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Monday 24 April 2017

Some McCullough Families of Moneyreagh, Co. Down

Because a recent Ancestry DNA test has revealed me to be somehow related to the family of Matthew McCullough who died in Moneyreagh, Co. Down, on 28th April 1874, and because my Stewart ancestors originated in Crossnacreevy, Moneyreagh, I've done a random post about a variety of Moneyreagh McCulloughs.

http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/p/index-to-stewartmadine-family-posts.html

The family of Matthew McCullough seems to be linked to the family of a neighbouring Stewart family - the Stewarts of Gransha - who I have long suspected to be related to my own Crossnacreevy Stewarts.   I haven't yet uncovered a definite Stewart/McCullough marriage, nor have I found any proof that the Gransha and Crossnacreevy Stewarts are related, but the following information might be useful as a jumping off point for further research into all these neighbouring Moneyreagh families.
For the research in this post, I primarily used the collection of Irish wills available on the Proni website, along with the free online Civil registration records, and the Find My Past Irish newspaper collections.

The Public Records of Northern Ireland Freeholders records show McCulloghs farming in Moneyrea as early as the 1780's, namely Alexander, Hugh, Mathew, John and James McCullogh.

The Belfast Newsletter noted the death, on the 9th April 1829 at Moneyrea aged 40, of Rev. William Dunwoody McCullough. He was the son of Jane or Janet Dunwody or Dinwoody (she was the daughter of Ann Orr of Ballyalloly and of William Dunwoody of Carrickmadroe) and of  John McCullough, the son of James McCullough of Moneyrea.  Janet Dunwoody and John McCullough had William Dunwoody McCullough, James McCullough, Mary who married William McIvoid of Gilnahirk, Grace who married James McCune or McEwen of Killinchy in the Woods, Ann who married Thomas Graham and John McCullough.

In February 1815 in Moneyreagh, a James McCullough  signed a lease for the lives of two James McCulloughs and an Alexander.   Samuel McCullough signed one for the lives of Samuel, Jane and Hugh McCullough, while  Alexander McCullough took out a lease for the lives of Alexander, Alexander and Matthew.
Also in February 1815, a Mathew McCullough signed a lease in Moneyreagh for the lives of Matthew McCullough, William Stewart and Thomas Orr.  Generally the three lives named in a lease would tend to be relatives, although this wasn't always the case.

The Proni website also records the fact that three early Matthew McCulloughs made out wills in Moneyreagh in 1800, 1819 and 1841.    A  Matthew Mc Cullough senior of Moneyrea was born about 1769 and died 30th October 1840.

Ancestry and Gedmatch Link:

DNA links me and my father to James Albert McCullough, a descendant of the following family.  We match on Ancestry and also on Gedmatch - using the Gedmatch chromosome browser, I can see that my father and James Albert McCullough match strongly on Chromosome 13 between 21,398,529 to 30,469,407.

The first identifiable member of this particular McCullough family is Alexander McCullough Senior who married Margaret Orr in Granshaw, and who was known to be the father of:

John McCullough, born 1777, of Ballystockart and Moneyreagh; he married Esther Blair.

William McCullough born 1780.

Alexander Junior born 1792.   Alexander McCullough Junior, born 1792, was the father of John McCullough born about 1818.    John McCullough of Lisleen, son of Alexander McCullough Junior, married Margaret Orr, the daughter of John Orr, in Comber on 15th August 1855;  the wedding was witnessed by Jane and Elinar Orr.  John McCullough and Margaret Orr had a son, John McCullough, who married Sarah Jane Parry in Queensland, Australia - he died on 6th January 1935 in Paddington, Queensland.

Matthew McCullough (1798 - 1874).   Was this the Matthew who signed a lease in February 1815 in Moneyreagh for the lives of Matthew McCullough, William Stewart and Thomas Orr?

