The Johnston Family of Agahaskin Townland, Magherafelt Parish, County Londonderry & Allied Families
Researched by Bobby Forrest, B.A (Hons), Record Agent
Forrest Research Services, County Down, Northern Ireland
(Published at the client's request)
Formatted by James McKane
This file of the The Johnston Family of Agahaskin Townland, Magherafelt Parish, County Londonderry & Allied Families forms part of the vast archive of 4,000+ pages of genealogical records relating to COUNTIES TYRONE, DONEGAL, LONDONDERRY, ARMAGH & FERMANAGH provided without charge or subscription by CoTyroneIreland Welcome to the Premier Website & Research Tool for Cos. Tyrone, Donegal, Londonderry, Armagh & Fermanagh Genealogy (cotyroneireland.com) A complete list of records pertaining to MAGHERAFELT PARISH on this website can be found at the foot of this file.
Family
Preface by James McKane
Mr. Forrest is a very thorough researcher. As having used his services, I can vouch for the depth of his research and successes he achieved for my McKane lineage!
Below are a couple of pages explaining the depth of his research for his client.
This document encompasses 256 pages with tonnes of Endnotes. It is downloadable here:
The Johnston Family of Agahaskin Townland, Magherafelt Parish, County Londonderry & Allied Families
Major Surname Researched - Johnston, McCool, McNiece, Weir, Backhouse, Morton
A few of the secondary surnames mentioned include - Clark, Bready, Gregg, Steer, Stewart, Robson, Scott, Wilson, McMullan, McCallion, McCaghey, Gilbert, McMaster, Lesley, Kirk, Dickson, Fulton
The difficulties of Irish research are well documented. The explosion at the Four Courts complex at the beginning of the Irish Civil War in 1922 destroyed much of the archival heritage of the island, thus making Irish research particularly difficult. The most significant loss was the destruction of the census returns for the period 1821-1851. 1 The 1821 census was one of the earliest carried out in Europe and had it survived intact would have been of enormous help to make a link right back into the eighteenth century.2 The practical limits of research in Ireland are determined almost entirely by the survival of local church registers. Although much work has been done to repair the archival heritage of the island the loss of census and testamentary returns in particular make the task of family research a real challenge for the genealogist in Ireland. Thus, when contacted by Denise Quay whose forbears emigrated to Australia, to research her ancestry in the period before civil registration, I was prepared for the challenges that lay ahead. Denise had some information that her ancestors were from County Londonderry.3
Death certificate of Benjamin Johnstone, Australia
Queensland vital records are much more detailed than their Irish counterparts: the death certificate revealed that Benjamin Johnstone died 11 Jan 1895 aged 65 (giving him a birth date of c. 1829) son of Benjamin Johnstone and Betsy McCull of Londonderry, Ireland. Benjamin junior was married to Jane McNease in an unknown location.4 Armed with this information we were soon able to locate the marriage of Benjamin Johnstone to Jane McNiece in Castledawson Presbyterian church, providing us with a place of origin in Ireland.
Marriage Castledawson Presbyterian Church,1854 5
Documentary evidence of births, marriages, deaths are the pivotal records that provide the building blocks for family research. The marriage corroborated the evidence from the death certificate confirming that Benjamin Johnston was born c. 1829 and Jane McNiece his wife c. 1833. In addition we now had that vital clue necessary for progressing in Irish genealogy – townland of origin. The key to unlocking family history in Ireland is to locate the townland of origin of the family and locate the sources for the area that reveals the surnames of the locality. I have found this to be the most effective methodology for unlocking family history.6 Place is central to making progress since the land records are an effective means of uncovering additional vital information, especially in the period before civil registration. Landless relations are much more difficult to trace. Those who were cottiers, labourers even weavers can really only be traced in the period before civil registration if church records are extant for they are unlikely to be found in estate rentals and other land records.
