Charles McAlister son of John and Esther (nee McLean)

Sheree,

John McAlister married Esther McLean on 4.4.1864. The marriage was registered in Ballycastle. You can view a copy of the certificate on-line for ?2 using the GRONI site. Use the search marriage registrations option.

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

The marriage cert should give you the couples addresses, their father?s names and occupations and other information with which to trace further. (If you want to post that information on this site, I?ll help you with the search).

Tradition was to marry in the bride?s church (which should be on the certificate unless it was a Registry Office marriage). That church may be the place to look for her baptism and that of any siblings.

Searching for births to the above couple, registered in Ballycastle 1864 - 1883, I can see Patrick 12.3.1865, John 1.3.1868 & Charles 8.7.1870. No sign of a James.

The name McAlister is very common in the area and there also appear to have been more than one couple named McAlister & McLean who were having children in Co Antrim at that time. So if James (or any other children) were born somewhere else it?ll be tricky to trace. There look to be about 20 children to couples named McAlister & McLean in that period.

If you get the family?s townland (address) from the marriage and birth certificates, it should be possible to try and track them in the Griffiths Valuation revision records.

There?s a death for an Ester McAlister on 11.11.1872 in Ballycastle, aged 30, that is probably worth investigating. Might be your family. Again you can view that certificate on the GRONI site.

Elwyn

Hi Sheree

baptism records of John & Ester on www.rootsireland.ie/ (subscription site)

4 boys born: Patrick 1865 John 1867 & John 1868 (2 Johns?!) Charles 1870

In spite of the parish of all the baptisms being CULFEIGHTRIN R C there are no McAlisters in Culfeightrin in Griffiths Valuation (free site) done in Antrim 1861. There are however 179 McAlisters including 31 Johns in Antrim.

The Tithe Applotments (free) don't include Antrim but the irish Censuses do. There are no McAlisters in Antrim in the 1821, 31 or 41 censuses but there are 55 John McA's in Antrim in the 1851.  

Here's the good news - the parents' marriage record:

http://Date of Marriage: 04-Apr-1864 Parish / District: MOYLE County: Co. Antrim Husband Wife Name: John McAlister Esther McLean Address: Glenmakeran Glenmakeran Denomination: Roman Catholic Roman Catholic Occupation: FARMER HOUSE KEEPER Age: 23 23 Status: Bachelor (Previously unmarried) Spinster (Previously unmarried) Husband's Father Wife's Father Name: John McAlister Charles McLean Address: Denomination: Occupation: FARMER FARMER

You can check Griffiths and Census for Johns in Glenmakeren

John Mc was aged 23 in 1864 so born 1840 or 41; however there are 6 Antrim baptism records for John in these years none of which mentions the towns or parishes above!

PRONI (free site) is a worthwhile site for Nor Iron - try the name search option. 

If you search on the Ellis Island http://libertyellisfoundation.org/ site you'll find a Patrick & John McAlister from Antrim travelled on the Furnessia in 1902

Col

Thanks so much Elwyn and Col.  I believe the Esther who died aged 30 to be my great grandmother as I know that Grandad's mother had died, possibly in childbirth, and that my great grandfather re-married.  I think the name was Catherine McKinley but I haven't had any joy finding the record relating to that marriage.  There were two babies named John I think due to one dying young.  Thrilled to finally have a ship's name - thanks so much.  The story was that my grandfather was 17 when he left Ireland which meant that he would've emigrated about 1887 and he was shipwrecked en route to America I believe but could be wrong.  Many thanks to both of you for your prompt answer and invaluable help.  Will let you know if I can get more details.  Cheers Sheree

Sheree,

In 1901 there were 2 McAlister households in Glenmakeeran. They are likely to be related to each other:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Glenmakeeran/Glenmakeeran/921670/

This might be the Catherine McKinley you referred to. Evidently John was dead by 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Glenmakeeran/Glenmakeeran/921671/

There was a McKinley family in Glenmakeeran. Perhaps Kates?

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Glenmakeeran/Gl…

2 McLean households:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Glenmakeeran/Glenmakeeran/921662/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Glenmakeeran/Glenmakeeran/921663/

The valuation records show Charles Mclean on plot 2 in Glenmakeeran. That was a farmhouse, outbuildings and 32 acres.

John McAlister senior was shown on plot 7A sharing the farm with his son John jnr. A 44 acre farm. They rented from the Earl of Antrim. Now the Earl of Antrim has excellent records of his tenants back till at least 1820. (They were compiled twice a year, so you should be able to trace back to the 1820s easily enough. The records are not on-lie. They are held in PRONI and a personal visit would be required to view them).

The revaluation records show that Charles Mclean was changed to ?reps of? in 1883 indicating he had died. In 1887 it changes again to John McLean. He is presumably the same person that appears in the 1901 census. He is likely to be Charles son. You would need to get a civil marriage cert to confirm that for certain.

In 1898, plot 7 changes, being shared between John McAllister senior and Patrick McKinley. BY 1911 the tenant for the farm is James McAllister.

http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/val12b.htm

Kate appears to have died in 1930. She was intestate. Her probate file is held in PRONI. Here?s the abstract (summary): McAlister Catherine of Glenmakeeran county Antrim widow died 17 May 1930 Administration Belfast 4 September to James McAlister farmer. Effects ?100.

Administration (with the Will) of the personal estate of Daniel M'Lean late of Glenmakeeran County Antrim Farmer who died 29 December 1896 granted at Belfast to Patrick M'Lean Farmer

The above will can be seen on-line on the PRONI wills site:

http://applications.proni.gov.uk/DCAL_PRONI_WillsCalendar/willsSearchRe…

McLean Patrick of Glenmakeeran county Antrim farmer died 19 June 1924 Probate Belfast 26 September to Charles Gillen farmer. Effects ?445.

