be found both in parish registers and in vital records. These two documents give different information and it is interesting to compare them. In the parish registers of the united Catholic Parishes of Drumaul, Antrim and Connor, there is the registration of the marriage dated November 27, 1875. The Act itself does not give much more information than the witnesses: John McLaughlin and Elizabeth McDonnell.
Religious wedding of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley, November 27, 1875.
The civil registration of marriage offers much more information. First of all, the wedding location is much more precise. The wedding took place in the Randalstown Catholic Chapel in County Antrim. Archibald is a 21-year-old bachelor. He is the son of Denis McAlister [Ennis McAllister] and is a labourer just like his father. Eliza is a 21-year-old spinster and is a weaver. Her father, Henry McKinley is a scutcher, which means that he operates an implement for separating hemp or flax from the stalk. Archibald and Eliza live in Ballytresna, just north of Randalstown.
Civil marriage of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley, November 27, 1875.
In a previous blog post, we found that Archibald and Eliza settled in Canada with three children born in Ireland: Mary, Sarah and Nellie. Let’s see what we will learn from parish registers and vital records about this family and the places where they lived before emigrating to Canada.
Randalstown and townland maps of Ballygrooby, Ballytresna and Muckleramer all part of Drumaul Parish. Interactive map.
The firstborn child of the marriage of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley is Mary McAllister. It was impossible for me to trace Mary McAllister’s birth in the registers of civil status. However, her baptismal certificate was recorded in the united Catholic Parish Register of Drumaul, Antrim and Connor on January 6, 1877. Her godfather is Hugh McErlane and her godmother is Mary McKinley, most likely her aunt.
Baptism of Mary McAllister, January 6, 1877.
A second child is born a year and a half later. On August 29, 1878, the birth of Henry McAllister was officially registered with the Registrar on August 13, 1878. The child was born in Ballytresna in the parish of Drumaul, the place of residence of his parents. Archibald claims to be a labourer and Mary McKinley, his godmother, claims to have been present at birth.
Birth of Henry McAllister, August 29, 1878.
Henry’s baptism is recorded two days after his birth on September 1, 1878, in the records of the united Catholic Parishes of Drumaul, Antrim and Connor. The godfather is Thomas Marvin and the godmother is Eliza McDonnell. Remember that she was a witness at the wedding of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley.
Baptism of Henry McAllister, September 1, 1878.
On July 24, 1880, Sarah was born in Ballygrooby where Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley now live. Archibald is still a labourer and the birth is recorded on July 30, 1880. Ballygrooby is located east of the Maine River near Randalstown. The Catholic chapel is built in this townland.
Birth of Sarah McAllister, July 24, 1880.
Sarah’s baptism is recorded in the records of the united Catholic Parishes of Drumaul, Antrim and Connor on July 25, 1880. The godfather is John Gillion and the godmother is Catherine Wylie.
Baptism of Sarah McAllister, July 25, 1880.
Then there is an act for the death of Henry McAllister in the vital statistics records. The four and a half-year-old boy died on 16 January 1883 of scarlet fever. His parents report living at 50 Clyde Street in Belfast. His mother was present at the time of the death.
Death of Henry McAllister, January 16, 1883.
Clyde Street of the late 19th century no longer exists today. The third edition of the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland shows that Clyde Street was located east of the Lagan River north of the East Bridge. In today’s Belfast, this neighborhood has been redeveloped and is located here.
Excerpt from the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, 3rd edition.
Only one mystery persists about the family of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley: where was Nellie born? Despite research in the civil registration and parish registers, I was not able to find Nellie’s birth, which should have taken place in Ireland.
Now, let’s see what we can discover about Archibald McAllister’s parents.
Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan
The information we have about Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan is very fragmentary since the parish registers of the day contain little information. In addition, the naming of first names and last names is very variable. For example, for Ennis, we will also find Denis, Dennis, Eneas, Niece, Inis, Aeneas, Eeneas; for McMullan we will see McMullen and McMullun.
This couple’s story begins with their marriage on June 11, 1833. This marriage is recorded in the Drumaul Parish Register, which is located north of Randalstown.
Marriage of Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan, June 11, 1833.