A carter of Moneyrea, Matthew, son of Alexander McCullough and Margaret Orr,  died there on 28 April 1874.   He was possibly the Matthew McCullough who married Sarah Alexander, the third daughter of John Alexander of Monlough - this couple were married in Moneyreagh on 3rd March 1825 by Rev. Fletcher Blakely, the Unitarian minister.  (A John M. Alexander of Monlough, Moneyrea, made a will in 1860, in which he named his daughters as Ann Jane Sloan, Margaret Jackson and Sarah McCullough;  a son was Thomas Alexander, now in America. )

The executors of the 1874 will of Matthew McCullough of Moneyrea were his son Matthew McCullough  of Nelson Street, Belfast, and David McCullough, son of John McCullough of Lisburn.

(David McCullough might be the David McCullough who had been born in 1835 and who died at Moneyrea aged 76, a married man, on 3rd May 1911;  Hans Moore was present.  The son of hosier John McCullough of Moneyreagh, he had married Margaret Orr, daughter of Gawn Orr of Gransha, in Belfast on 14th August 1886.  The wedding witnesses in 1886 were Hugh and Jane Orr.   Margaret Orr, the daughter of Gawn Orr, had a sister, Jane Orr, who died unmarried in Moneyrea on 2 Feb 1900, and a brother also Gawn Orr.  Cousins were the siblings Adam McKitterick and Jane Evans of Berlin, Wisconsin. Hans Moore, son of Robert Moore of Ballyalolly, Comber, farmer, married Margaret Anna McCullough of 55 Woodstock Road, daughter of Hugh McCullough, in Belfast on 19th January 1899.  Witnesses were Robert Thompson and Mary Jane Hughes. When the older Gawn or Gawin Orr died in Ballyalolly 1 Feb 1886 the witnesses to his will were David and Samuel McCullough.)

The son of Matthew McCullough (1798 - 1874),  Matthew McCullough of Nelson Street, was to inherit the family farm, and was to let his mother live there.  Son William Walter McCullough was to get £3 should he come and claim it.  Small legacies were also to go to son John McCullough (who married Mary Fitchie in 1865) and to daughters Mary, Sarah, Margaret, Jane, Susanna, Isabella.   Hugh and Samuel McCullough were witnesses to the will.

The son of Matthew McCullough (1798 - 1874) was John McCullough who married Martha Fitchie, the daughter of John Fitchie of Ballycreely, Moneyreagh, in Moneyrea Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church on 4th February 1865. Their children were Elizabeth McCullough, Hugh McCullough, John McCullough, Matthew McCullough, Agnes McCullough, William Walter McCullough, Margaret Buhr, William McCullough, Thomas McCullough and James McCullough.

On 10th November 1866, Isabella, the daughter of Mathew McCullough (1798 - 1874),  married Robert McTear /Matier/Mateer, son of John McTier.  In 1893, according to the will of my ancestor, John Stewart of Crossnacreevy, Robert Matier was a tenant in the house of Robert John Stewart in Crossnacreevy.   Lizzie Matier, also the daughter of Robert Matier of Crossnacreevy,  was the witness at the wedding on 25th December 1896, of Annie Stewart, daughter of John Stewart of Crossnacreevy, when she married John McKnight.  The second witness was Annie's brother, Robert John Stewart.  In 1896 Lizzie Matier and Robert John Stewart had also acted as witnesses at the wedding of another of the Matier daughters, Mary Matier, when she married John Alexander Kennedy of Crossnacreevy.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2011/07/john-stewart-1839-1892.html

The son of Matthew McCullough (1798 - 1874),  Matthew McCullough Junior, had been born circa 1848, and married Margaret McLenaghan.  This couple were married on 11th July 1868 in in York Street Non-Subscribing Church, Belfast, by the Rev. John Jellie who was the ex-minister of the Moneyreagh unitarian church, and who seems to have been favoured by many of the Moneyreagh congregation when they settled in Belfast, including many of my own Stewart ancestors.
Matthew McCullough Junior died  17th  August 1914 in 7 Fleet Street, Belfast - daughter-in-law Agnes McCullough was present when he died there of cancer.

