Mike, Unfortunately the Wee Three lived in what we in Texas would call the boondocks. In Canada it's referred to as the "bush". They were not totally isolated by any means, but it wasn't mainstream farm country either. Records for the 1800's in that part of Prescott Co. are largely incomplete. I've not yet been able to find a death certificate for my gggrandfather, Robert "Red Robin" Johnston or Francis Johnston. In fact it wasn't until last year that we were able to confirm where he is buried as there is no marker on his grave. As for religion, oral family history indicates that Robert "Red Robin" Johnston's father was Presbyterian, but may have gone to the C. of I. for political reasons - not sure though. On this side of the Pond he waffled. I guess that it depended on what denomination was available at the time. One census has him as a Methodist, another as Plymouth Bretheren, but he eventually was buried in a Presbyterian Cemetery. Fortunately the Plymouth Bretheren kept good books. A cousin had access to them and found that Red Robin may have attended some of their meetings, but he never joined them. Again, I think that it all goes back to what was available at the time in his area. What makes our search even more difficult is that the Presbyterian Church records were destroyed in a fire back in the 1920's or so. As luck would have it the Church members kept 2 sets of books at different locations to avoid a total loss should some disaster strike, and that worked brilliantly until someone had the even brighter idea to bring both sets to the Church one weekend to "justify" both sets. That's the weekend that the Church burned down... I've searched the Ottawa Journal for obituaries. It was frustrating and tedious as there was an obituary section on the last page or so, but prominant people were written up on the earlier pages and then not included in the obituary section so every page of the paper had to be scrutinized. Larger surrounding communties and areas had their own "foreign correspondents" (tic) who kept the Journal up to date with bdm's in the outlying counties; however, the part of Prescott County where the Wee Three lived was a "no man's land" with no one covering it. I found no mention of any of our Johnstons in the 1890's at all in the Ottawa Journal. The Census records have been our primary source of records, of course, and I've made copies of many pertinant pages so that I have them at my fingertips, so to speak. I've checked several history books published by various local societies and churches. Good information was found on some of our second generation Canadian-born Johnstons, but coverage is lacking on any of the earlier generations. I've talked with some people who told me that ommissions on the early Johnstons may have been done on purpose. I don't know all of the details, but Red Robin was said to have been very charismatic, tall, handsome, etc. and many of the area women liked him which made him unpopular with many of the area men...dunno...I wasn't there. In addition the Johnston men were all members of the Pendleton Orange Lodge, but I'm told that they weren't like the flaming Orangemen that we read about in the newspapers today in Ireland. It was basically a social club as they were excluded from social activities run by the local RC church. I'm not aware of any friction there as some of our Johnston's best friends were French-Canadian RC's and many of our people spoke French fluently. I can recall meeting some as a child and hearing them laugh and tell stories. I thought about checking the land records too. Unfortunately each of the Wee Three bought his farm from the Canada Company which means that beyond a description of the land involved and the name of the purchaser there is no other personal information. To compound matters, records for the year in which Robert "Red Robin" Johnston acquired his farm are missing...it just never seems to end...one missing record after another. Only Francis left a will that I'm aware of. Robert distributed his land and assets before he died so none was needed. I don't know about Archibald as he moved to Melita, Manitoba, and died there. I've got a cousin Brenda from his line who has very detailed work on his descendants, and I don't recall her ever mentioning a will for him. He probably did the same thing that Robert did and distributed his assets before he died. That seems to have been a very popular thing to do among our Johnston family members. They are not known for hoarding their money. They bend over backward to help family. By the way, I've been at this since 1979. It is only with the rise in popularity of genealogy and the computer ca. 1995 that I've made significant progress though. So, what other records are there to search? There is a reference book on the Canada Company. Evidently for some years they acted as a sort of bank for farmers who bought land from them. The Canada Company would take money from them and