It is certain that Mary McMullan is pregnant at the time of her marriage since a few months later, on September 7, 1833, her daughter Margaret McAllister is baptized. The baptism is recorded in the register of the parish of Drumaul. The act mentions that the parents are from Ballygrooby.
Baptism of Margaret McAllister, September 7, 1833.
On August 30, 1835, a second daughter joins the family of Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan. The baptism of their daughter Rosan is inscribed in the register of the parish of Drumaul. The godfather is William Finlay and the godmother is Sally Freeland.
Baptism of Rosan McAllister, August 30, 1835.
The first son of the family, John McAllister, was baptized on May 28, 1837, at Drumaul Parish. The parents declare to live in the townland of Muckleramer. The godfather is Patrick Boyle and Ann McNeal.
Baptism of John McAllister, May 28, 1837.
A second son joins the family of Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan. James McAllister is baptized in Drumaul Parish and his parents report living in McLeramar [Muckleramer]. The godmother is Biddy [Bridget] McAllister from Randalstown.
Baptism of James McAllister, July 28, 1839.
The fifth child to be born is Mary McAllister. She was baptized on June 25, 1842, in the parish of Drumaul. Her parents claim to live in this parish which covers several townlands, including that of Muckleramer. The godmother is a widow named McAllister and resident of Feehogue. No godfather is registered in the baptismal certificate.
Baptism of Mary McAllister, June 25, 1842.
The register of Drumaul Parish records the baptism of another child of Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan: Alexander McAllister. His godfather is John Henry and his godmother is Ann McAulay of Muckleramer.
Baptism of Alexander McAllister, February 22, 1845.
It took four years before the Drumaul parish register record other acts concerning Ennis and Mary’s children. These are the baptisms of two boys: Samuel and Patrick McAllister. The parents declare to be Muckleramer. The witnesses are Mrs. Steenson and Margaret McAlister.
Baptism of Samuel and Patrick McAllister, March 16, 1849.
A ninth child joins the family of Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan. Daniel McAllister was baptized on July 16, 1851, in the parish of Drumaul. His parents still report living in Muckleramer. The godmother of the child is Martha Steenson.
Baptism of Daniel McAllister, July 16, 1851.
Finally, the last child whose baptism is found in the records of the parish of Drumaul is Archibald who is baptized on November 20, 1853. His parents still live in Muckleramer. The godfather is James Corgan and the godmother is Mary Boyle.
Baptism of Archibald McAllister, November 20, 1853.
Conclusion
What to remember from all this? First, let’s remember that Ennis McAllister and Mary McMullan were married in 1833 and had several children in the following twenty years: Margaret, Rosan, John, James, Mary, Alexander, Patrick, Samuel, Daniel and Archibald. Remember that they lived in Ballygrooby in 1833 before moving to Muckleramer. The first mention of this place in the records dates from 1837.
Then, let us remember that Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley, our ancestors, were married in 1875 and had four children in Ireland: Mary, Henry, Sarah and Nellie. The family first lived in Ballytresna from 1875 to 1878. In 1880, they were in Ballygrooby, then in Belfast in 1883. It should nevertheless be noted that their son Henry McAllister died of scarlet fever at a young age and that the birth of Nellie has still not been identified in the religious and civil registry.
A French version of this text is available here. Special thanks to my dear friend and cousin Lois Thornton Eldridge for her help in the translation of this text and to Sylvie Bédard from BAnQ Québec for the research done in the archives.
I remember a particular moment when I was a child when, during a car ride, my mother took the time to tell us about the different buildings that we saw on Wellington Street in Ottawa: the Parliament, the Supreme Court of Canada, etc. One of the things she told me is rooted in my memory :
If you want to know more about your great-great-grandfather Archibald McAllister, you can come and do some research here.
She showed me the big building with small square windows where the National Archives are housed. It was very impressive for the young boy that I was. Of Archibald, I only knew that he was the first McAllister of our lineage to come to the country. It seems natural to me to dedicate this first blog post to this family which I have often heard of as a child.
Samartian
The Canadian history of our McAllister branch began on October 10, 1886, in Quebec City. Archibald and his wife Eliza arrived on the Sarmatian that had departed on October 1st from Londonderry, a port in the north of Ireland. They were accompanied by their three daughters (Mary, Sarah and Ellen who will be known as Nellie) and they were going to Ottawa as evidenced by the list of passengers. The oral history of the family tells us that Nellie was born on the boat. However, the passenger list tells us that she is one year old. She would have been born in Ireland.