Matthew McCullough Junior and Margaret McLenaghan had:


  • Thomas Girvin McCullough (16 Jul 1869 - 02 Jul 1942). Thomas Girvin McCullough was born in 1 Tennants Court, Belfast; Anne Jane McLenaghan, the sister of Margaret McClenaghan McCullough, was present for the birth on 18th January 1879.  She would die aged 69 at 7 Fleet Street, on 11th January 1915 - her niece, Maggie McCullough, was present.  On 25th March 1889, Thomas Girvan McCullough, son of Matthew, married Agnes Boyd, the daughter of Belfast sailor, William John Boyd - this was witnessed by Matthew and Louisa McCullough.
  • Matthew McCullough who was born  on 3rd Mar 1871 at 1 Tennants Court; later a  fireman of Trafalgar Street, Belfast, he married Louisa Johnston, daughter of Edward Johnston of Belfast, on 25th December 1888.  The witnesses were Alyard Frome and Sarah Thompson.
  • Eleanor Been Moncrieff McCullough was born on 31 Mar 1873 at 8 Nelson Street; aunt Ann Jane McClenaghan was present.  Eleanor McCullough married Robert Dodds, son of David Dodds of Belfast on 4th April 1890;  Thomas and Agnes McCullough acted as witnesses.  A son was Matthew McCullough Dodds, born at 7 Trafalgar Street on 16th September 1896.  Also, David, Robert and Alfred, Thomas, Sarah, William, Kathleen.  The widowed Ellen Dodds was living at Cattog, Comber, 1911. 
  • Ann Jane McCullough, born 1st July 1876.
  • Margaret McCullough, born 18th January 1879.  
  • William Walter McCullough (15th May 1887 - 1st July 1916).  William Walter McCullough married Frances Kelso, the daughter of George Kelso, in the Church of Ireland parish of Holy Trinity, Belfast, on 15th September 1913.  
  • Catherine C. McCullough, born 1890. Catherine McCullough, daughter of Matthew McCullough of 15 Fleet Street, Belfast, married George Moody of Trillick Street, son of William Robert Moody, in St. Anne's, Belfast, on 29th March 1910 - James Robinson and Maggie McCullough were the witnesses. 

.......................................................................................................................................
A second early Matthew McCullough of Moneyrea had the following children:

1) Samuel McCullough (1822 - 1899), son of another Matthew McCullough, had been born circa 1822 in Moneyreagh and married Margaret Connory, the daughter of farmer John Connery, on 15th November 1850 in Moneyrea Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church.  Rev. Fletcher Blakeley carried out the  ceremony which was witnessed by Robert Connery and James McCullough.  Margaret Connery's brother was the shoemaker John Connery of Moneyreagh, who married Margaret Jane Rea, daughter of John Rea of Ballykeel, in Moneyrea, on 16th July 1861 - this wedding was performed by Rev. John Jellie who later ministered at the York Street Church in Belfast.

Samuel McCullough and Margaret Connory had David McCullough, who was born on 1st September 1851 and who emigrated to New Zealand where he died, Isabella McCullough, born 30th October 1854, who married Robert Magill, and Elizabeth McCullough, who was born 4th April 1861 and who married Moore Fisher;  she died on 8th February 1924.
Elizabeth Fisher, née McCullough, of Ballymaleddy, Comber, had James Fisher, born 19th January 1884 who married Elizabeth McCalmont and who died at the Somme, Margaret Fisher, born 7th January 1886, who married James Johnston and who died 26th December 1933;  John Fisher born 16th June 1887 and who died of cancer, unmarried, on 30th January 1919.

When Samuel McCullough, son of Matthew, died in Moneyreagh on 25th August 1899, the executors of his will were David T. Stewart, son of William Stewart and and Mary Abernethy of Moneyreagh, and Samuel Abernethy of Moneyrea.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2011/08/stewarts-of-gransha-comber-co-down.html
Samuel McCullough left his farm to son David, should he return from New Zealand - he never did.  If not, grandson James Fisher was to inherit it.  Daughters were named as Isabella Magill and Lizzie Fisher.   Granddaughters were Maggie Magill and Maggie Fisher.  The witnesses were David and Margaret (Orr) McCullough.