send it back to Ireland and their kin, if they so desired. Unfortunately I don't have access to that book. There is an outside chance that they may have sent some money back home to kin in Ireland; however, it would be an outside chance at best as they all had their own growing families to feed on this side of the pond. They were all hard working men. Other than that I'm just about back to the familiar, olde, brick wall...dunno... That's why I opted for the Y-DNA test, and it has been well worth the money and effort as I've acquired several newfound cousins over the past year, and we are moving forward. Now I'm redoubling our search efforts in Ireland. Surely with all of the dates and names that we have now something will show up somewhere...may be... ;-) Cliff. Johnston "May the best you've ever seen, Be the worst you'll ever see;" from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Boyd" <mikejboyd@bigpond.com> To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 6:40 PM Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] JOHNSTON/E, Francis,Robert & Archibald - The "Wee Three" > Cliff > What other Canadian information have your found on the three brothers in > Canada? - Death certificatees, Census entries, newspaper reports of their > deaths, etc. Even on reports of the 50th or 100th aniversiary of the > County > may have something on where the family came from in Ireland. > > You did not say what religion they were? Check the local County history > to > see if any other famileis or Minister's came in this period. This MAY > give > you the general background to see where your family came from. So if the > county history says that people from Belfast, Ballymoney, etc came in > certain years, those towns regions maybe an starting point. > > Mike Boyd > Brisbane > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Cliff. Johnston" <moments-in-time@houston.rr.com> > To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 1:25 AM > Subject: [IRL-ANTRIM] JOHNSTON/E, Francis,Robert & Archibald - The "Wee > Three" > > >> We have no locations in Ireland for any of the Wee Three; however, >> various sources of oral family history have them coming from all over the >> island - Ballymena, Londonderry, Tarra, Co. Donegal and Co. Cork being >> mentioned. To make matters even more frustrating is that in the 1920's 2 >> of my Dad's aunts visited Ireland, found all of our Johnston kin buried >> (none surviving), made a journal containing their burial details, and now >> no one knows what happened to the journal or where the 2 sisters visited. >> >> Ca. 1905-1910 a sailor came to my ggrandfather's farm searching for a >> Johnston. He had been hired by a solicitor in Ireland. The last of our >> Johnstons had died leaving no surviving kin in Ireland and a small >> estate. >> He may have been a pub owner. My grandfather moved about this time to a >> better farm in Clarence Twp., Russell Co., Ontario, Canada, on what is >> now >> Johnston Road. >> > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-ANTRIM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Cliff, Can you tell me again what lot Red Robin emigrated to from Ireland when he arrived in Plantagenet, and then what lot did the family move to in Russell? Or what lot Francis may have emigrated to? Or Archibald? Maybe there is a clue there somewhere back to Ireland Peggy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cliff. Johnston" <moments-in-time@houston.rr.com> To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 7:31 AM Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] JOHNSTON/E, Francis,Robert & Archibald - The "Wee Three" > Mike, > > Unfortunately the Wee Three lived in what we in Texas would call the > boondocks. In Canada it's referred to as the "bush". They were not totally > isolated by any means, but it wasn't mainstream farm country either. > Records for the 1800's in that part of Prescott Co. are largely incomplete. > I've not yet been able to find a death certificate for my gggrandfather, > Robert "Red Robin" Johnston or Francis Johnston. In fact it wasn't until > last year that we were able to confirm where he is buried as there is no > marker on his grave. > > As for religion, oral family history indicates that Robert "Red Robin" > Johnston's father was Presbyterian, but may have gone to the C. of I. for > political reasons - not sure though. On this side of the Pond he waffled. > I guess that it depended on what denomination was available at the time. > One census has him as a Methodist, another as Plymouth Bretheren, but he > eventually was buried in a Presbyterian Cemetery. Fortunately the Plymouth > Bretheren kept good books. A cousin had access to them and found that Red > Robin may have attended some of their meetings, but he never joined them. > Again, I think that it all goes back to what was available at the time in > his area. What makes our search even more difficult is that the > Presbyterian