McLean, Patrick of Glenmakeeran Ballycastle county Antrim farmer died 11 January 1962 at Dalriada Hospital Ballycastle Probate Belfast 23 February to Patrick McLean and Daniel McKinley farmers. Effects ?2623 8s. 4d.

Except for the one will which is on-line, you need to get copies from PRONI as the relevant files aren?t on-line yet.

The tithe applotment records for Co Antrim (c 1830) show a Henry McLean and a Daniel McKinlay. No McAlister household, so they appear to have arrived sometime between that year and the 1860s. (The Antrim estates rental books should tell you when). There are dozens of McAlister families in the area so it may be difficult to establish where they came from.

The 1803 Agricultural census for Glenmakeeran lists Daniel McKinly and Daniel McLean.

The McAlister and McLean farms are easy enough to find to day. Both are on the Glenmakeeran Rd, which runs off the main A2 coast road between Ballycastle and Cushendall.

John McAlister married Catherine (Kate) McKinley on 30^th May 1877 in Ballycastle (Moyle). The marriage is on the GRONI site.

Elwyn

Hello Elwyn,

My goodness, where do I start to thank you.  That is amazing.  It's just so lovely to hear details from over there.  My dad, I know, and I always felt a sadness that we knew so little of Ireland.  My great wish is that one day I will get to come over and visit the place where my grandad came from.  He was a lovely man by all accounts and loved to play the violin and I think all of Dad's family were musical - except him!  I will have to come to grips with all the info and try to follow the path you have illuminated.  Many, many thanks,

Kind regards, Sheree

Sheree,

Glad to have helped. If you are very lucky, you may be able to trace back to the 1700s too, using the Registry of Deeds and Antrim estates papers in PRONI. (Probably several days work in that).

I looked in the Muster Rolls for the barony of Cary (which includes Glenmakeeran) and noted that in 1630 there was a Donnell mcAleyster listed there. He was of fighting age but had no weapons. I didn?t see any McLeans or McKinneys but at that era some people were still using patronymics so there isn?t always a surname given.

There?s a fair chance your ancestors have all lived there since the late 1500s or early 1600s. McAlister, McLean and McKinney are obviously all common Scottish surnames. (McKinney is just McKenzie spelled differently. Gaelic doesn?t actually have a ?y? and the ?z? was used instead by scholars for reasons that are beyond me. So in Scotland the name used to be pronounced McKinney too, but changed over the years to McKenzie because some scholar decided to anglicise it that way).

Your ancestors probably all originated somewhere on the MacDonald/McDonnell lands in Scotland. So that?s the Kintyre peninsula (10 miles across from Glenmakeeran), the islands of Islay, Jura, Gigha to the north and perhaps Arran to the east. (If I recall correctly, Randall McDonnell (died 1636) and King James I both spent their teenage years together in Arran and consequently became close friends. King James I later made Randall the 1^st Earl of Antrim). You would probably need to get DNA tests with folk in the Inner Hebrides today to ever find exactly where your family originated, as paper records don?t usually go back that far. In the late 1500s the McDonalds (whose administrative HQ was at Finlagan on Islay) encouraged lots of their Scottish tenants to move to lands in north east Antrim, that were historically theirs anyway, and which were not heavily populated. So your ancestors probably moved across with that migration. (The natives of the Glens of Antrim, where Glenmakeeran is situated, were always noted for speaking a dialect of Irish (gaelic) that was considered identical to that spoken in Arran, Kintyre & Islay. That?s because it?s where they originated, and also because the geographic isolation of the Glens of Antrim area preserved it).

Good luck anyway.

Elwyn

Sheree, I have some information regarding your family.  Esther McLean 1840-1872 married John McAlister on April 4, 1864.  The had a son, John who died at four months old.  Esther was the daughter of John McLean and Ann McMullan.    Ester also had a brother named John born 1833.

John Mclean had a brother Henry died 1841, a brother Charles born 1810 married Ann McAuley in 1835,  a brother Daniel 1819  married Catherine McKay in 1844, a brother Patrick who married Mary Fisher 1801-1866 and a sister Elizabeth who married Arthur McCloskey.

The McLean's of Glenmackeeran may be related to my family, the McLeans of Drumadoon.  

Sincerely  Kenneth McLean

Hello there Kenneth,

How exciting to hear from you.   Thank you very much for the extra information.  I will add this to my Ancestry tree and hopefully this will give me some new clues to follow. 

FYI I have knowledge of a Charles McLean, who I believe may have been Esther's brother, who lived in the South Island of New Zealand in the late 1800's.  I would love to hear from anyone who would like to know more about him as I would love to confirm my thoughts about his identity. 

Cheers

Sheree

BTW - My grandfather, son of John and Esther, married a McMullen/McMullan whose parents James and Rose (nee Shields) were also from County Antrim.

Thanks again,

Sheree

Hi yet again,

Have a bit of a dilemma since I have been told that Esther's parents were Charles and Ann McAuley so now I a bit confused as to how best to determine which pairing did in fact produce Esther. 

Any advice most welcome.  In the meantime I will check more records. 

Thanks Sheree

What a fantastic thread and fabulous amount of information. It inspires me to repost to see what progress can be made. Thank you everyone. Sheree have you DNA tested at all? 

Dale Fogarty​

Hi Dale,

Yes, have done Ancestry DNA and that has proved so valuable! 

If anyone is looking for Charles McLean, who I believe was Esther's brother but possibly could be some other relative, who emigrated to NZ in the late 1800's then I would  love to hear from them.

Cheers

Sheree