2) Matthew McCullough, son of Matthew McCullough (1823 - 20 Dec 1890 ).  Matthew McCullough died of heart disease at Moneyreagh - David McCullough was the informant of death and had 'helped to find the body'.

3) Margaret McCullough, daughter of Matthew McCullough,  who married John Thompson of Mealough on the 21st Feb 1840 in Moneyrea. On 9th April 1882 in 30 Thompson Street, Belfast, Matthew Thompson, 2nd son of John Thompson, died aged 32 and was buried in Moneyrea.  A daughter was Annie Thompson.

4) Jane McCullough, daughter of Matthew McCullough,  who married a Johnson or Johnston.

5) Rachel mcCullough, daughter of Matthew McCullough, who married Henry Abernethy - Rachel McCullough, daughter of Matthew McCullough, married Henry Abernathy, son of Robert Abernathy of Ballycreely in Comber on 4th September 1858 (witnesses were Patrick Canavin and Samuel McCullough).  Rachel Abernathy died in Ballycreely on 1st October 1882; the widowed Henry Abernathy died aged 84 in Ballycreely, Comber, on 5th July 1918;  his nephew S. Abernathy was present at his death.

6 ) Nancy/Agnes McCullough, daughter of Matthew McCullough, who married John Smythe or Smyth, in Moneyrea on 26th February 1853.  He was the son of Robert Smyth.  The witnesses to this wedding were Samuel and Hugh McCullough.
 Agnes/Nancy Smyth died in Moneyrea on 3rd December 1898.  John Smyth of Moneyrea died 13th March 1887; Nancy Smythe of Moneyreagh died a widow on  3rd December 1898 having made a will, whose executor was James McCullough of Granshaw, who follows later in this post. Legacies were left to Nancy's grandnephew James Fisher, grandniece Maggie Magill,  grandnephews John Joseph and William Thompson, niece Annie Thompson, nieces Isabella Magill and Lizzie Fisher.  Samuel and David McCullough were the witnesses to the will.

7) Elizabeth McCullough, daughter of Matthew McCullough,  who married Robert Somersides of Crossnacreevy on 12th November 1838.  Elizabeth must have died young since the same Robert later married Catherine Smith.   Robert Somerside of Crossnacreevy left a will in which he named his wife as Catherine née Smith, (Catherine Smith, daughter of Robert Smith, married Robert Somerside on 3rd June 1850) his son as Mathew Sumerside, and three daughters as Mary Smith, Jane and Elizabeth Eleanor Sumerside.  Executors were Matthew McCullough of Moneyrea and Robert Smith Junior of Crossnacreevy.  Robert Somerside died 7th August 1880.

There is a Stewart/Sommerside connection here:
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2013/04/the-descendantsfamily-of-joseph-and-ann.html

8) Hugh McCullough, son of Matthew McCullough,  (1810 - 1878) of Moneyrea was farming there in 1863 -  he died on 29th January 1878, leaving  a will whose executors were named as Hugh's brother, Matthew McCullough, his brother-in-law John Smythe, David McCullough of Moneyrea and James Orr McGowan Junior of Ballykeel.  Hugh was survivied by an unnamed wife and young son.  This will was witnessed by Gawn Orr and David McCullough.
Griffiths of 1863 shows up two Hugh McCulloughs in Moneyrea, one the son of Samuel, the other the son of Matthew.  Hugh McCullough, son of Matthew, was leasing a house to William Stewart, son of Joseph Stewart of Gransha and grandson of Francis Stewart and Martha Patterson of Gransha.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2011/08/stewarts-of-gransha-comber-co-down.html

9) Mary McCullough of Moneyreagh, daughter of Matthew McCullough, died unmarried on 30 March 1879 and named in her will her sisters, Jane Johnson, Margaret Thompson, Rachel Abernethy and Nancy Smith, all of them the daughters of Matthew McCullough.  Her niece was Elizabeth McCullough. Her brothers were Samuel and Matthew McCullough.
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The McCullochs/McCulloughs of Gransha:

The children of Francis Stewart of Gransha sold land to Rev. James McCulloch....
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2011/08/stewarts-of-gransha-comber-co-down.html

 Rev. James McCulloch of Gransha, Comber, made a will and died on 16th November 1865. In his will he named his grandchildren as Jane, Mary, Margaret, Lizzie,  Isabella, James, Matilda, all being the children of James's son John McCulloch. He named two farms, one held since 1806 included a windmill, house and outbuildings. The second he bought from the heirs of Francis Stewart in 1835, this sale having been witnessed by William Patterson and by James's own son John Mc Culloch.   The first farm seems to hve been called by the name of Porters or Pettigrew's Mill in Ballyalloly.

Rev. James McCulloch died 16th November 1865 and his will was proved by, amongst others, Rev. Isaac Vance of Gransha.

A John McCulloch died in Gransha on 08-Sep 1875, his wife wrote a mourning card which survives.
Another John McCullough (1824 - 1894) farmed at Gransha and was the son of the Rev. James McCulloch.
He had a son, James McCulloch JP of Granshaw who married Mary Leathem Orr,  the daughter of William Orr of Ballybeen; the witnesses to the wedding in Gilnahirk, Knockbreda, on 13th January 1897 were James and Minnie Busby.

On 29th June 1864 in the Presbyterian Church in Granshaw, by the Rev. Isaac Vance and assisted by the Rev. James M'Collough, the grandfather of the bride, Mary, second daughter of Mr. John M'Collough of Granshaw, married  Mr. David M'Alpin of Mountalexander, Comber.   Jane McCulloch, aged 11, eldest daughter of David McAlpine, died in March 1877 and was buried in Granshaw. Another daughter, Marion McAlpine, married Comber surgeon James Simpson Steele, son of James Steele, on 15th September 1898;  the wedding took place in the bride's family home in Mountalexander and was witnessed by Samuel Wallace and Lizzie McAlpine.

On 22 December 1896 in Granshaw Church, Matilda McCulloch, daughter of John McCulloch and granddaughter of the late Rev. James McCulloch, married William Boyd of Ballywilliam, son of Robert Boyd. The witnesses were Richard Baxter and Marion McAlpine.

John McCulloch died in Gransha aged 74 on 28th March 1894. Son James McCulloch JP was there.
Jane, the eldest daughter of John McCulloch of Gransha, Comber, had married John Busby of Belfast in 1868.  Notes on the Busby family follow....

James McCulloch JP, son of John of Gransha, married Mary Leathem Orr, daughter of William Orr of Ballybeen, Comber, in Gilnahirk on 13th January 1897;  witnesses were James M. Busby and Minnie Busby.   James McCullough of Granshaw and David Stewart, son of William Stewart and Mary Abernethy of Moneyrea, were the witnesses to the will of Agnes Glover of Moneyrea when she died there on 8th June 1903.   She was the daughter of Robert Gracey and had married William Glover, son of David Glover, in Moneyrea on 11th May 1848.  Her 1903 will named her children as Caroline Glover (who died on 30th January 1953), Annie, Margaret, Mary, Sarah who had been born in Belfast on 19th June 1962 and who died in Evaston, Illinois on 19th January 1933), Harriet, and William John Glover who married Sarah Gourley.
William Glover, husband of Agnes Gracey, had a brother, Francis Glover, who married an Agnes Stewart, the daughter of a John Stewart, in Moneyrea on 26th July 1854.  On Griffiths Valuation of 1863, David, William and Francis Glover were all farming in Moneyrea.


John McCulloch, Rifleman, No. 1378, of the 8th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, was killed in action on Sunday 2nd July 1916 aged only 18. He had been born on 30th October 1897 in Comber and was the only child of James McCulloch JP and Mary Leathem Orr. John McCulloch’s mother, Mary, died on 31st March 1925, aged 66, and his father, James McCulloch JP, died on 17th February 1928 aged 76.