FamilyMany hours were spent digging in the archives pouring over church registers, gravestone inscriptions, registry of deeds, extant wills, O.A.P returns, tithes books, estate records (Salters’ and Vintners’ estates), 1831 census returns, Griffith’s printed valuation and revision books. The research was centred on several townlands in the south Derry area within the confines of Maghera and Magherafelt civil parishes.7
The search had uncovered that Benjamin Johnston had been born in the townland of Aghagaskin in the parish of Magherafelt and that his mother was Jane Weir of Ballynogher and not Betsy McCull as recorded on the death certificate. It was later discovered that Besty McCull or McCool8 was the mother of Jane McNeice so there was some confusion in the oral history amongst descendants in Australia.9
Benjamin Johnston was born around 1828 – paternal Johnston of Aghagaskin; maternal Weir of Ballynogher. His wife was Jane McNeice: her paternal line McNeice, and maternal line – McCool, Backhouse, Morton all of Toberhead. These townlands are close to Castledawson.
Aghagaskin – parish of Magherafelt in the PLU of Magherafelt (Salters’ estate).10
Ballynocker – parish of Magherafelt in the PLU of Magherafelt (Salters’ estate).
Toberhead – parish of Maghera in the PLU of Magherafelt (Vintners’ estate).
Castledawson – parish of Magherafelt in the PLU of Magherafelt.
Standardisation of surnames
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The spelling of surnames provide an added difficulty to Irish research. In the period before civil registration, many names were spelt phonetically and there was no set methodology. The genealogist and local historian needs to take this into consideration when conducting research. Government surveys such as Griffiths Valuation and the onset of civil registration provided the impetus which had the consequence of standardising the spelling of surnames.
William McAfee in his excellent CD Rom ‘Researching Derry/Londonderry Ancestors’ makes the following illuminative and informed statements based upon his experience of data-basing thousands of surnames:
‘Not surprisingly, the spelling of surnames in the original sources varied a great deal both within and between documents over the centuries. The names in these documents were entered by various officials and there is some evidence to suggest that this led to regional spelling of surnames, particularly in the earlier sources. Certainly, the spelling of surnames had become more standardised by the time of the Griffith's Printed Valuation of 1858/59. Remember too, that the originals of the seventeenth-century Hearth Money Rolls and the eighteenth-century Religious Returns were destroyed in the 1922 Four Courts fire. The only sources we now have are transcripts of those originals and many of these are typed, suggesting that they are probably a transcript of a transcript. Let's not forget that the databases are further transcripts! In transcription it is relatively easy to mistake an "e" for an "a" or an "r" for an "n" and so on.’‘Surnames in seventeenth-century sources were written down by officials who, if they were not familiar with the spelling of a surname, spelt it phonetically in a way that made sense to them. For example, McGoldrick can be spelt as Megolrake, McCandless as Micandlass, Ewing as Youing, Brewster as Broster and so on. However, the greatest problem with names in early sources is the fact that the spellings of some surnames in these documents are completely different from their modern equivalents e.g. in earlier documents Alexander often appears as McCalsenor or McElsinor.’
In addition those with Gaelic Irish surnames there was often a process of anglicanisation which sometimes rendered a complete change to the name (examples McGowan to Smith; McCrory to Rogers, McGalisher to Green are just some examples).
Johnston: Jonston, Johnson, Johnston, Johnstone.
Weir: Wier, Weer.
McCool: Macool, McCowl. McHowl, McCoul, McCoole.
McNeice: McNice, McNiece, Maneese, Maniece, McNeece, McNease.
Backhouse: Bachouse, Baccus, Bacchus.
THE ARCHIVES
PRONI is the leading archive for records for Ulster counties and now a world-class facility located in the Titanic quarter in Belfast. The great variety of records held in PRONI is its strength. The key to Irish research is the location of townland and place. Much of the research effort consisted in locating source material pertaining to the townland rather than the surname. The land records often reveal the surnames under investigation.
