Foster Hemphill Ancestors

Jim,

1. What townlands (addresses) are recorded for James & Rebecca on the 1859 marriage certificate?
2. What were their respective fathers? occupations?
3. Normally, tradition was to marry in the bride?s church (which will normally be detailed on the marriage certificate) and so that would usually be the place to look for her baptism and that of any siblings. Have you considered that? Which church and what denomination was it?

Elwyn

Thanks for the reply.

These folks were Presbyterian.  I have obtained several baptism records for the children of James and Rebecca and for children of the siblings of James from the Presbyterian Historical Socity of Ireland suggesting there were numerous Foster offspring baptiszed at the local Presbyterian Church.  Records show that they were regular attenders at Moville Presbyterian Church. The Griffiths valuation has Francis Foster linked to several properties in Ballyrattan and William Hemphill with one property in Carrownaff both in Upper Moville. The 1901 census has James and Rebecca living on Malin Street in Moville and James was recorded as a coachbuilder.  Marriage record for my g-grandmother Sarah Foster records her father as a church builder so he was a carpenter.  Other than the information from the Griffiths valuation I currently know very little regarding Francis Foster or his wife (name unknown) and William Hemphill and his wife Jane Cooke.

Hope this helps clarify where I am at with my research.

Jim

Jim,

You haven?t really answered my questions about the 1859 marriage so I?ll have to assume you haven?t got a copy of the civil certificate. I suggest you order one to see if the addresses and other information link in with Griffiths etc. It should provide some information to progress your research.

The marriage was registered in Londonderry 1859 Volume 7, page 309 (though it may have taken place in Co Donegal. Londonderry was the civil registration town for parts of Donegal). You can order a photocopy of that cert from GRO Roscommon for ?4. Put the place, year, volume & page number on the application form (anywhere). http://www.groireland.ie/ You have to post or fax the form to them but they will e-mail the copy certificate to you if you wish. Put ?please e-mail to?..? clearly on the top of the form.

Elwyn

Hi Elwyn,

Thanks for the speedy reply.  Yes I can't seem to find the marriage record right now so not sure how I came up with the marriage date.  I will go through my files and if I can not find it I will order one as you suggest and then let you know if I find anything new.

Regards

Jim

Found it!

Hi Elwyn,

I found the marriage record.  I had it misfiled.  So much for my filing system.  So what it states that is not in my previous note is that at the time of their marriage James was residing in Moville and Rebecca in Cooley (not sure where that is).  James was noted as a carpenter.  Both thier fathers (Francis and William) were noted as farmers.  They were married in a Presbyterian Church in Londonderry in Templemore Parish in the County of Derry.  I am not sure when the Presbyterian Church in Moville was built or where the Presbyterian Church in Templemore Parish is that they where married in but will do some research to find out.  Also to find Cooley.  These leads are what I used to find Francis and William in the Griffiths valuation.

Take care.

Jim

Jim,

Cooley or Cooly is a townland half a mile or so south of Moville.

There is a Presbyterian church in Moville which goes back to the 1600s so why the couple chose to marry in Derry is a bit of a mystery. (They obviously didn?t reside there, as is evident from their addresses on the marriage certificate). Perhaps a falling out within the families somewhere? Or possibly the Moville church was unavailable (building works for example).

Templemore is the parish that includes the city of Derry, and there are actually several Presbyterian churches within the town. The one they married at should be specified on the marriage certificate. The main ones are Ballyarnett, Carlisle Rd, 1^st Derry, 2^nd Derry or Strand & Great James St or Kilfennan.

Leave this with me for a few days. I?ll have a look at the Moville Presbyterian records and see if I can fill in a few gaps for you. It looks to me as though both Foster & Hemphills were still farming in Moville in the early 1900s but I?ll expand on that idc.

Here's a site with some information on Moville:

http://www.movillerecords.com/family.htm

Elwyn

Thanks Elwyn,

Thanks for your efforts, much appreciated.  I did find Cooley using Google Earth.  Based on your list and the handwriting I would say they were married in First Presbyterian Church as I can make out the F and the T in First.

