Moneydig Presbyterian Church Graveyard -- Michaels

It’s not possible to visit Moneydig at present due to the Covid lockdown, so the only information I can give you is off the net. If you are not aware, Lavonne Bradfield & Derek Torrens maintain a website focused on Torrens and other related names in the Bann Valley. They have the transcriptions of Moneydig gravestones. This appears to be the one you are referring to (no 91 on the list):

In loving memory of

Torrens Michael

(of) Coolnamen

Died 1st April 1928

And his wife

Mary Ann

Died 21st December 1935

Also his daughter-in-law

Isabelle Emerson Michael nee Torrens (See 130)

Died 23rd April 1975

(section here seems to me omitted 1887)

And his son Robert Michael

Late of Bronx New York

Died 2nd april 1978, aged 92 years (born 1886)

Erected by son, Robert, USA

Firstly, all this information is on the one headstone. You ask if the stone is in the graveyard. I think the answer has to be yes. Where else did the information come from? You’ll see that the family lived in Coolnaman. (Spelling varies. Standardised one today is usually Culnaman). There are other gravestones to the Torrens family of Culnaman in the graveyard:

http://genealogy.torrens.org/BannValley/church/Moneydig/graves.html

There appears to be a second memorial to Isabella (number 130):

Isabella Emerson Michael nee Torrens

Secondly, you ask whether it’s a headstone or a memorial. Usually if someone is buried in a graveyard, the gravestone often says “Here lies…”. If it’s just a memorial stone and they are buried elsewhere, then, as in this case, it often says: “In memory of…” So on the face of it this looks to be a memorial.  In this particular case though it’s hard to know. Torrens Michael evidently died back in Ireland (There’s a death for him on 7th April 1928, registered in Coleraine. So the date on the gravestone is slightly wrong. That’s very common.). Likewise there’s a death for Mary Ann on 21.12.1935, registered in Coleraine. So they might be buried there, even though it just says: “In loving memory of”. No easy way of knowing. I doubt the graveyard have burial records for that period. I searched a newspaper site to see if there are death notices for Torrens or Mary Ann but did not find any. (They often say where someone was to be buried).

It was common to put numerous people on the same gravestone.  Depending on whether it was a single or a double plot, most graves were capable of taking anything up to a dozen bodies, and in the case of a memorial you could obviously add as many names as space permitted.

Torrens Michael left a will. Here’s the probate abstract. The will itself is in PRONI in paper format, so you either need to go in person or pay PRONI to copy it for you.

Michael Torrens of Coolnaman county Londonderry labourer died 7 April 1928 Probate Belfast 30 August to Robert Torrens and James Johnston farmers. Effects £1857 17s. 6d.

There were about 8 Torrens families in Culnaman in the 1901 census, but no Michael families. So perhaps the Michael connection to that townland is just through marriage? I see Torrens Michael married in Scotland in 1868 and his deceased father had worked in an iron foundry so sounds as though they had been in Scotland for some time.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Bovagh/Culnaman/

Isabella Emerson Torrens in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Bovagh/Culnaman/1519606/

You could contact Derek Torrens. His contact details are on the website I gave above. He lives in the area and might be able to suggest information about the Michael connection.

Thank you, Elwyn. You are a fountain of information. I really appreciated the information about the deaths in Ireland of Torrens and Mary Ann Michael. I did not have any definite sources on that before. I will research further the other information and am looking forward to corresponding with Derek Torrens. Thank you very much for the help and direction. Hope you are staying safe during this unusual time.

If you want to see Torrens and Mary Ann’s death certificates, the only site that has them is the GRONI site. None of the other sites that has Irish records has any births, deaths or marriages for Northern Ireland 1922 onwards. You can view the original certificates 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.