GeographicReference
THE REGISTRY OF DEEDS ARCHIVE
I have found the Registry of Deeds to be a particularly rich resource for those families that held land but not everyone used the facility since it was not compulsory to register land transactions. Nevertheless, once registered, a deed provided a degree of legal protection that was attractive to even people of fairly modest means.
A lease of perpetual renewal guaranteed occupation of the farm. The renewable three-life lease was in reality a grant in perpetuity so long as the tenant wished to renew it. Initially when a lease was taken out three lives were inserted [often the children of some of the lessees are named]. A fine usually equal to half of the annual rent was paid on each life. Thereafter new lives could be inserted forever to replace each life as it expired. Again, a fine of half the rent had to be paid for each new life. In effect this provided a degree of real security for the tenant. Perpetuity leaseholders were free to sublet the property, or part of it, to a third party; this was known as a sub-lease. The third party became an under-tenant, paying rent to the leaseholder, who continued to pay rent to the landlord.
I began a systematic search of the Registry of Deeds using both the names index and the land index for the townland of Aghagaskin, Toberhead, Ballynogher.
William Conolly, the original landlord of the Bellaghy estate granted several perpetuity leases on the estate in 1734 and as a result these farmers received large tracts of land; some gained whole townlands. More perpetuity-leases were granted on the estate in 1784 and 1803. The Conolly family was an emerging political dynasty and perpetuity leaseholders were guaranteed the vote and therefore expected to support the landlord at election time. Thomas Conolly, the great nephew of speaker Conolly was encumbered by debt, hence the granting of perpetuities in 1784 and 1803; these leases could generate a lot of capital up-front but rents tended to be fixed, which was a disadvantage fro the landlord. Spotswood wrote to Thomas Conolly 19 May 1801 of the desire of ‘making leases in perpetuity to that part of your estate not let in perpetuity by the late Mr Conolly.’ 11 Hence, the Backhouse, McCool and allied families were able to avail of valuable perpetuity leases on the Vintners’ Irish estate at Bellaghy.
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The Weir lease was ‘determinable’ that is for a fixed term and this lease was less valuable because it was not necessarily renewed by the landlord so there was less security with this kind of lease.
Ancestors of Benjamin Johnston
Benjamin
Johnston
1802 - 1879
Jane
Weir
1796 - 1871
Benjamin
Johnston
1828 - 1895
Jane
McNeice
1831 - 1892
Ancestors of Jane McNeice
John
McNeice
1791 - 1831
Elizabeth
McCool
1792 -
Jane
McNeice
1831 - 1892
Benjamin
Johnston
1828 - 1895
Denise had made it clear during the course of our correspondence that she was interested in developing a family pedigree of her Irish ancestry. The given task was to uncover the history of Johnstones of Aghagaskin;12 Weirs of Ballynocker; McNieces and McCools of Toberhead. The latter was a most interesting line and we were able to trace the McCool family back to the seventeenth century in the townland of Toberhead.13 The maternal line of Elizabeth McCool was a Quaker family by the name of Backhouse. In addition we discovered that the McCools were early Quakers in the area and indeed the original family home in Toberhead was used as a Quaker meeting-house as early as 1695. 14 Quaker records are generally well kept and allowed us to trace both the McCool and Backhouse families into the seventeenth century. That they were early Quaker families does indicate roots in the north of England where Quakerism was strongest and had its origins. I have uncovered no direct evidence that the Johnston, Weir or McNeice families were Quakers.15 Rather they appear to have been Presbyterian (and occasionally Episcopalian) and have their origins in Scotland and came as part of that flow of emigrants during the plantation of Ulster in the seventeenth century.
FamilyThe joy of discovery was shared across the globe by regular correspondence by email. We also shared a memorable meal in Belfast when Denise stopped off in the city during a cruise. Encouraged by our successes and in the breaking open of new ground it was envisaged that some form of family history could be written up and perhaps published for posterity. Irish genealogy is difficult but not impossible. It is, however, a labour intensive project and requires a skilful methodology to unlock family origins, especially in the period before civil registration.