The contact from The Presbyterian Historical Society Of Ireland suggests that the Foster family must have been new to the Moville Presbyterian Church around 1860 as there are no records before that time for them but lots that I have after that - so either they were new to the area or attending another church before that time.  The earliest records I have for the Hemphill side are two baptisms; Rebecca daughter of William Hemphill and his wife Jane Cooke, Coolly born 1 Oct 1834 baptised 5 Oct 1834 and then Polly daughter of William Hemphill and his wife Jane Cooke, Churchland born 15 Oct 1838 (no baptism date given).  Then basically nothing until the marriage of James and Rebecca.

I understand that records often get pretty sketchy before about 1850 so very much appreciate your efforts and anything else you might be able to find for me.

Jim 

Jim,

I searched Griffiths Valuation for 1857 (where nearly all farmers would be listed) and there?s no Hemphill farm in Cooley that year. There was just one William Hemphill in all of Donegal and he was in the immediately adjacent townland of Carrownaff where he had plot 16 which was a farmhouse, outbuildings and 27 acres of land. So I strongly suspect that has to be him. That farm today is on the seafront half a mile or so before Moville (coming from Derry) near a small quay which, looking at Google earth, still appears to be there today. Hemphills were still farming there in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Donegal/Castlecarey/Carrownaffe/1185228/

& in 1911:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Donegal/Castlecary/Carrownaff/495431/

I see from the Moville Presbyterian church records that when Rebecca was born the family address was Cooly but when Polly was born (15^th Oct & baptised 18^th October 1838) it was given as ?Churchland?. There?s no townland of Churchland in the area so not sure what to make of that. There is an area in the townland called ?Priests Park? perhaps it is connected to that. Don?t know.

I noted the following children to James & Rebecca Foster: Martha 1863; Rebecca Jane 1861; Sarah 1866; Wm James 1870, Polly 1872.

I noted the following Foster marriages, evidently siblings to James as the father was Francis in all 3 cases:

1860 William to Jane Baird

1861 David to Jane Montgomery

1870 William Foster (widower) to Annie Lynch

Marriages for James & Rebecca?s children:

1889 Rebekah Jane Foster to Alexander McDowell (RIC Moville)

1894 Sara Foster to Luke Kirby

1902 Annie Foster to Robert Swann

1907 James Foster to Lizzie McNeary

1921 Elizabeth Polly Foster to William Beattie (boat builder)

1905 Marriage of Polly Hemphill d/o George Hemphill, to Archibald Beattie (boatbuilder). Witness Elizabeth Polly Foster & William Beattie.

1862 Polly Hemphill married John McIntyre. Her address then was Carrownaff & Moville. A witness was George Hemphill (who we know farmed in Carrownaff).

Note: I have the full details for those marriages, if you want them.

I can see that Rebecca Hemphill was born in Cooly, and that she also gave that as her address when she married in 1859. However there was no Hemphill farm listed there then or later eg 1901 census, and taking into account that Polly was in Carrownaff in 1862,  my view is that at the time of her marriage Rebecca was living or working in the adjacent townland of Cooley whilst her father William was farming in Carrownaff. He possibly had farmed in Cooley at one time (though there?s no record of him in the tithes) but had subsequently moved to Carrownaff, and was evidently there by 1857, judging by Griffiths.

There?s 2 William Hemphill deaths in the records for that area. One was b 1818 and died Oct ? Dec 1886, the other 1816 to Jan ? Mar 1899. You would probably need to order the certificates to see which was the farmer from Carrownaff. The widow Annie in the 1901 census was only born c 1840. So, assuming I have the right family, she looks to be the widow of William?s successor who appears to have been his son George. There?s just one death for someone named George Hemphill registered in Inishowen prior to 1901. He died Oct ? Dec 1897, est year of birth 1838. Was he therefore Rebecca?s brother? I suspect so. I think George married Ann Jane Bredin (Inishowen 1864 Vol 17. Page 131) but you would need to check that out. If his father was William, then you probably have the proof.

The 1911 census has Polly Beattie (nee Hemphill) and her husband. His name appears as Ruelies on the census but I assume it?s a nickname because he?s listed as Archibald on their marriage (Inishowen Apr ? Jun 1905 Vol 2, page 107). Her birth was registered in Inishowen in 1880.

