Greetings Everyone,
It seems that I might have more information. I'm wondering if anyone is able to locate Alexander Mitchell born in Townland Kells "Na Cealla"County Antrim, Barony Antrim Lower, Civil Parish Connor, Northern Ireland - Ulster Scot
I hit a wall in 2016, but the above information wasn't available, how Ancestry got it I don't know.
He was reported born 13 Dec 1818, moved to Montreal, Canada - I don't know when. I have him in the Canadian military in 1847.
I am specifically looking for his parents, and their birth, move to Ireland, and place of birth.
Cat
Friday 1st Sep 2023, 02:32PMMessage Board Replies
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Kells is in the parish of Connor. None of the churches in that area have any records for December 1818. The Church of Ireland’s early records were destroyed in the 1922 fire. Connor Presbyterian is the closest with records starting in 1819. (Copy held in PRONI in Belfast). Kells Presbyterian didn’t open till 1873.
Possibly the information about his date of birth came from some other source eg military records, or a Canadian death certificate?
The Kells area was heavily settled by Scots in the 1600s. Some 200,000 Scots settled in Ireland – mostly in the counties of Ulster – in the 1600s. That’s when the Mitchell family probably arrived. Few arrived in the 1700s. But there are no comprehensive records of who the original settlers were or where they came from.
MacLysaght’s “the Surnames of Ireland” says of Mitchell: “This well known English name is long established and very numerous in all provinces except Munster.” Given the location in Co Antrim, I’d expect yours to have come from Scotland.
Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Friday 1st Sep 2023, 05:18PM