This family history report will follow the chronological order in which I carried out the research:
Johnston
Weir
McNiece16
McCool
McCool
Morton
The families all resided in the civil parishes of Maghera or Magherafelt in the barony of Loughinsholin, County Derry on the contiguous townlands of Aghagaskin, Ballyknocker and Toberhead. All lie on the boundary between the two parishes in question with Toberhead as the most southerly townland in Maghera parish thus bordering Magherafelt. These are rural locations situated between several small urban centres;17 Magherafelt to the south; Castledawson to the east; Desertmartin to the west and also Tobermore and Maghera to the north-west. Maghera lies furthest from this rural landscape therefore Magherafelt would be the largest urban centre and market town in the vicinity in the early nineteenth century. Since the primary activity of rural Ireland was farming any trade or market activity would most likely have taken place in the nearest market town.
HistoryIn addition precise location is important to Irish genealogy in terms of identifying local churches (and graveyards) where the families may have worshipped and conducted the Christian rites of baptisms, marriages and burials. In terms of post civil registration Magherafelt was the primary registration district where the civil events of births, marriages and deaths were registered for our families in question. Civil registration of all births, marriages and deaths in Ireland began 1864.18 In the period before compulsory civil registration then one has to rely on extant church registers as the primary source of family material and again this is subject to great variability depending on parish history.
Endnotes
1 The returns for the period 1861-1891 were pulped during the Great War much to the chagrin of genealogists and archivists alike.
2 The recent discovery of the 1821 census for the parish of Forkhill, County Armagh in the vaults of the local Church of Ireland parish church gave great impetus and encouragement of local historians in the area.
History3 Denise has an avid interest in family history and made great strides in uncovering source material in Australia that provided vital clues that supported the search in Ireland [vital records of births, marriages and deaths in Australia generally contain more information than the Irish equivalent].
4 The children are also listed including those deceased.
5 MIC 1P/90/1 Castledawson Presbyterian Church registers
6 Especially if a perpetuity lease was taken out on the land.
7 The vast majority of research was conducted in PRONI, now a world-class facility. I also spent a day in GRONI, and travelled to Dublin to Registry of Deeds in Henrietta Street where I uncovered several family deeds.
8 Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ McCool was married twice first to John McNiece and secondly to William Morton. Morton was a litigious character and as a result records have survived throwing additional light on the families of McNeice; Backhouse and Morton. The Morton Papers in PRONI D4480 opened a window of light into these families in the early decades of the nineteenth century. In addition a Morton pedigree in Ballyknocker back to seventeenth century.
9 The accuracy of the information provided on parents was dependent on knowledge of the informant.
10 PLU: Poor Law Union a land subdivision created in nineteenth century that provided a workhouse for the regional poor.
11 TCD 3980/1396
12 This family gave the name to Johnstone’s hill in Aghagaskin.
13 They too have left their impact on the local topography, as there is a McCool’s quarter in Toberhead and there is also McCoole’s road named after the same family.
14 William Edmundson, ‘A Journal of the Life, Travels, Sufferings and Labour of Love in the work of that Worthy Elder, and faithful Servant of Jesus Christ, William Edmunson, Dublin, 1715, p. 154. Known as the Irish Hammer, William Edmundson (1627-1712) is considered to be the founding father of Quakerism in Ireland.
15 One prominent Quaker in the Toberhead meeting was Gervais or Jervais Johnston but I have found no evidence linking him to the Johnnston family of Aghagaskin.
16 This surname was problematic as so many surname variants and spellings (Manice; McNice; McNise; McNeece; McNeese; Maniece; McNeice and so on)
17 These were either villages or small towns in the early nineteenth century. Ireland was largely a rural and agricultural society at this time and the market town was important centre for local farmers.
18 Protestant marriages were registered from 1845.
Magherafelt Parish Records, County Londonderry
Surnames - Families Records, County Londonderry
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