Church records were destroyed in a fire back in the 1920's or > so. As luck would have it the Church members kept 2 sets of books at > different locations to avoid a total loss should some disaster strike, and > that worked brilliantly until someone had the even brighter idea to bring > both sets to the Church one weekend to "justify" both sets. That's the > weekend that the Church burned down... > > I've searched the Ottawa Journal for obituaries. It was frustrating and > tedious as there was an obituary section on the last page or so, but > prominant people were written up on the earlier pages and then not included > in the obituary section so every page of the paper had to be scrutinized. > Larger surrounding communties and areas had their own "foreign > correspondents" (tic) who kept the Journal up to date with bdm's in the > outlying counties; however, the part of Prescott County where the Wee Three > lived was a "no man's land" with no one covering it. I found no mention of > any of our Johnstons in the 1890's at all in the Ottawa Journal. > > The Census records have been our primary source of records, of course, and > I've made copies of many pertinant pages so that I have them at my > fingertips, so to speak. > > I've checked several history books published by various local societies and > churches. Good information was found on some of our second generation > Canadian-born Johnstons, but coverage is lacking on any of the earlier > generations. I've talked with some people who told me that ommissions on > the early Johnstons may have been done on purpose. I don't know all of the > details, but Red Robin was said to have been very charismatic, tall, > handsome, etc. and many of the area women liked him which made him unpopular > with many of the area men...dunno...I wasn't there. In addition the > Johnston men were all members of the Pendleton Orange Lodge, but I'm told > that they weren't like the flaming Orangemen that we read about in the > newspapers today in Ireland. It was basically a social club as they were > excluded from social activities run by the local RC church. I'm not aware > of any friction there as some of our Johnston's best friends were > French-Canadian RC's and many of our people spoke French fluently. I can > recall meeting some as a child and hearing them laugh and tell stories. > > I thought about checking the land records too. Unfortunately each of the > Wee Three bought his farm from the Canada Company which means that beyond a > description of the land involved and the name of the purchaser there is no > other personal information. To compound matters, records for the year in > which Robert "Red Robin" Johnston acquired his farm are missing...it just > never seems to end...one missing record after another. > > Only Francis left a will that I'm aware of. Robert distributed his land and > assets before he died so none was needed. I don't know about Archibald as > he moved to Melita, Manitoba, and died there. I've got a cousin Brenda from > his line who has very detailed work on his descendants, and I don't recall > her ever mentioning a will for him. He probably did the same thing that > Robert did and distributed his assets before he died. That seems to have > been a very popular thing to do among our Johnston family members. They are > not known for hoarding their money. They bend over backward to help family. > > By the way, I've been at this since 1979. It is only with the rise in > popularity of genealogy and the computer ca. 1995 that I've made significant > progress though. > > So, what other records are there to search? There is a reference book on > the Canada Company. Evidently for some years they acted as a sort of bank > for farmers who bought land from them. The Canada Company would take money > from them and send it back to Ireland and their kin, if they so desired. > Unfortunately I don't have access to that book. There is an outside chance > that they may have sent some money back home to kin in Ireland; however, it > would be an outside chance at best as they all had their own growing > families to feed on this side of the pond. They were all hard working men. > Other than that I'm just about back to the familiar, olde, brick > wall...dunno... That's why I opted for the Y-DNA test, and it has been well > worth the money and effort as I've acquired several newfound cousins over > the past year, and we are moving forward. Now I'm redoubling our search > efforts in Ireland. Surely with all of the dates and names that we have now > something will show up somewhere...may be... ;-) > > Cliff. Johnston > "May the best you've ever seen, > Be the worst you'll ever see;" > from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mike Boyd" <mikejboyd@bigpond.com> > To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 6:40 PM > Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] JOHNSTON/E, Francis,Robert & Archibald - The "Wee > Three" > > >> Cliff >> What other Canadian information have your found on the three brothers in >> Canada? - Death certificatees, Census entries, newspaper reports of their >> deaths, etc. Even on reports of the 50th or 100th aniversiary of the >> County >> may have something on where the family came from in Ireland. >> >> You did not say what religion they were? Check the local County history >> to >> see if any other famileis or Minister's came in this period. This MAY >> give >> you the general background to see where your family came from. So if the >> county history says that people from Belfast, Ballymoney, etc came in >> certain years, those towns regions maybe an starting point. >> >> Mike Boyd >> Brisbane >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Cliff. Johnston" <moments-in-time@houston.rr.com> >> To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> >> Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 1:25 AM >> Subject: [IRL-ANTRIM] JOHNSTON/E, Francis,Robert & Archibald - The "Wee >> Three" >> >> >>> We have no locations in Ireland for any of the Wee Three; however, >>> various sources of oral family history have them coming from all over the >>> island - Ballymena, Londonderry, Tarra, Co. Donegal and Co. Cork being >>> mentioned. To make matters even more frustrating is that in the 1920's 2 >>> of my Dad's aunts visited Ireland, found all of our Johnston kin buried >>> (none surviving), made a journal containing their burial details, and now >>> no one knows what happened to the journal or where the 2 sisters visited. >>> >>> Ca. 1905-1910 a sailor came to my ggrandfather's farm searching for a >>> Johnston. He had been hired by a solicitor in Ireland. The last of our >>> Johnstons had died leaving no surviving kin in Ireland and a small >>> estate. >>> He may have been a pub owner. My grandfather moved about this time to a >>> better farm in Clarence Twp., Russell Co., Ontario, Canada, on what is >>> now >>> Johnston Road. >>> >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> IRL-ANTRIM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IRL-ANTRIM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peggy, These Johnstons do get to you, don't they? Sort of addicting...lol... Robert Johnston: N. 1/2 of Lot 23 in the 7th Concession, N. Plantagenet Twp., Prescott Co. Dated October 6, 1845 Archibald Johnston, S. 1/2 of Lot 23 in the 7th Concession, N. Plantagenet Twp., Prescott Co. Dated October 6, 1845 Francis Johnston, S. 1/2 of Lot 21 in the 9th Concession, N. Plantagenet Twp., Prescott Co. Dated October 20, 1832 George Johnson [sic], S. 1/2 of Lot 21 in the 9th Concession, N. Plantagenet Twp., Prescott Co. On 1822 Assessment Roll I'm not sure as to what claim George Johnson had on the property. He may have gotten it from the Crown originally - which may be a break for us as there would be a Land Petition on record, but then the Canada Company had the land and sold it to Francis Johnston. I don't know what the mechanics of this were. The Wee Three signed on to buy their farmlands much earlier than the dates above. Each built a shanty while they cleared the land, built their houses and then finally took formal possession of the land. The government did not tax shanties - an incentive to get people to live on the land, clear it, get established and then build a taxable house. The government was very wise in this respect. The Assessment Roll indicates that Francis was on his land first in 1827, Robert was on his land in 1835, and Archibald was on his land in 1842. Oral family history indicates that initially they may have worked at a mill in Riceville during the week and gone to their land on the weekends to clear it. They may also have done some lumber jacking too. My ggrandfather James was the one who sold our original homestead and moved to Clarence Twp., Russell Co. on Johnston Road. I don't have the lot details at my fingertips right now. It's still packed from our move. I hope that this helps. Cliff. "May the best you've ever seen, Be the worst you'll ever see;" from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peggy Gordon" <p&rgordon@telus.net> To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 3:46 PM Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] Red Robin and his land > > Hi Cliff, > Can you tell me again what lot Red Robin emigrated to from Ireland when > he > arrived in Plantagenet, and then what lot did the family move to in > Russell? > Or what lot Francis may have emigrated to? Or Archibald? > Maybe there is a clue there somewhere back to Ireland > Peggy > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Cliff. Johnston" <moments-in-time@houston.rr.com> > To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 7:31 AM > Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] JOHNSTON/E, Francis,Robert & Archibald - The > "Wee Three" > > > > Mike, > > > > Unfortunately the Wee Three lived in what we in Texas would call the > > boondocks. In