I am researching my 2x great grandfather, Isaac Larimar McKeag. He was born 17 Mar 1843 in Newtownards. His father was John McKeag, born about 1800, and his mother was Mary Smith, born about 1907. Isaac had three older brothers that I know of, Hugh, John, and James. He had two older sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. He and all his siblings eventually emigrated to the U.S.
Isaac emigrated to the United States (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in 1861 and fought in the Civil War for two years. His naturalization papers indicate that he applied on a soldier's application. His brother, James, also fought and applied on a soldier's apllication.
I would like to find out about Isaac's parents and grandparents, whom I know nothing about. Are there church or census records to start my search? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Bill
Sunday 10th Jan 2016, 04:46AM
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What denomination was the family?
Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Thursday 14th Jan 2016, 07:59PM -
Hi Elwyn,
The family was Presbyterian. At least that is the church they attended when they emigrated to the United Sates. I did check the RosDavies site, but either the names aren't familiar or a match, or the name does not fit with the year.
Thanks,
Bill
Friday 15th Jan 2016, 02:22PM -
You probably need to get a researcher to go through the Presbyterian records for Newtownards. Most of them are kept in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast but they are not on-line and so a personal visit is required to view them. There’s about 8 Presbyterian churches in Newtownards. Not all have records for the 1840s and earlier but some do. Newtownards 1st Presbyterian church's records start in 1833. (There were earlier records but they are lost). The baptism records are still held by the church but there is an index to those baptisms from 1831 onwards in PRONI.
Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Saturday 16th Jan 2016, 12:09PM -
Thanks again, Elwyn. I hope I can make a trip there myself one of these days!
Sunday 21st Feb 2016, 06:12PM