Moville Upper does have a Presbyterian church which has been there for hundreds of years and so it?s curious that the marriage between James & Rebecca did not take place there, but in Londonderry instead. I wonder if there had been some sort of family disagreement, or perhaps the Moville church just wasn?t available for some reason?

I looked at the tithe applotment books for Donegal 1827/1828. The tithes were a church tax on land, so again most farmers would be listed. There were some Hemphills in Donegal including a James in Ballynally, Moville Lower, but none in Cooley or Carrownaff or elsewhere in Moville Upper. So it appears to me that the Hemphills acquired that farm some time between 1827 & 1857.

No sign of any Hemphills in the Moville area in the flaxgrowers returns for 1796, so again that suggests they moved into the area after that date.

There were marriages for George Hemphills children but I didn?t have time to note them all. You would probably be able to squeeze a bit more family information from the Moville records, if you had the time or opportunity to go through them slowly.

For Francis Foster, there is also only 1 person of that name listed in Griffiths for 1857. He was on the townland of Ballyrattan where he had a farmhouse, outbuildings and a total holding of 48 acres of land (plots 15 & 16). The farm is on the coast road again between Derry and Moville. There is still a building there today though whether it?s still a farm is difficult to say.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Donegal/Castlecarey/Ballyrotton/1185203/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Donegal/Castlecary/Ballyrattan/495403/

As with the Hemphill family I find that there were no Fosters on Ballyrattan in 1828. So, as you have already concluded, they too must have moved there between that year and 1857.

There?s a death for Francis Foster registered in Inishowen in 1866, est year of birth 1794. That might be his death. I suspect his son David then took over the farm. It looks as though they also had a small post office.

Elwyn

Hello Elwyn,

Wow!  Thanks so much - this is awsome.  You have made my day.  You obviously have access to the GRO or PRONI or something similiar.

You have definitely filled in a few gaps for me which has been very helpful.  I will follow up on your leads to obtain some more records.  Regarding the marriages of James Foster and Rebecca Hemphill's children I do have a copy of the marriage for Sarah Foster and Luke Kirby but not the others.  If you could provide me with the details of the others as you suggest that would be great 

The information about George Hemphill and his family is new and I will follow up on those records.

It is reassuring that you have basically come to the same conclusion as I have about when the Foster family moved to the area and although disappointing that there are no records for them in the Moville area before about 1850.  I always worry I am missing some clue and a second opinon that comes up with a similar conclusion is definitely reassuring.

Thanks again for all your efforts.

Jim  

Jim,

The source for all the church records is the Moville Presbyterian marriage register. Copy held in PRONI Belfast, ref: MIC1P/241.

19^th June 1860 William Foster, full age, bachelor, carpenter, ur Moville s/o Francis Foster, farmer; Jane Baird, full age, spinster, no occ recorded, ur Moville, d/o Samuel Baird, baker. Witnesses David Fraser & Thomas McCandless (Thomas?s surname not fully legible, may not be correct).

19^th April 1870 William Foster, full age, widower, carpenter, ur Moville, s/o Francis Foster, farmer; Anne Lynch, spinster, full, no occ recorded, ur Moville, d/o Wm Lynch tradesman. Witnesses David Foster & Fanny McAllister.

28^th June 1861 David Foster, full age, bachelor, farmer, ur Ballysallan, s/o Francis Foster, farmer; Jane Montgomery, full age, spinster, no occ recorded, ur Ballynalley, d/o Joseph Montgomery, farmer. Witnesses George Hemphill & James Foster.

18^th Mar 1862 John McIntyre, full age, bachelor, boot & shoe maker, ur Moville, s/o Daniel McIntyre, farmer; Polly Hemphill, full age spinster, no occ recorded ur Carrownaff & Moville d/o William Hemphill, farmer. Witnesses George Hemphill & Annie (surname illegible).

10^th Sept 1889 Alexander McDowell, full age, bachelor, Occ RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary), residence Moville, s/o Hugh McDowell hotel keeper; Rebekah Jane Foster, full age, spinster, no occupation recorded, ur Moville, d/o James Foster coachbuilder. Witnesses John Kerr & Sarah Foster

4^th March 1902 Robert Swann full age, bachelor, grocer, ur Moville s/o Wm Swann, farmer; Anne Foster, full age, spinster, no occ recorded, ur Moville d/o James Foster, coachbuilder. Witnesses Samuel Swann & Elizabeth Polly Foster.

