Anne and Elizabeth Graham

Kay,

The 1858 marriage certificate should give you the Graham’s townland (address). (Griffiths Valuation for 1862 lists a George Graham in Aghaleague and another in Tullanaginn. I don’t know if either of those is the address on the marriage certificate but if it is, then we can pinpoint where the family lived). GRONI keeps the statutory birth, death and marriage records which start in 1864 for births & deaths and 1845 for non RC marriages. Prior to that you need to search church records which are held in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. You don’t say what denomination the family were but I’d guess they were probably Church of Ireland. Magheraculmoney Church of Ireland parish records start in 1767. So you might be in luck. The church records at PRONI are not on-line and a personal visit is required to access them. Those records may have George’s baptism, plus that of the earlier generations.

I looked for the surnames Allat and Cannon in Fermanagh in Griffiths Valuation. There were none of either name. Likewise in the 1901 census of Fermanagh there were no Allats listed and just 1 household with Cannon. So not common Fermanagh names.

Magheraculmoney is in Irvinestown civil registration area. I searched for Margaret Graham deaths registered there from 1864 to 1908 and found just 3: 30.6.1872 aged 80, 7.1.1873 aged 76 and 24.5.1899 aged 96. You might want to look at those to see if any are George’s Graham’s wife. If his wife died before 1864 then you would need to search the burial records in Magherculmoney parish records (in PRONI). Not every burial was recorded though. It’s a bit hit and miss.

The reason why the family left Ireland in the 1860s was almost certainly the same reason people migrate today – economic betterment. Ireland has very few natural resources (no oil, coal, iron ore etc) and so did not benefit from the industrial revolution in the 1800s, the way Scotland, England, the US, Canada & Australia did, which created hundreds of thousands of comparatively well-paid new jobs in new industries (coal mining, steel making, railways, ship building etc). So that was a big pull factor. There had also been a huge population explosion in Ireland going up from about 3 million people in 1750 to 8 million in 1830. There simply weren’t jobs for all those people. In much of Ireland the only employment was subsistence farming topped up in Ulster and one or two other areas with a bit of linen weaving. And then the straw that broke the camel’s back, along came famine, numerous times throughout the 1800s. The worst period was when the potato crop failed almost completely 3 years in a row in the late 1840s, and then partially several more years after that.

People with small amounts of land were often very much one crop dependent, growing only potatoes because you could grow more potatoes to the acre than any other crop, and they need the minimum of maintenance, but as a consequence they had nothing else to fall back on when the blight attacked them, and because it was largely a barter economy they mostly had no spare cash to buy food. When the crop failed 3 years in a row, people ended up eating their seed potatoes, leaving them nothing to plant the next spring. It is estimated that during the years 1845 to 1850, around 800,000 people died of starvation or of a famine-related disease such as typhus, dysentery, scurvy or pellagra. A further two million people emigrated. Unlike earlier famines, in which the population recovers quickly from the catastrophe and continues to grow, the after effects of the Great Irish Famine were such that the population of Ireland, standing at 8.2 million people in 1841, declined to 6.6 million in 1851. Fifty years later, Ireland's population was still showing a decline (down to 4.5 million), even though every other European country was showing a population increase. Ireland’s population did not return to its pre-famine heights until 1964. Approximately 8 million people left Ireland between 1801 and 1900 - the equivalent of the entire pre-Famine population. The population today is only around 6 million.

Other factors led to the continued emigration too, eg early mechanisation on farms. With new machines to turn the soil and plant seed, farmers no longer needed an army of agricultural labourers to help on the farm. So those jobs were rapidly disappearing. Likewise mechanisation had led to linen factories being set up in places like Belfast. These made home weaving uneconomic and so also upset the labourer’s family economy. Agriculture was the biggest single employer in Ireland, but it was mostly a barter economy. Few people had any ready cash save what they could make from weaving or any government sponsored work such as building new roads. So when the opportunity arose to get jobs with a regular wage packet, as opposed to a few pence from your father each week, the decision to migrate wasn’t really all that hard to make. So it was as much about economic betterment as anything.

There are no local migration records as such in Ireland, just the passenger lists where they have survived. (No official body in Ireland or Britain kept records of who left or why they left. There was no reason to gather that information).

