In Search of the Mysterious James McLaughlin

You don’t say what denomination your family were so it’s difficult to advise on church records and graveyards. The 1831 census lists a James McLoughlin in the townland. Probably a farmer as he has a servant. They were RC.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1831/Londonderry/Loughinsholin/Lissan/Muff/4/

Faughanvale Church of Ireland’s records start in 1802, Presbyterian in 1819 and RC in 1863 so none of them have records back to the 1700s. That’s fairly common in Irish research.

Assuming the family were RC, you could contact the parish office to see what graveyards exist in the area. The RC church doesn’t generally keep burial records but they should know which graveyards were used in the area in the 1700s and 1800s. Bear in mind that the majority of the population couldn’t afford a gravestone and so were buried without one.

http://www.derrydiocese.org/index.php/2013-11-15-15-48-10/parishes-outside-of-the-city-of-derry/item/135-faughanvale

Thank you for the response, Elwyn. Is there any other way to research births, christenings or marriages; or any other location information for this family prior to 1800, or do I need to go through the churches for this information.  Just wondering if there's any other online sites. I did locate on FamilySearch.org a Christening for a "James MccLaughlin" in Derry @ Cathedral, Templemore in Londonderry dated 27 Jul 1699, but I am unsure if this is our James. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time looking them up, and enjoy viewing the Census pages. I do feel that the James mentioned above is not likely to be ours if he had a son born around 1758, unless John had other siblings that we're unaware of & could perhaps be a James Jr.?

Thank you, again.

Shelley McLaughlin Green

Well since none of the churches in Faughanvale have any records for the 1700s, I think the answer to your question about how to research births and marriages there in the 1700s has to be that it won’t be possible.

The 1699 baptism is in the City of Londonderry which happens to have baptism records back to the 1600s (one of the few parishes that does, and they happen to be on-line). But if the family originated in Muff you wouldn’t expect the baptism to be in the city. That 1699 baptism was Church of Ireland (ie Episcopalian). Does that fit with your knowledge of your family’s denomination?

Most of the surviving RC parish records are on-line on Ancestry, fmp and on the NLI site (where they are free). However many other denominations records are not on-line. The most comprehensive set of all church records for Co. Londonderry is in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast but a personal visit is required to view them. Rootsireland has put some of those records on-line but they don’t have them all by a long shot.

McLaughlin (and it’s many variant spellings) is a very common surname in the area. It would be easy to get families mixed up. (In the 1831 census of the county there were 520 people with that surname).

Regarding whether the McLoughlin in the 1831 census is related to your family, it depends on how certain you are that it’s where your family lived. There were only 23 households in the townland. Just 1 McLoughlin. So if they did come from Muff, I’d have thought it possible they are related. It’s not certain without knowing their occupation but if they were farmers, then they tend to stay put. (You don’t spend years improving your farm only to move on. You stay put and hand the farm to the next generation). The farm usually went to the eldest son, and the others had to make their way in the world, eg by emigration since there was little spare land and little reasonably well paid work in Ireland. Were your family RC? That's another way of testing a possible link.

Thank you so much, Elwyn.  I really wish I knew what demonination they were for certain. I've never heard mention of any family being Catholic, but that far back who knows.  You've been very informative, which I appreciate.  Especially since you're nice enough to respond @ 9:04 p.m. your time.  I'll take what you've provided & keep searching until I make that fantasy trip to Belfast.  What an amazing adventure that would be....

Sincerely,

Shelley McLaughlin Green

Shelly,

I have started researching my own family and have traced this same James you are searching for as my 6th great grandfather. I am stuck getting any further back than him or his wife Mary because I don't have birth years or any other info for that matter. I'm curious if you have happened to get any more info on him since you posted this last year. I would love the help in tracing back my true heritage as far back as possible.

Bryan McLaughlin