4.4.1905 Archibald Beattie full age, bachelor, boat builder, ur Moville, s/o Thomas Beattie boat builder; Polly Hemphill, full age, spinster, no occ recorded, ur Carrownaff, d/o George Hemphill, farmer. Witnesses Wm Beattie & Elizabeth Polly Foster.

5^th Feb 1907 James Foster, full age, bachelor, coach builder, ur Moville, s/o James Foster coachbuilder; Lizzie McNeary full age, spinster, no occ recorded, ur Carrownaff, d/o James McNeary, coachman. Witnesses Thomas Johnson & Mary McNeary.

25^th Jan 1921 William Beattie full age, bachelor, boat builder, ur Moville, s/o Thomas Beattie boat builder; Elizabeth Polly Foster, full age, spinster, dress maker, ur Moville, d/o James Foster coachbuilder. Witnesses William John Beattie & Rebecca Foster McDowell.

Research in the early part of the 1800s is very difficult and it is normal to struggle at the point you have reached. My feeling is a that both families moved into the area in the earlier part of the 1800s (not necessarily from very far away) but that won?t make your task any easier.

I assume you know that because the families were Presbyterian, they most likely arrived in Ireland in the 1600s as a part of the Plantation. Curiously I did some research on Hemphill in Co Antrim for someone else recently and I noted that the name was quite rare in Scotland. Your Hemphill ancestors possibly came from somewhere like Ayrshire. (That wouldn?t be too surprising a conclusion as large numbers of people from Ayrshire settled in Co Donegal then). I had a quick look at the 1841 Scottish census.  There were only 57 Hemphills listed. 14 were in Ayrshire and 16 in Glasgow & 12 in Edinburgh, but the Glasgow ones wouldn?t have been there in the 1600s. They would have moved in from some rural location as Glasgow developed as a city. Ayrshire stands out as a location where Hemphill was fairly prominent. That combined with the historical information about the origins of plantation families in Donegal makes me think that might be where they originated. But take that as speculation, not proof.

Elwyn

Elwyn,

Thanks for all this.  You have definitely provided some more clues and work to keep me busy for a while.

Yes I have Ulster Scot ancestors from Donegal and Antrim, English ancestors from Derry and my wife has Roman Catholic ancestors from Down and Antrim.  Depending on the area you volunteer over in Ulster you might get tired of hearing from me.

Take care.

Jim

Hi  Elwyn,

Well I have obtained some of the records you mentioned and they seem to produce some answers and also some more questions. The two death records for a William Hemphill both show that they were farmers and bachelors. However the William Hemphill that died 14 Dec 1886 died at Carrownaff.  That would put his birth about 1818.  The informant was George Hemphill and the record states that he was his half brother.  So I am thinking George must have also been the half brother to Rebecca and Polly born 1834 and 1838 and also to a John Hemphill (born about 1817) that I see in the 1901 census living with George's widow Annie at Carrownaff.

The other William Hemphill died 18 Jan 1899 at Tullyally near Moville and not that far away from the others.  The informant was a nephew named James Cooke.  There are several more Hemphill's reported in Ballynally in Lower Moville in the Griffiths valuation which again is close by.

The death record for the George Hemphill a farmer that died 4 Nov 1897 died at Cooley.  He was reported to be married and the informant was his daughter Jennie Doherty.  He would have been born about 1838 close to when Polly was born.  I have not been able to find any other records for Jennie Doherty.

Let me know what you think of my hypothesis and whether you think any other information regarding these relationships can be gleened from the Moville church records.

Regards.

Jim  

Jim,

I have to say this family is a bit of a struggle to piece together.

I searched for Jennie Hemphill?s birth. Jennie is of course a common alternative version of Jane. There?s a Jane Hemphill birth in Inishowen 1866 Vol 17, page 157. That could be her. (It?s certainly the only one that appears to fit the known information).