Hello Elwyn,

Thank you so much for answering my post. I will certainly check the death records for Margaret Graham, the ones listed for 1872 and 1873 look promising. The death certificate I have for George Graham is registered in Irvinestown, sub district Ederney. He died on 20th January, 1881 and the informant was Margaret Knox. He was 90 years of age and described as a labourer. The marriage of Bessy (Elizabeth) Graham and Thomas Gibson on 25th march, 1858 gives their residence as Aghaleague and the witnesses were Robert Simpson and Andrew Knox.Griffiths Valuation for Aghaleague lists both these men, and also George Graham as a tenant of Andrew Knox. I notice the principal landlord was Henry M. D'Arcy Irvine. I hope that the connection with the Knox family means that these certificates are likely to be both correct. 

Obviously I was aware of the Great Famine but the statistics are difficult to comprehend.The sheer scale of the numbers of Irish people who left in search of a better life elsewhere is staggering. Like most Australians I am descended from immigrants, in my case English and Scottish as well as Irish. From my research I know their lives in Australia were often very hard and they faced many difficulties, and I can only wonder at their courage and determination.

I'm still intrigued by the decision of Anne Graham to emigrate to Australia in 1842. It makes sense that her sister Elizabeth and her husband Thomas Gibson would travel to Queensland where Anne and her husband John Doyle were established on their farm by 1862. There must have been contact by mail, I wish I could read such letters!

I have death certificates for Anne and Elizabeth but feel I should now obtain one for Thomas Gibson which may give some clue as to his background. I will let you know how I get on.

Thank you again, I really appreciate your efforts on my behalf. 

Kay Simonsen.

Hello Elwyn,

I wish to add to my previous comments as I have obtained some further information. Thanks to your help, I found a death certificate for Margaret Graham.She died on 30th June, 1872 in Ederney and the informant was her husband George Graham. She was 80 years old and George lived on to be 90 in 1881. Despite the hard times in Ireland during their life time, I am touched to think that they lived to a good old age. Their daughters Anne and Elizabeth had both emigrated to Australia but perhaps there were other children. I also obtained a death certificate for Thomas Gibson here in Queensland. It gave his birthplace as Fermanagh and his father as Thomas. Yet the marriage certificate for Thomas and Elizabeth Graham in Magheraculmoney gives his father as Abraham. I have looked at Griffiths Valuation but cannot find an Abraham Gibson though there are two as Thomas. Of course his father may have been deceased by then. I was also hoping to find a birth for George Gibson who was aged two when his parents emigrated to Australia in 1862, but have had no luck on the GRONI site. I certainly have made good progress with my research and am very grateful for your assistance. 

Kay Simonsen.

Hello Kay,

When Thomas and Elizabeth came to Australia they had two sons with them, George and Samuel.

Kind regards,

Helen Turner

Hello Helen,

Thank you for your message. You are quite correct regarding the two sons of Thomas and Elizabeth Gibson. They arrived in Brisbane, Queensland on April 26th 1862 aboard the 'Theresa'. On a recent visit to the State Library I was able to confirm that Samuel was with them and listed as an infant. Other shipping lists I had seen had omitted him. Thomas and Elizabeth had six more children in Australia. 

Kind regards,

Kay Simonsen.

Hello Kay,

I am the great grand daughter of John James GIBSON, younger brother to George and Samuel.

Kindest regards,

Helen

Hi Kay and Helen,

This may or may not be the same family, but there is a possibility they are.

Anne         4 Jul 1819 Drumcahy  George and Margaret

Margaret 16 Dec 1821 Drumcahy  George and Margaret

George     5 Oct 1823 Drumcahy  George and Margaret

James     8 Oct 1826 Drumcahy  George and Margaret

Jane      14 Dec 1828 Drumcahy  George and Margaret

Elizabeth 25 Sep 1831 Drumkeen George and Margaret

James    13 Oct 1833 Drumcahy  George and Margaret

This data is from the Magherculmoney baptisms - transcriptions not the original - so I suspect that Elizabeth may well have been born in Drumcahy rather than Drumkeen. It is also not impossible that Margaret may have some from Drumkeen and that Elizabeth was born in her family home rather than her marital home. Families did move about as farm leases ended and/or new opportunities opened up. It is also possible that when the children were born George may have been a farm labourer rather than a farmer. To confirm that is the same family you would need to find the other siblings and establish the maiden name of the mother. If you can get a match with the ages of 3 or 4 of the siblings and that they are the children of Margaret Allet it is almost certain that his is the family you are looking for. George did not marry in Magheraculmoney and I can't see a marriage in Drumkeeran or Templecarn.

