So, Rosalie. Let's concentrate on Robert Weir the elder. What do you know for certain about Robert Weir 1800-1890 and his wife? Did they live? Which townland and parish? Were you able to find their marriage record? Where have you looked? Have you checked burial records for the parish? Are there other Weirs there? What about Griffiths Valuation? or the Tithes? Janet C On 4/18/15 6:28 AM, Rosalie O'Neale wrote: > Dear FG listers > > > I have lurked for many months and learned a great deal along the way. My > thanks to you for your insights (and humour) on the topic of ancestral > research. > > > I am currently exploring my Weir family tree and have hit the proverbial > brick wall. > > > The line I am descended from is that of Robert Weir (c1800-1890) and his > wife Anne Jane Dunstan (or Funstan – the handwriting on some certificates > is not particularly legible). She lived 1796-1870. They were adherents of > the Church of Ireland and according to baptism records of some of their > children lived in 1) Tirmacspird and then 2) Glasmullagh. For the most part > they attended Colaghty/Lack church – this is where most of the baptisms and > marriages took place, according to register information kindly made > available online. > > > Robert and Anne Jane had at least six children, three of whom migrated to > Australia in the 1850s-1860s. Of those who remained in Ireland: > > > I have been told that their daughter, Anne Jane (b c1830), married a Mr > Little, but I can find no record at all confirming her birth, marriage or > death. > > > Their son Robert (b c 1836) married Mary Irvine, and Mary and the children > (as identified through baptism register entries) are listed in the 1901 and > 1911 censuses as still residing in Glasmullagh (Mary’s status is given as > ‘widow’). Beyond the marriage certificate, I have found no record to > indicate what happened to Robert after marriage, or Mary and the children > after 1911. > > > Son John (b c1837 or 1838) married 1) Margaret Hamilton (from Drumharvey) > and 2) Ruth Porter, and lived at Knockroe. Their son (Robert) and his wife > Elizabeth (and their son Jack) were apparently still living at Knockroe in > the 1920s. I have marriage and death certificates for John and Margaret and > records for their children, but not for Ruth or her two children with John > (Bella Catherine and James Samuel). I believe that James died in 1947 and > is buried in the Tirwinney Methodist Church cemetery. > > > While I’m curious about, and still searching for, the descendants of Robert > and Anne in Ireland, the roadblock is Robert himself. I haven’t been able > to find any marriage record or birth record for him, and so have not been > able to identify who his parents were. > > > I thought I’d try approaching this sideways, see if I could find Robert’s > brothers or sisters (on the assumption he would have had siblings). In fact > there are other Weirs in the area including John (of Meilroe, or Millroe – > but where is this? I haven’t been able to find it on a map) who married an > Annie Weir in 1893. According to letters sent to Annie prior to her > marriage from William J Weir (our John’s son) when they both lived in > America, Annie and William were cousins. But whether their fathers were > first or second cousins is yet to be established. > > > There are numerous difficulties raised by the fact that the Weirs were > rather unimaginative in naming their children: every family seemed to have > a Robert, William, David, James and John, with girls being Margaret, Anne > Jane or Isabella. > > > Is the list able to point me in the direction of information sources for > Robert senior? I would be beyond grateful if you could. > > > Rosalie O'Neale >

Rosalie I think that your WEIR family originates with the ARCHDALL and ARMSTRONG families and from the Scottish borders during or between the first plantation of Ireland c1609 and the second around 1642. [From memory] "A Captain Thomas WEIR, and his Cousins" and are described as 'Gent' in the religeous Census. Landlords passed their reliable families around between each other so that spread the families out across two or three Counties. One WEIR family was with Hume at Ely in his Muster Rolls. Viola --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com