I then looked for her marriage to a Doherty but can?t find one listed in Inishowen, or indeed anywhere in that part of Ireland. There was a Jane Hemphill marriage in Inishowen in 1875 but she didn?t marry anyone named Doherty. Also, she would have been born in 1857 or earlier, which makes her most unlikely to be George?s daughter if he was born in 1838. If George married in 1864, as I suspect, then the 1866 birth fits well enough, so she?d have married from about 1884 onwards. But I can?t trace it.

My only suggestion is that she married Alexander Doherty from Whitecastle, which is just a couple of miles from Carrownaff. Here?s the couple in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Donegal/Whitecastle/Whitecastle/1186757/

The 1911 census tells us they married around 1897/8. I can?t find their marriage either. In a way that?s encouraging because if the marriage is missing from the registers (as is a possibility), then you wouldn?t expect to find either party in the indexes. This Jane is Methodist by 1901, but she may have changed denomination when she married, as was generally the custom. They had a son Ernest W. Doherty born c 1902. What looks to be his birth was for Ernest Wesley Doherty, Inishowen Jan ? Mar 1902, vol2, page 128. That birth cert would give you Jane?s maiden name.

Did you get George?s marriage certificate to see if his father was Wm Hemphill? That should make him Rebecca?s sister. I only saw Rebecca & Polly in the baptisms. No George, but perhaps I missed it. Assuming George?s age in his death certificate is roughly correct, I think he has to be a full brother to Rebecca, rather than a half brother.

Obviously the 1901 census says that Annie Hemphill had her brother in law John living with her. He was single and his age would make him b c 1816. I reckon Annie?s, Annie Bredin, the widow of George who died in 1897. So possibly William Hemphill married twice. Firstly to an unknown woman by whom he had John b c 1816 and then William b c 1818. At some point between 1818 and 1834, this first wife dies and then he remarries to Jane Cooke, probably around 1833, and has Rebecca 1834, Polly 1838 and George, also around 1838. That would make George a half brother to the William who died 1886. (If he were a child of the first marriage then he wouldn?t be a half brother to William).

If William Hemphill (who married Jane Cooke) was married by 1816, then obviously he was born 1796 or earlier. That being so, he was probably dead by 1864 when death registration started which is why we can?t find his death.

Can?t be 100% sure this is the right interpretation but it?s about all I can make of your information. 

I?d be inclined to get that 1864 marriage cert for George to see who his father was, and the townland, just to make sure there?s not a surprise there.

Elwyn

Hi Elwyn,

Thanks again for all your efforts.  Yes this seems like a compIicated situation and the timing around the introduction of civil registration to births, marriages and deaths and church records makes it even more difficult.

I agree with your thinking regarding the possible two marriages for William Hemphill and how the children would be related to the different wifes.

Yes I did get the marriage record for George Hemphill to Anne Jane Bredin but unfortunately neglected to mention it in my last note.  As you assumed he was from Carronaff and his father was identified as William Hemphill.

Good on you for finding the lead with respect to Jennie Doherty.  I will follow up on that at some point.  I am thinking I will give this a rest for a while and possibly try researching a less complicated line of ancestors.

Many thanks for all your efforts on my behalf.

Jim 

Jim,

Irish research can be hard going. Glad to have been of help.

One final thing, I was searching the Moville Upper, Church of Ireland parish records recently for someone else and I noticed quite a few Hemphill marriages and baptisms. I didn?t take any details but it was evident that some of the Hemphill family attended that church at some time. There might be more helpful records there.

Elwyn

Would you know if there was a James gleeson that had a son called Mo?ses. And  immigrated to Canada 

Hi Mona,

I am not aware of any Gleeson's in my tree.  If you can provide me with a bit more information about the family I can do a bit of a search for you.

Jim

Jim & Elwyn, I have Hemphill connections in the Church of  Ireland, Moville Lower (Ballynally), found all the lot you have and have been as confused as you about how, or if, the C of I and the Presbyterian families are related. Not to mention the various family units relating to each other. The rather astonishing number of James Hemphills everywhere I look doesn't make it easier. 

Among what you have given here, Elwyn, are a few connections I didn't have, so thanks from me too. 