Bob Graham

Hello Bob,

Thank you for this information regarding the Graham family.The birth dates for Anne and Elizabeth certainly agree with the ages given on their death certificates. I found a marriage certificate through GRONI for Andrew Graham and Mary Howe. They married in Lowtherston on 23rd November, 1859 and Andrew was the son of George Graham, labourer. Andrew's place of residence was Drumcahy. He was born in 1837 so could have belonged to the same family. I also found a marriage on Family Search for James Graham and Susan Mitchell in Enniskillen on 5th February,1854. George Graham is given as the father of James. I will do further research on the family members you have given me and much appreciate your help.

Kind regards,

Kay Simonsen.

Hello Helen,

John James Gibson and his wife Minnie Elizabeth Buck are buried in the Moggill Historical Cemetery in Brisbane along with other members of the family, including his parents Thomas and Elizabeth. My great great grandparents John and Ann Doyle are also buried there. I have visited the cemetery but wish to go there again as I did not know the connection between the Doyles and Gibsons at that time. I have joined the Moggill Historical Society in the hope that more information will emerge concerning these families. I live outside Brisbane but have contact with other relatives there who are also tracing their ancestors. 

Kind regards,

Kay.

Hello Bob,

Thank you very much for your information on this Graham family and it looks very promising so far.  I am correct to assume that the James born in 1826 died prior to 1833 as they have named another son James.

Allatt looks to be a more common English name; if George was a farm labourer would he have any reason or opportunity to travel to England where he may have meet Margaret?

The information I have gained from this thread has ignited my interest in family history again; this side of my family tree has sat dormant for many years.  I believe you have sent me information previously many years ago but unfortunately my computer crash and I have lost previous email.

Are you related to this Graham family?

Thank you once again for being so kind as to share this information with the Australian Chapter of the Graham Family.

Happy New Year.

Helen Turner

James and Susan Mitchell were both servants in Flora Ville, in Enniskillen when they married, so no way to tell where the came from.

Very common to have children named after an earlier child who died young. In my own family there was a couple who had 3 sons that were called Robert.

I have a copy of James and Susan's marriage certificate. You can contact me direct for a copy of this. If you have Andrew's and Mary's certificate I would love a copy for my database.

Bob Graham  bobgraham@talktalk.net

Hello Bob,

Have you sent the above message to the wrong person?

Cheers,

Helen Turner

I replied to the thread. It was Kay who had the details of Andrew's marriage.

As to your queries which I should have addressed. There was an established migration from Ireland to the UK mainland for farm workers. You often find English wives to Irish farm workers. Sadly, I believe, the English census do not go back far enough to help track George's marriage. As for my "relatives" I am descended from a couple, both Grahams, her lineage is the Rossachrun Grahams, his is as yet not identified. However the DNA Graham project has not found another haplogroup "I" from Ireland who is even remotely close to me. I suspect that my family comes from an individual or a single family who moved to Ireland. There is always a possibility of false paternity or adoption that will skew the results.

We have communicated in the past - Helen that is not Kay.

Bob

Hello Kay,

I have uploaded a couple of photographs which you may or maynot have. Thomas Gibson and his daughter Ann and also John James Gibson.

I don't know if you are aware there is a "Descendants of Moggill Pioneers" group who meet a couple time a year at the Moggill Cemetery.

Best wishes,

Helen Turner

Hello Helen,

Thank you for the photos of the Gibsons. I am always hopeful that photos of John Doyle and Ann Graham will turn up one day,  I attended a meeting at Moggill Cemetery with the Descendants of Moggill Pioneers a few years ago. The group has now affiliated with the Moggill Historical Society but I believe there may be further get togethers at the cemetery. If you would like to contact me directly, I may be able to help you with certificates which you may not have. 

Kind regards,

Kay Simonsen.

kaysimonsen@hotmail.com

Hi

I have today joined this site and I am please to collect futher informaiton on the Graham and Gibson family.

Ireland marriages 1619 - 1898 transcritiopns state that  a Thomas Gibson( son of Abraham Gibson)  married  (Elizabeth) Bessy Graham (daughter  of George Graham and margaret Allatt) 25 May 1858 , Magheraculmoney, Ferm, Ireland

Samuel Gibson born abt 1861/1862 in Aughalangue, Fermanagh is my husbands Great Grandfather. His son John James Gibson  Born  16 June1886 married Ada Ethel Muller 21 December 1910 in Brisbane. There daughter irene Alice Dean (nee Gibson) is Amy husbands Mother.

I look forward to following the link

Barbara