Brown/Pattison/Knox

Hi Marnieka,

This is the only baptism record for Hugh Knox c 1851 on www.rootsireland.ie/:

Name:Hugh KnoxDate of Birth:11-Mar-1848
Date of Baptism:17-Aug-1848Address:KillyvallyParish/District:FIRST GARVAGHGender:MaleCountyCo. Derry
Denomination:Presbyterian
Father:A Knox Mother:Anne

This marriage record looks like it could be the parents:

Date of Marriage:13-Apr-1846
Parish / District:FIRST GARVAGH
County:Co. Derry
Husband
WifeName:AdamKnox
AnneGilmoreAddress:Killywally
MayoghillDenomination:Presbyterian
PresbyterianOccupation:FARMER
Status:Bachelor (Previously unmarried)
Spinster (Previously unmarried)
Husband's Father
Wife's FatherName:JohnKnox
JohnGilmoreAddress:
Occupation:FARMER
FARMER

Col

Griffiths Valuation for Killyvally in 1859 list Adam Knox as farming plots 38e & 39 in the townland. A total of just over 24 acres. (That’s on the modern Whitefalls Rd, just outside Garvagh).

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

The  1831 census list 1 Knox household there then. 7 males and 2 females, all Presbyterian.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Coleraine/Desertoghill/Killyvally/23/

They had gone by the time of the 1901 census. Adam’s name is deleted from the valuation records in 1878.

I don’t see the Hugh Knox – Elizabeth Brown marriage in Irish records. 1865 – 1890.

Thank you Col and Elwyn.  I've looked at this baptism record many times in the past and wondered if it was "my" Hugh Knox.  Does it make geographic sense that this Hugh would have had an opportunity to meet Elizabeth Brown in Ireland?  Any thoughts on how Ann Gilmore Knox would have become Anna Falls by the time Hugh died?  I haven't found any evidence that she came to the U.S.  Maybe she remarried after her marriage to Adam Knox?  I wonder if there are any Knoxes left in Garvagh I could compare DNA results with.  

You haven’t said where the Brown family lived (it should be on the 1853 wedding certificate) but Curran Presbyterian church is only about 6 miles from Killyvally.  They may even have lived closer depending on her townland, so yes, it would be perfectly reasonable for the couple to have met in Ireland.

Regarding how Anna Knox became Anna Falls, I’d guess she was widowed and remarried a Mr Falls. Anna Knox is a fairly common surname but you could go through the marriage records on GRONI or Ancestry to see if there is a marriage that fits.

I looked for an Anna Falls death in the Garvagh area but don’t see one that fits.

Regarding Knoxes in the area today, I searched the local phone book (postcode BT51) and there are 29 listed. (Plus there will be many more who are not listed, as many people don’t use landlines any more). You can view them on this site: https://www.ukphonebook.com

Elwyn, The marriage certificate of Joseph Brown and Nancy Pattison has his residence at the time of the marriage as Toberhead and her residence as Grange.  I don't know where they lived as a married couple.  They are both listed as "weavers".    I have been hunting for years for documentation of Anna Falls beyond the mention of her on her son Hugh's death records but to no avail.  Unless the attached record from Find My Past is her.  Any thoughts?  I really appreciate your input and having another set of eyes on this.  I'm never sure how far to "leap" when trying to make conclusions about this family group.  Irish research is still relatively new to me.  

Griffiths Valuation for 1859 lists John Brown in Toberhead. He had plot 59a which he rented jointly with Thomas Lassan. It was just under 5 acres. (So subsistence living). The property today (if still standing) is on the Garrison Rd, near the junction with Glenmaquill Rd.

John Brown took over the whole property in 1869 and continued farming it till after 1901. Here he is in the 1901 census:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Desertmartin/Toherhead/1532668/

John Brown died 22.5.1902 aged 78.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1902/05698/4606658.pdf

The death you have identified is on 8.2.1901 and was the widow of Archibald McFall, a labourer. The informant was Jospeh McFall, son. The family lived at Ballyknock.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1901/05740/4620730.pdf

This is the family in the 1901 census (2 months after her death):

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Tullykeron/Ballyknock/1531538/

From Joseph’s birth cert on 25.5.1868 at Ballyknock, I know the mother was Ann Jane Taylor. They married in 1855. You would need to pay to view the marriage certificate to see whether she had been married before. You can view the original certificate on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option:

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2.50 (sterling) to a view a certificate.

My hunch is that this is not your Ann Falls. Bear in mind that information on death certificates often contains mistakes because the informant did not know the relative referred to, or did not know their maiden name etc..

Thank you Elwyn.  What you say about this Anne McFall makes sense.  Just for my own future reference, how likely would it be for someone to drop the "Mc" when referring to someone with a "Mc" attached to their surname in your experience? 

The O’ & Mc prefixes in Irish names are detachable and were often used and dropped at whim. Most Irish genealogical search engines will provide you with the results for both because of this widespread practice. So, for example, if you search “Fall” in the 1901 Irish census, you’ll automatically get all the “McFall” entries as well.

McFall is mainly found just in the counties of Antrim and Londonderry. Another spelling variation is McFaul. They are reportedly descendants of Scots settlers. Tradition here says many of the Irish McFalls came from the Hebridean island of Colonsay (50 miles north of Co. Antrim) in the 1500s and 1600s. I don’t know how accurate that is, but it’s what I have heard. In Scotland today they tend to spell the name MacPhail. It’s the same name obviously, just a slightly different anglicised version of the original Gaelic name (Mac Phail = son of Paul).

Thank you Elwyn!