My great grandmother was Catherine Hemphill, daughter of James Hemphill in Ballynally. She married my great grandfather, John McCurry, in St. Columb's C of I, Moville, in April 1862. They lived north of Limavady in County Derry. Somewhere when I was at PRONI I saw a note about "James Hemphill and 13 children" referring to this family but I have not been able to find all the siblings (though some that died as infants may not have been recorded). Nor have I found the name of the mother, though she may have been a Mitchell since only one of Catherine and John's daughters has a middle name and it is Mitchell. Catherine herself was born in Derry, so I speculate that her mother may have gone to her own mother to have the baby. I haven't been able to find any Hemphill-Mitchell marriages of the rigth period, but there is a great dearth of any records at that time so it isn't surpising, only frustrating.

I visited Moville last spring with a semi-professional genealogist who was helping with the very elusive Hemphills and was able to visit the farm belonging to my great great grandfather, Catherine's father, above Moville, looking across the lough toward Carrowclare in County Derry where she spent all her married life. It was a poignant moment as we envisioned John sailing his fishing boat across the lough to visit her prior to their marriage.

That same day we stopped by St Columb's church (C of I) and as luck would have it, met Sammy Bredin, now the church warden. He didn't know whether Annie Bredin was related to him but it seems a strong probability in so small an area. Sammy and his wife still farm at Cooley, just above Moville.

We were not able to look at the C of I records at St. Finian's, Greencastle. According to Sammy, that is the parish church where earlier records would be. St. Columb's was very new at the time of my great grandparent's marriage. You don't happen to have Hemphill records from St. Finian's in your  collection, do you Elwyn?

Frances Bach 8 Jan 2014

Frances,

I don?t have a personal copy of the records. I just use PRONI?s. Copies of St Finians surviving records are with the rest of Moville Lower?s records at PRONI, but I don?t know whether they contain any Hemphills. However there are no marriages for St Finian?s earlier than 1845, so I suspect you are going to be out of luck. You?ll know that all marriages from 1845 onwards are in the civil records anyway (which I assume you have checked). So your ancestors must have married before April 1845.

Looking at the dates, I know from experience that the early records for St Finian?s will have been destroyed in the 1922 fire. The parishes were instructed to send their records pre 1880ish to Dublin (ironically for safe keeping) and so when I see that baptisms for a particular COI church only start in say 1876, then that usually indicates that the early records were lost in the fire. The marriage records were also sent to Dublin but fortunately there was usually a duplicate set from April 1845 onwards because of statutory registration, and so we at least have those, but the marriages before April 1845 for St Finian?s have been lost.

 This is what PRONI?s holding contains:

C.I. Moville Lower (St Columb?s) and St Finian?s, Greencastle (Raphoe diocese)

Baptisms, 1876-1982, with gaps (St Columb?s and St Finian?s); marriages, 1867-1955, (St Columb?s); marriages, 1845-1933 (St Finian?s); vestry minutes, 1783-1918; vestry minutes, 1773-82, with 1774 cess list, before Moville Parish was divided into Upper and Lower Moville; preachers? book containing Sunday School returns for both churches, 1853-62; lists of confirmations, 1853, 1857 and 1861; tithe applotment, 1830-32; lists of parishioners, 1812 and 1820; history of the parish of Lower and Upper Moville with lists of prebendaries and incumbents, 1781-1923, compiled c.1930.

Most of the records are on microfilm MIC1/138. Some are in paper format on DIO/3/24 Box 93.

The only other records I am aware of are burials 1893 onwards which are still held locally (ie by the Rector/Vicar).

Moville was split into the two parishes in 1782.

Elwyn

Hello Frances,

Thanks for the note.  As you have noticed I have struggled with the Moville Hemphills as well.  I had a look at the Hemphills in Ballynally in the Griffiths Valuation but have not been able to make a conection to my line.  As Elwyn has pointed out the records are patchy at times.  Due to the limited number of Hemphill families in the area I suspect we are related but may have a hard time proving it.  I have been working on easier ground for the last few months so no new information to report..

We have visited Moville as well and found it to be a quaint little village.  We had lunch by the lough on a relatively nice Irish day, which made it hard to push on to other sites on our trip. 

You may have undertaken more rersearch than I of the Hemphills.  Thanks to help from Elwyn most of what I know about the early Hemphills is in this email chain.  Yes lots of Hemphills named James and what seems like several bachelors as well. I am not sure if I can be of any help but if you want to compare notes let me know and I will pass along my email.