Excerpt from the list of Samartian passengers arriving in Quebec City on October 10, 1886.
Where will they be located exactly? Hard to say since we did not find any notarial act of land purchase concerning Archibald McAllister. In addition, the mention of Ottawa in the passenger list is confusing: it may refer to the city of Ottawa or the County of Ottawa, which at that time covered the whole territory of the Outaouais (from Hull to Maniwaki, including Pontiac and Petite-Nation). Fortunately, the baptism of the couple’s children gives us an important clue.
The first baptism we find is that of Archibald McAlister who will be known as Archie McAllister. The baptism takes place in St. Stephen Church, Chelsea, on May 22, 1887. It is mentioned that his father is a laborer and that his parents live in the parish. The godfather is James Kimmons and the godmother is his mother Margaret Kimmons. The father of the child signs the baptismal certificate. This baptism also confirms that Eliza did not give birth to a child on the boat during the crossing because we know that the date of birth of Archie is May 19, 1887 and that the date of the arrival of the boat is October 10, 1886. So, we can deduce that Eliza was pregnant with Archie during the crossing.
Baptism of Archie McAllister, May 22, 1887.
The second child born in Canada is also baptized at St. Stephen’s in Chelsea. James Alexander was baptized on April 25, 1889 and is known as James. Archibald then claims to be a Watchman and the meaning of this profession remains to be determined in the context of the late nineteenth century. Archibald lives in the parish with his wife Eliza. James’s godfather is John Reynolds and his godmother is Mary Jane Carroll.
Baptism of James McAllister, April 25, 1889.
The third child born in Canada is William Samuel McAllister who is known as William. He was born on January 16, 1891 and was baptized on January 25, 1891 in Saint Stephen, Chelsea. It is stated that Archibald is a laborer and still lives in this parish with his wife. The godparents are Charles McClosky and Bridget Field.
Baptism of William McAllister, January 25, 1891.
These three baptisms show that the family is living in Chelsea Parish. In the 1891 census, we find the family in the southern part of the Township of Hull which is included in the Chelsea Parish. The census shows that both parents and the two oldest children can read and write and lists the three children born in Canada. We see that Archibald works in a sawmill. It is this little piece of information that gives an important clue about a more precise place of residence of Archibald and his family.
From the census of Canada, 1891.
Archibald’s family is listed near several families whose heads work in a sawmill. One of these families, that of James Hyde and Alice Burke, is already in the township of Hull in 1881 and is still there in 1901. Thanks to the census of 1901, it is possible to know on which lot this family is established. The lot in question is part of Lot 9, Range 9, Township of Hull.
Excerpt from the Hull County map showing the location of Lot 9, Range 9, Township of Hull. This lot belongs to the Gilmour and Hughson Company.
The map above shows the location of Lot 9, 9th Range of the Township of Hull. We see that this lot is crossed by the Gatineau River. It is subdivided into several parts, part of which (9b) is located on an island in the middle of the river. These lots belong to the company Gilmour & Hughson. This puts us on a very interesting track to continue research on this family in the future.
Aerial image showing location of Gilmour and Hugson Company facilities.
Archibald and his family stay in Chelsea for a while. Francis John is the fourth child born in Canada on January 21, 1893 and is known as Frank. On February 5, his baptism is recorded in the registers of St. Stephen of Chelsea where his parents live. His father claims to be a laborer, his godfather is John Kenney and his godmother Bridgit Murray.
Baptism of Frank McAllister, February 5, 1893.
In the same parish registers, we find Elizabeth’s baptism two years later, on February 3, 1895. She was born a few weeks earlier, on January 16, 1895. Her parents still live in the parish of St. Stephen in Chelsea and Archibald declares to be a laborer. Elizabeth’s godfather is William Blair and her godmother is Christina Prestley.
Baptism of Elizabeth McAllister, February 3, 1895.
