McKittrick Family Co Down

http://www.proni.gov.uk/

Eleanor:

I assume your family was Church of Ireland or Presbyterian. I have a reference book which indicates that Church of Ireland records for Dundonald parish go back to 1811 and Presbyterian records may go back to 1678. Since you live in Northern Ireland, you may want to visit the Public Records Office for Northern Ireland (see link above).

We have a Northern Ireland expert who I'm sure which give you more specifics insights.

Roger McDonnell

Eleanor,

Looking at the will, there?s no mention of William McKittrick?s wife so she has presumably predeceased him. Hopefully his death cert confirms that he was a widower?

Death registration only started in Ireland in 1864, so unless she died between 1864 and 1870, you won?t get a statutory death certificate and you may not find her burial place very easily.

Marriages for all denominations except RC were recorded in the statutory records from April 1845 onwards. I have looked for any marriage between 1845 ? 1850 in that area of Co Down between a Wm McK and anyone, but there are none. I suspect therefore that he married before April 1845 (as you also suggest). In which case you need to try and find the church where the ceremony took place.

Tradition was to marry in the bride?s church, but obviously we have no information about her at this stage. Church of Ireland is certainly a possibility and you should explore that (a copy is held in PRONI). The surname McKittrick and the fact that they lived in Co Down suggests to me that William at least may have been Presbyterian. If so, and his bride was also Presbyterian, and they lived around Dundonald all their lives, they may well have married in Dundonald Presbyterian church (and the children may also have been baptised there). As Roger has explained, the good news is that Dundonald Presbyterian churches marriage and baptism records start in 1678 (which must make it one of the oldest sets of church records in Ireland). The bad news is that no-one appears to have been able to copy them yet, and the Minister holds the only set. So PRONI don?t have a copy, they are not on-line and you will either need to contact the Minister or get a researcher to do that for you. Church contact details:

http://www.dundonaldpc.com

Looking through the revaluation records for Carrowreagh, I noted David McKittrick as occupant of plot 12c (a house & small garden) between 1878 and around 1881. Don?t know if that fits with your information on when he moved to Cumberland. Nearby on 13g was Samuel McConnell on another house and small garden (such as an agricultural labourer would rent). So David appears to have married the girl next door. Samuel is gone by 1885. A Samuel O?Connell is noted as arriving 13c in 1885. That might be the same man. Or it might not. The location of those properties today is on the Upper Newtownards Rd, near where Carrowreagh Rd branches off. I?d say they have been demolished and replaced by a housing estate (Millreagh Ave).

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

Elwyn