Canada it's referred to as the "bush". They were not > totally > > isolated by any means, but it wasn't mainstream farm country either. > > Records for the 1800's in that part of Prescott Co. are largely > incomplete. > > I've not yet been able to find a death certificate for my > gggrandfather, > > Robert "Red Robin" Johnston or Francis Johnston. In fact it wasn't > until > > last year that we were able to confirm where he is buried as there is > no > > marker on his grave. > > > > As for religion, oral family history indicates that Robert "Red Robin" > > Johnston's father was Presbyterian, but may have gone to the C. of I. > for > > political reasons - not sure though. On this side of the Pond he > waffled. > > I guess that it depended on what denomination was available at the > time. > > One census has him as a Methodist, another as Plymouth Bretheren, but > he > > eventually was buried in a Presbyterian Cemetery. Fortunately the > Plymouth > > Bretheren kept good books. A cousin had access to them and found that > Red > > Robin may have attended some of their meetings, but he never joined > them. > > Again, I think that it all goes back to what was available at the time > in > > his area. What makes our search even more difficult is that the > > Presbyterian Church records were destroyed in a fire back in the 1920's > or > > so. As luck would have it the Church members kept 2 sets of books at > > different locations to avoid a total loss should some disaster strike, > and > > that worked brilliantly until someone had the even brighter idea to > bring > > both sets to the Church one weekend to "justify" both sets. That's the > > weekend that the Church burned down... > > > > I've searched the Ottawa Journal for obituaries. It was frustrating > and > > tedious as there was an obituary section on the last page or so, but > > prominant people were written up on the earlier pages and then not > included > > in the obituary section so every page of the paper had to be > scrutinized. > > Larger surrounding communties and areas had their own "foreign > > correspondents" (tic) who kept the Journal up to date with bdm's in the > > outlying counties; however, the part of Prescott County where the Wee > Three > > lived was a "no man's land" with no one covering it. I found no > mention > of > > any of our Johnstons in the 1890's at all in the Ottawa Journal. > > > > The Census records have been our primary source of records, of course, > and > > I've made copies of many pertinant pages so that I have them at my > > fingertips, so to speak. > > > > I've checked several history books published by various local societies > and > > churches. Good information was found on some of our second generation > > Canadian-born Johnstons, but coverage is lacking on any of the earlier > > generations. I've talked with some people who told me that ommissions > on > > the early Johnstons may have been done on purpose. I don't know all of > the > > details, but Red Robin was said to have been very charismatic, tall, > > handsome, etc. and many of the area women liked him which made him > unpopular > > with many of the area men...dunno...I wasn't there. In addition the > > Johnston men were all members of the Pendleton Orange Lodge, but I'm > told > > that they weren't like the flaming Orangemen that we read about in the > > newspapers today in Ireland. It was basically a social club as they > were > > excluded from social activities run by the local RC church. I'm not > aware > > of any friction there as some of our Johnston's best friends were > > French-Canadian RC's and many of our people spoke French fluently. I > can > > recall meeting some as a child and hearing them laugh and tell stories. > > > > I thought about checking the land records too. Unfortunately each of > the > > Wee Three bought his farm from the Canada Company which means that > beyond a > > description of the land involved and the name of the purchaser there is > no > > other personal information. To compound matters, records for the year > in > > which Robert "Red Robin" Johnston acquired his farm are missing...it > just > > never seems to end...one missing record after another. > > > > Only Francis left a will that I'm aware of. Robert distributed his > land > and > > assets before he died so none was needed. I don't know about Archibald > as > > he moved to Melita, Manitoba, and died there. I've got a cousin Brenda > from > > his line who has very detailed work on his descendants, and I don't > recall > > her ever mentioning a will for him. He probably did the same thing > that > > Robert did and distributed his assets before he died. That seems to > have > > been a very popular thing to do among our Johnston family members. > They > are > > not known for hoarding their money. They bend over backward to help > family. > > > > By the way, I've been at this since 1979. It is only with the rise in > > popularity of genealogy and the computer