Jim 

Thanks gentlemen. I feel quite certain these two lines in the Movile area are connected but the ARE a particularly elusive bunch. I would be pleased if you would keep in touch directly. My email is febach@fairpoint.net. I will endeavor to pass on anything more that may turn up.

Fran

More on the Moville Hemphills

I have just uncovered a few more items that are connected with the Moville Hemphills you may or may not have.

1. There was one Hemphill in Moville in the flaxgrowers list of 1796 and several not a long way off:

1796, Irish Flax Growers Database Search Results

There was 10 match(es) for the search criteria:

Guild ID Surname First name Parish County Looms/Wheels

G48592 Hamphill [Hemphill] Andrew Ardstraw Tyrone 3

G54497 Hamphill [Hemphill] David Urney Tyrone 4

G54544 Hamphill [Hemphill] Samuel Urney Tyrone 2

G13150 Hemphel [Hemphill] James Lower Moville Donegal 1 wheel.

G19445 Hemphill Andrew Cleenish Fermanagh 1

G4986 Hemphill Andrew Crousherlough [Crosserlough] Cavan 1

G209 Hemphill James Ballyrashean [Ballyrashane] Antrim 1

G27205 Hemphill James Tamlaght Finlagan Londonderry 3 wheels.

G8428 Hemphill John Auganinshin [Aghanunshin] Donegal 4 wheels.

G23324 Hemphill Joseph Aughanloo [Aghanloo] Londonderry 4 wheels.

FYI, A(u)ghanunshin is on the west side at the bottom of Lough Swilly in the Letterkenny area. I haven't found any connections between them and the Moville Hemphills in that area yet but haven't yet gone looking.

George Hemphill Sr. was indeed Rebecca Foster's brother.

George Hemphill' Sr.'s wife was Anne Jane Bredin from Cooley as are the couple named Bredin I met in Moville last spring.

George Hemphill Sr. and Anne Jane Bredin's sons George Jr.and Harry William emigrated to Canada and their descendants (or at least Harry's) are still in the general area of Weyburn, Saskatchewan with branches scattered across western Canada.

Fran

Hello,

I realise i'm coming a bit late to this thread but as someone with connections to the church and parish in question, I was curious about the name Foster as my ancestors leased their land in Ballyrattan from a  Foster family.  I contributed the following to another forum searching for links to the family:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The landlord in 1890 was a William J. Foster, unsure when he became landlord, Thomas Ferguson was their  landlord at the time of the Griffith Valuation in 1858. A letter in Proni from 1847 states that the land was in possession of Mr Thomas Ferguson for some debt of Sir A. Chichester, so he may have sold the land to the Foster family sometime after the 1850's.

The Irish Land Commission record below shows that William J Foster was landlord for almost the entire townland in 1890(Although my McCorkell ancestors do not appear on this list for some reason?)
 http://www.dippam.ac.uk/eppi/documents/18490/page/491404
 

William James Foster = Elizabeth Allen 19th Dec 1861 Great James street Presbyterian church
WJ Foster of Coolkeeragh House, High Sheriff of Donegal, father William Foster
Died 23rd Jan 1891, Bath Somerset (Late of Portrush County Antrim)
Elizabeth Allen Foster recorded in the 1901 census, Portrush, aged 63, I loose sight of her after that, but my family were still paying rents to her in 1917, she would have been 79, I think she may have moved to England after 1901

One daughter I can find Emily Patterson Foster born 31/08/1864
Interestingly she married a Thomas Fredrick MacNeece in 1888 in Marylebone London, one of their children William Foster MacNeece rose to the rank of Air Vice-Marshall during WW2 and was a member of the joint chiefs of staff

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I haven't been able to establish if this is the same Foster family (asyours) , my McCorkells continued to lease their land from the Foster family through most of the 20th Century.

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The Hempill family were living in the area in the late 1700's, I transcribed two Cess lists from the 1700's relating to the parishes of Upper and Lower Moville. In the townland of Ballynally there was recorded a James Hempill (snr) and James Hempill (jnr), November, 1774. I have another list just for Moville Upper transcribed from 1792 but don't have access to it from my current location, I can check later. I also have photos of some of your Foster graves from Upper Moville Presbyterian graveyard if your interested.

