Esler/Sanderson relative search

Presbyterians in Ireland don?t use the parish system and so which church you attended was a matter of personal preference and not always the nearest to where you lived. However if Andrew Esler and Jane Eliza McCullough attended Glenwhirry Presbyterian church, then the bad news is that it has no records earlier than 1845. If there were any they have been lost over the years.

There are 11 Esler gravestones in Glenwhirry Presbyterian churchyard. However all date from the 1900s and none helps with your family.

There?s 1 McCullough gravestone:

Erected By Isabella Mc Cullough, Of Cross, In Memory Of Her Beloved Husband George Mc Cullough, Died 8th Nov. 1915, Aged 67 Years. Also Her Daughter Minnie, Who Died At San Francisco, 3rd Feb. 1915

Presbyterians as a rule generally don?t keep burial records, and death registration didn?t start till 1864 so no help there.

Families weren?t always buried in the churchyard of the their local church. I had a look at the gravestones for Broughshane but though there are plenty of Esler gravestones, I don?t see any that seem relevant.

There are no Esler farms in Glenwhirry in Griffiths Valuation (c 1864), so if the family had farmed in that area, they were apparently gone by that date. The next earlier set of records for famers are the tithe applotment records but unfortunately those for Glenwhirry appear to have been lost. So no help there.

You are up against the 1800 barrier which in Ireland can be extremely difficult to break through, as there are simply no useful records to research. Can be very frustrating.

Good morning Anita.  I have a Mary McCullough, born 1848, who married my family, george Topping in 1876.  While living together they lived in Skerrywherry, Glenwherry, Antrim Ireland  She at some point after 1879 moved in with her sister Jenny, born about 1851.  They lived in Ballynure, Antrim, Ireland for the 1901 and 1911 census.  Keep in mind the ages are not always accurate on the census.  Jenny and Mary McCullough's father was Thomas McCullough a farmer.

If you are on facebook you way ask to join the County Antrim or Ballymena group pages.  Everyone there is searching like we are.  There is a very kind man there, Michael Saunderson, who lives inthe area and is the keeper of the Glenwherry Church records.  He was able to send me the actual images of my families baptism records back to 1851 I think.  He may be able to help you as well, heck he may even be in your family tree!  I hope this was helpful, any other assistance i can be please don't hesitate to post again.

Good morning Anita.  I have a Mary McCullough, born 1848, who married my family, george Topping in 1876.  While living together they lived in Skerrywherry, Glenwherry, Antrim Ireland  She at some point after 1879 moved in with her sister Jenny, born about 1851.  They lived in Ballynure, Antrim, Ireland for the 1901 and 1911 census.  Keep in mind the ages are not always accurate on the census.  Jenny and Mary McCullough's father was Thomas McCullough a farmer.

If you are on facebook you way ask to join the County Antrim or Ballymena group pages.  Everyone there is searching like we are.  There is a very kind man there, Michael Saunderson, who lives inthe area and is the keeper of the Glenwherry Church records.  He was able to send me the actual images of my families baptism records back to 1851 I think.  He may be able to help you as well, heck he may even be in your family tree!  I hope this was helpful, any other assistance i can be please don't hesitate to post again.

What a fabulously detailed and interesting reply! Albeit sobering! I found out things about the Presbyterian way that I didn't know previously. Thank you very much for taking the time, and for making the effort, to help with my enquiry.

There were, according to family folklore recorded by others, three Esler brothers that settled in County Antrim. All the records that seem available are not for our side, relating mainly to Dr Robert Esler's branch of the family. Sad but true.

There is apparently an old gravestone marked ESLER at the Old Rashee Cemetery. Is there a possibility that a record exists of who is in the grave? Given what you have written above, I do not hold out hope.

Once again, many thanks for responding to my initial enquiries,

Anita

Hi Coleen!

Thank you for taking the time to reply. It is wonderful that family history folk from around the world are helped by our Irish friends. I'm Australian and unlikely to visit Co Antrim in the near future. So, I am very grateful for any assistance.

I wasn't on Facebook until I read your message and thought it was worth the investigation to join. Fingers crossed!

Thank you for your information about Mary McCullough and for your encouraging response.

Many thanks,
Anita

Anita,

Regarding graveyard records for the Esler grave in Old Rashee, I doubt there will be any records. Most families knew where their burial plots were and just pointed it out to the gravediggers. They would be mostly illiterate and so weren't going to need any paper records.

Nowadays no-one has much idea of who is buried where in this sold graveyards. Where necessary they do a gentle test dig to see what's in a piece of ground, but otherwise no-one has a clue who is buried where if it's not on the gravestone.

Esler is a pretty common surname in the area.

Elwyn

Anita,

A couple and half years later...

I checked the 1813 survey made by Ballyeaston Church and find that the only person named Ann Sanderson was listed in a family living in house number 5 in Upper Glenwhirry and is as follows:

Sanderson Jas 48 Farmer

Mary 30 Wife

William 9 Son

Hugh 7 Son

Ann 4 Dtr

Arthur 2 Son

Nancy inf Dtr

I hope this helps

Sauntag

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