ca. 1995 that I've made > significant > > progress though. > > > > So, what other records are there to search? There is a reference book > on > > the Canada Company. Evidently for some years they acted as a sort of > bank > > for farmers who bought land from them. The Canada Company would take > money > > from them and send it back to Ireland and their kin, if they so > desired. > > Unfortunately I don't have access to that book. There is an outside > chance > > that they may have sent some money back home to kin in Ireland; > however, it > > would be an outside chance at best as they all had their own growing > > families to feed on this side of the pond. They were all hard working > men. > > Other than that I'm just about back to the familiar, olde, brick > > wall...dunno... That's why I opted for the Y-DNA test, and it has been > well > > worth the money and effort as I've acquired several newfound cousins > over > > the past year, and we are moving forward. Now I'm redoubling our > search > > efforts in Ireland. Surely with all of the dates and names that we > have > now > > something will show up somewhere...may be... ;-) > > > > Cliff. Johnston > > "May the best you've ever seen, > > Be the worst you'll ever see;" > > from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Mike Boyd" <mikejboyd@bigpond.com> > > To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> > > Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 6:40 PM > > Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] JOHNSTON/E, Francis,Robert & Archibald - The > "Wee > > Three" > > > > > >> Cliff > >> What other Canadian information have your found on the three brothers > in > >> Canada? - Death certificatees, Census entries, newspaper reports of > their > >> deaths, etc. Even on reports of the 50th or 100th aniversiary of the > >> County > >> may have something on where the family came from in Ireland. > >> > >> You did not say what religion they were? Check the local County > history > >> to > >> see if any other famileis or Minister's came in this period. This MAY > >> give > >> you the general background to see where your family came from. So if > the > >> county history says that people from Belfast, Ballymoney, etc came in > >> certain years, those towns regions maybe an starting point. > >> > >> Mike Boyd > >> Brisbane > >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> From: "Cliff. Johnston" <moments-in-time@houston.rr.com> > >> To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> > >> Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 1:25 AM > >> Subject: [IRL-ANTRIM] JOHNSTON/E, Francis,Robert & Archibald - The > "Wee > >> Three" > >> > >> > >>> We have no locations in Ireland for any of the Wee Three; however, > >>> various sources of oral family history have them coming from all over > the > >>> island - Ballymena, Londonderry, Tarra, Co. Donegal and Co. Cork > being > >>> mentioned. To make matters even more frustrating is that in the > 1920's 2 > >>> of my Dad's aunts visited Ireland, found all of our Johnston kin > buried > >>> (none surviving), made a journal containing their burial details, and > now > >>> no one knows what happened to the journal or where the 2 sisters > visited. > >>> > >>> Ca. 1905-1910 a sailor came to my ggrandfather's farm searching for a > >>> Johnston. He had been hired by a solicitor in Ireland. The last of > our > >>> Johnstons had died leaving no surviving kin in Ireland and a small > >>> estate. > >>> He may have been a pub owner. My grandfather moved about this time > to > a > >>> better farm in Clarence Twp., Russell Co., Ontario, Canada, on what > is > >>> now > >>> Johnston Road. > >>> > >> > >> > >> ------------------------------- > >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > >> IRL-ANTRIM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the > >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-ANTRIM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-ANTRIM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Cliff On another Irish Net group, I saw where an researcher took all the surnames he was looking from Tithe Lists (for Ulster I think it said he did), but if you start with County Antrim, then you may find some of your brothers listed or be able to use the group to remove others. Thus giving you an "area" to work on in Ireland. That would be far better than going through Papers to try to find burial records. Then do another County, if you have not found them in Antrim. Oh is there an Johnston Net group? And would it be worht joining as well. Especially if you try to use the Tithe List method of research. Would it be worth writing to the Presbyterian Church at Ballymoney - I assume that there is more than one through - to see if they have any records on these three brothers? Hopefully, their records are not burnt as well!! Mike Boyd Brisbane ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cliff. Johnston" <moments-in-time@houston.rr.com> To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 8:16 AM Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] Red Robin and his land > The Wee Three signed on to buy their farmlands much earlier than the dates > above. Each built a shanty while they cleared the land, built their > houses > and then finally took formal possession of the land. The government did > not > tax shanties - an incentive to get people to live on the land, clear it, > get > established and then build a taxable house. The government was very wise > in > this respect. The Assessment Roll indicates that Francis was on his land > first in 1827, Robert was on his land in 1835, and Archibald was on his > land > in 1842. Oral family history indicates that initially they may have > worked > at a mill in Riceville during the week and gone to their land on the > weekends to clear it. They may also have done some lumber jacking too. > > My ggrandfather James was the one who sold our original homestead and > moved > to Clarence Twp., Russell Co. on Johnston Road. I don't have the lot > details at my fingertips right now. It's still packed from our move. > > I hope that this helps. > > Cliff.

Mike, My big problem is that their birth location(s) in Ireland is unknown. All died and are buried in Canada. In addition they were in Upper Canada by 1832 ,and most of the Irish records that people refer to are after 1832. So it's a bit of a needle in a haystack. I'm always open to suggestions and will see what I can do. Thanks for the help. Much appreciated. Cliff. Johnston "May the best you've ever seen, Be the worst you'll ever see;" from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Boyd" <mikejboyd@bigpond.com> To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 5:19 PM Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] Red Robin and his land > Cliff > On another Irish Net group, I saw where an researcher took all the > surnames > he was looking from Tithe Lists (for Ulster I think it said he did), but > if > you start with County Antrim, then you may find some of your brothers > listed > or be able to use the group to remove others. Thus giving you an "area" > to > work on in Ireland. That would be far better than going through Papers to > try to find burial records. Then do another County, if you have not found > them in Antrim. > > Oh is there an Johnston Net group? And would it be worht joining as well. > Especially if you try to use the Tithe List method of research. > > Would it be worth writing to the Presbyterian Church at Ballymoney - I > assume that there is more than one through - to see if they have any > records > on these three brothers? Hopefully, their records are not burnt as well!! > > Mike Boyd > Brisbane > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Cliff. Johnston" <moments-in-time@houston.rr.com> > To: <irl-antrim@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 8:16 AM > Subject: Re: [IRL-ANTRIM] Red Robin and his land > > >> The Wee Three signed on to buy their farmlands much earlier than the >> dates >> above. Each built a shanty while they cleared the land, built their >> houses >> and then finally took formal possession of the land. The government did >> not >> tax shanties - an incentive to get people to live on the land, clear it, >> get >> established and then build a taxable house. The government was very wise >> in >> this respect. The Assessment Roll indicates that Francis was on his land >> first in 1827, Robert was on his land in 1835, and Archibald was on his >> land >> in 1842. Oral family history indicates that initially they may have >> worked >> at a mill in Riceville during the week and gone to their land on the >> weekends to clear it. They may also have done some lumber jacking too. >> >> My ggrandfather James was the one who sold our original homestead and >> moved >> to Clarence Twp., Russell Co. on Johnston Road. I don't have the lot >> details at my fingertips right now. It's still packed from our move. >> >> I hope that this helps. >> >> Cliff. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRL-ANTRIM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi again Cliff, And Ballymoney again. In George Millar's list of the inhabitants of Ballymoney in 1806 there is Robin Johnston, a tailor, Presbyterian, residing at 11 Meeting House Lane, South Side. (Robin is a pretty infrequent given name in these parts.) Other Johnstons in the list are: Neddy Johnston, watchmaker, 23 Main Street, East Side Hugh Johnston, a tailor, 16 Head of Town, East Side both Presbyterian. There is a gravestone in the old parish burying ground in Ballymoney: "Interred here, JANE, wife to HUGH JOHNSON of Ballymoney, who departed this life 25 July 1839 aged 69. Also five of their children. Also the above HUGH JOHNSON who depd this life 9 Oct 1851 aged 82." Image is available of this stone. I don't have a list of graves at the new Ballymoney cemetery. Norm