Most of the Presbyterians of Inishowen probably migrated upwards from the Laggan region of Donegal where  large numbers of Scots were 'planted' in the 1620's, by the records that have survived I think the numbers were low until the first half of the 18th Century. by the 1720's there were several Presbyterian churches in Inishowen, I believe my own ancestors migrated from the Laggan to the Moville area at this time, the earliest record for my family I have from the area is 1740

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Unsure when the Foster family came to Moville they don't appear on the early tithe lists, below is interesting it is taken form a history of Moville by Rev. Montgomery written in the 1930's

I think the finest example set to us is by a woman from Cooley. It will be remembered that certain families were transported thither from Armagh. One day more than eighty years ago, my old friend, now in Cooley, told me that his mother walked to Armagh, carrying him, then two years old, on her back I think the distance is seventy-four miles, and she accomplished it in two days, stopping the night in Newtownstewart. In due time she walked back again.

The families came from Armagh with their landlord, sometime near the beginning of the 19th century, in Ballylawn, next to Cooley there was a small Clachan called " Lurgans town" it still existed in the early 20th century. Perhaps the Fosters orignally came from County Armagh. Just a thought

Joe

Foster Hemphill Ancestors

Hello Joe. Thanks for the information. I have been offline for awhile and am just starting to get back into genealogy. I am not sure of my connection to the William J. Foster=Elizabeth Allen family at this point but will do some digging to see if I can find anything about a possible connection.

I would be very interested in obtaining any information you have on the Foster or Hemphill graves at the Upper Moville Presbyterian graveyard. Please let me know how I can obtain the information or you can contact me at jayoung663@gmail.com.

Thanks

Jim

I'm also looking for Hemphill, my gg grandparents were married in lower moville in 1863 ,William Hemphill and Sarah Turner, sarah was born in Glasgow but her dad Robert was born in Ireland, William Hemphill was born in Ireland, im assuming in donegal

Hi Alan,

I am aware of William Hemphill & Sarah Turner. I have been sharing research information with Fran Bach but at this point I don't think we have confirmed a connection via the paper trail.  DNA has shown that several of the Hemphill familes in the Moville area are likely related if you go back far enough. We have James Hemphill and Peggy McCurry as possible parents for William.  There are no shortage of Hemphills with the name William or James in the Moville area which adds to the confusion.

Have you tested your DNA?

Jim  

Hi Jim
I haven't tested my DNA yet although I do intend to do it ,William and Sarah are the furthest I've got back, well their fathers as they are on the marriage certificate. Elwyn has provided me with some good information and leads.
William had a son called Robert Turner Hemphill born in Rutherglen
Scotland my great grandfather, he married a Catherine Irvine from New Kilpatrick (Her Dad John is from Ireland too but don't know where.
They then had a son called William Hemphill in 1894 my Grandfather who married a Amelia Lang Meldrum my grandmother in 1925 in Glasgow .my mother was born in 1928 Catherine Hemphill. If you or Frances need any copies of these marriages and births let me know and I'll send them to you .
Thank you for your help,I only started this about a month ago and I've found loads of information so trying to marry it all together.
Thank you
Alan Cochrane

Hello Jim and others on this thread.  I am assisting my father-in-law with his research (my husband's g-g-grandparents are also James Foster and Rebecca Hemphill) and I was thrilled to come across this thread and see that it is still active.  I am so greatful for all the information shared here - particularly the wonderful researcd done by Elwyn.

My husband's like goes up like this:

Fintan S. Molloy (my husband) -> Fintan M. Molloy (b 1942) -> Martha Johnson (b 1914)  -> Thomas Johnson (b 1887) -> Martha Foster (b 1864, daughter of James Foster and Rebecca Hemphill).

Tom Johnson moved to Ballymote, Co Sligo at one point and operated a mill.  He was later the Postmaster there.

If you are on Ancestry please let me know.  My husband has taken a DNA test and we can compare information.  I have added information from this thread to our tree, but I fear I may have "over-added" information and need to go back with a critical eye to edit.