Gourley/McNeal

Barry,

Research in Ireland in the 1700s is notoriously difficult due to the general lack of records. Very very few churches have any records for the 1700s and so if the family were from a rural area, then sadly it’s quite likely that there are no surviving records of them at all.

You haven’t said what denomination(s) the Gourley & McNeal/McNeill families were. Do you know? That’s pretty essential information. (I looked in the 1901 census for Co. Derry and the majority of Gourleys were Presbyterian or Church of Ireland. One or two RC families).

There are several trees on Ancestry which have this family. One (Kelly’s Shade) gives George’s parents as William Gourley  (1732 – 1806( and T. Lees (1736 to an unknown date). No source is given. And George is named as William George. That tree also has the information that George married Rosanna McNeal (1774 – 1853) in Loop, Indiana, Pennsylvania in 1802. However the tree also says that he only arrived in the USA in 1804 and that the couple’s first child (Thomas) was born back in Londonderry in 1805. So you’d have to scratch your head and wonder whether that’s all quite correct. But you might want to contact the owners of all those trees to see what evidence and information they have.

Kelly’s Shade tree also says William George Gourley (1769) was born in Londonderry, Londonderry. To me that means he was born in the city, as opposed to the rural county. If so, the records there are a bit better than the rest of the county. The Church of Ireland records start in 1642, 1st Derry Presbyterian start in 1815 and the RC in 1823.  So if the Gourley family was Church of Ireland then you might find all the children’s baptisms, if Presbyterian you might find George baptised in 1816 but if RC you won’t find them at all. Copies of the Church of Ireland and Presbyterian records are in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast.

Elwyn,

Thank you for your assistance.  From looking at the PRONI web site, I see what you mean about the difficulty of finding family records for the time period.  I found a little information for people named Gourley with the same first names as a few people in my ancestor's family, but am unsure if they are actually the same people.  Since I am new to the site, I will probably study it some more to see if I can find more definitive information.

Regarding the denomination of George Gourley and Rosanna McNeal, they apparently were Presbyterians.  Concerning the information on Kelly's Shade Tree, it would be nice to know the source of the information you mentioned.  As suggested, a message has been sent to the owner of the tree requesting the sources of information for the name "William", the marriage date, and the names of the parents.  Hopefully, I will soon learn the sources.

Thank you again for your help.  If you should have any additional suggestions for my Gourley/McNeal research, please let me know.

- Barry

George and Roseanna were my 3x great grandparents. I have information about them after they came to Nova Scotia and later settled in Pennsylvania if you are interested. I am looking for anything prior to their leaving Ireland. 

Linda4,

There are very few records for Ireland in the 1700s.  As I mentioned previously, if this family were Presbyterian and lived in the city of Londonderry then you might find George junior’s baptism c 1816, though to do that you would need someone to look the records up in PRONI.

There may not be any other record of the family in Ireland.

Linda4,

So far, unfortunately, I have not been able to find any information on George Gourley or Rosanna McNeal from Ireland.  North American information found on one or both of them includes family notes and the following printed documents:

1. 1850 U. S. Census (West Mahong Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania)
2. History of Indiana County Pennsylvania (Newark, Ohio:  J. A. Caldwell, 1880), p. 470.
3. The Marshall Family:  A History of the Descendants of William Marshall (O.S. Marshall; Kittanning, Pennsylvania:  Steam Press of Reichert Brothers, 1884), p. 101
4. “Five Families Meet”, The Indiana Progress, August 21, 1907), front page
5. Genealogy of Samuel Gourley and His Descendants, 1784-1909 (C.T. Heydecker, 1909), pp. 30-31.
6. Jefferson County, Pennsylvania – Her Pioneers and People (Dr. William James McKnight:  Chicago:  J. H. Beers & Company, 1917), p. 147.

What information have you found?

- Barry

I have that plus a copy of the 1820 US Census. I also have pictures of their headstones