A last child was born December 16, 1896 of the marriage of Archibald McAllister and Eliza McKinley: Thomas Henry McAllister. It is very likely that his parents feared for the life of the child since his baptism mentions that he was baptized under conditions on December 21, 1896 by the Reverend Father J. C. Laporte. The baptismal certificate also reveals that the family moved to the Upper Gatineau in the meantime. The baptismal certificate is recorded in the parish registers of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Maniwaki and it indicates that baptism took place at the « Great Point of the Joseph River ». The godfather and godmother of the child are Amable Nadon and Alphonsine Bertrand.
Baptism of Thomas Henry McAllister, February 12, 1897.
Thence, it is known that Archibald McAllister and his family settled in Upper Gatineau between February 1895 and February 1897.
A search in the Ministry of Lands and Forests fonds (E21) held at BAnQ Quebec allowed us to find documents that tell us about the precise location where the family is established. On October 6, 1899, Archibald received a rental ticket for lot 44 of Kensington Township. Before he can get this land officially, Archibald must comply with certain requirements and pay a fee. The 1901 census confirms that the family is settled on lots 44, range 6, in Kensington Township. It tells us that he is also installed on lot 43 located immediately south of lot 44.
The rental ticket of lot 43 obtained in 1895 by Pierre Rivet was transferred to James Millar before being transferred again, on October 15, 1909, to Archibald McAllister. According to the census however, McAllister already occupied the lot 8 years earlier. The lots of Archibald McAllister are directly south-east of the Gilmour & Company lands (Lots 44-49, Range 5, Kensington Township) as shown by a map of the Township of Kensington, 1865. The letters patent of the lots occupied by Archibald McAllister are issued August 2, 1910.
Excerpt from Plan of the township of Kensington of James Rooney, January 28, 1865. BAnQ Quebec, fonds Ministère des Terres et Forets (E21, S555, SS1, SSS1, PK.2).
Let’s go back to the 1901 census because it contains a lot of information. Archibald is a farmer and worked for 6 months in the last year. He earned $ 108. The family has several children: Mary, Sarah, Agnes E [Nellie], Archibald [Archie], James, William, Francis [Frank], Elizabeth and Thomas [Thomas Henry]. The four oldest children worked as domestics. Mary and Sarah worked 12 months and earned $ 96 each. The census tells us that only William and Sarah speak French.
Excerpt from the 1901 census.
At the 1911 census, the family is still in Kensington Township. Sarah has been married since 1901 and no longer lives with her parents. All the other children are there: Mary, Nellie, Arthur [Archie], James, Willie [William], Frank, Thom [Thomas Henry] and Laiser [Elizabeth]. The census tells us that Archibald is a farmer and works on the farm while being his own boss. His son Archie also works on the farm and, in 1910, he worked 50 weeks of 60 hours and earned $ 300. The family is English-speaking, but Archibald knows French. The census finally indicates that Archibald McAllister, Eliza McKinley and their two daughters Mary and Nellie can neither read nor write.
Excerpt from the 1911 census.
The family is still in Kensington Township at the 1921 census, but this time, many of their children are married and live nearby. We learn some new information and among others the number of rooms in the house, three rooms. The census reiterates that Archibald McAllister is a farmer and owner of his farm.
Excerpt from the 1921 census.
The 1921 census also lists Archie and his wife Jessy [Catherine] and their children Orase [Horace] and Earl [Harold]. The next family is Elizabeth McAllister who married George Day and James McAllister lives with them. Archie McAllister and George Day are loggers in the yards and earned $ 600 in the year 1920, while James is a farmer.
Conclusion
What needs to be remembered from all this, firstly is that Archibald McAllister and his wife Eliza McKinley arrived in Canada on October 10, 1886 with their three daughters who were born in Ireland (Mary, Sarah and Nellie). They establish in Chelsea where five children will be baptized (Archie, James, William, Frank and Elizabeth). Archibald worked in the forest industry and lived near the facilities of the Gilmour and Hughson Company, with whom he could have business connections. Between February 1895 and February 1897, he moves with his family to the Upper Gatineau where their youngest child (Thomas Henry) was baptized in 1897. He obtained land from the provincial government in 1899 and lived there until at least 1921. This land is located in Kensington Township at a location named Joseph’s Farm. The full history of these people still remains to be discovered.
Following my ancestors' footsteps 