John McCulloch of Gransha, son of Rev. James McCulloch, and Rev. James Vance, were also the executors of the 1870 will of the following James McCullough.....

James McCullough of Moneyreagh, who died there on 16th Feb 1870,  named his brothers as John, Hugh, and Samuel McCullough.  James left other legacies to James McCulloch Beattie son of Samuel.  (Samuel Beattie was a farmer of Crossnacreevy....James McCullough Beattie had a wife, Sarah Glover, who died 27 Jul 1915 in Gransha. Their son was William James Beattie - 12th Feb 1874 - of Moneyrea, who married Margaret McKibbin daughter of William McKibbin. )

James McCullough of Moneyrea, according to his 1870 will, also had a brother, Hugh (dead by 1870) who had two sons, Hugh and James.  The younger Hugh also had a daughter, Mary Anne McCullough, wife of the hosier William Pyper, and a daughter, Margaret McCullough.
The widowed MaryAnne Pyper, aged 84, was living in Newtownards in 1901 with her children - the widowed Agnes Hutchinson, the widowed Mary Reid, Eleanor Pyper and nephew James Gibson, aged 74.    Mary Ann Pyper, née McCullough, died aged 78, on 15th October 1901, the widow of a hosier, in Greenwell Street, Newtownards, and her grandson William Reid (son of the late weaver Robert Reid) was present.
The widowed Agnes Hutchinson, daughter of late hosier William Pyper, married the widowed George Apperson, son of late Francis Apperson, in Newtownards on 25th November 1905...witnesses were William and Ellen J. Reid.

James McCullough, who died in Moneyreagh in 1870, also left small legacies to the unnamed children of his deceased sister Jane, and to the unnamed children of his deceased sister Elizabeth.

He also named a nephew as John Stewart McCullough the son of his brother Samuel McCullough who was still alive at the time of the will which was originally written in 1867.
The executors of James McCullough's will when he died in 1870 were  Rev. Isaac Vance of Gransha and John McCulloch of Gransha, son of late Rev. James McCulloch. The witnesses were James and Matthew McCullough, who states that he is over 30 years old, ie, born prior to 1840.

Samuel McCullough, father of John Stewart McCullough and brother of James McCullough of Moneyrea,  died aged 84 in 1875 in Ballyknockan, Saintfield, and his will was administered by his surviving son, Samuel McCullough.   In his 1875 will, Samuel McCullough names his daughter as Mary McDowell of Pittsburg,  his son as Samuel McCullough, and two grandsons as Samuel and John Stewart McCullough.

Mary Carlisle McCullough of Ballyknockan, the daughter of Samuel McCullough, had married Alexander McDowell of Ballyrussell, the son of John McDowell.  The wedding had taken place in Knockbreda on 17th July 1861 and was witnessed by Hugh Whyte and Alice Patterson. In 1863 Alexander McDowell (1834 - 1894) emigrated to Pittsburg via New York, and had Jennie Carlisle McDowell on 29th July 1864 and John McDowell in 1868.  The witness to the 1861 wedding of Alexander McDowell and Mary Carlisle McCullough was Alice Patterson, the youngest daughter of Hamilton Patterson, who married John Patterson of Monlough on 10th June 1869.

John Stewart McCullough, son of Samuel McCullough of Lisburn or Ballyknockan, and nephew of James McCullough of Moneyrea who made his will in 1870, married Eliza Patterson, daughter of Hamilton Patterson of Killynure near Carryduff, 16 Dec 1857 in Knockbreda. At the time of the wedding, John Stewart McCullough was farming in Ballyknockan, Saintfield;  the wedding was witnessed by William H. Houston and Jane Huddleston.
The third daughter of Hamilton Patterson of Killynure was Isabella Patterson who married Henry White of Cairns Hill, Ballylenaghan,  in Dr. Cooke's Church in Belfast on 26th October 1859. Alice Patterson, youngest daughter of Hamilton Patterson, married John Patterson of Monlough on 10th June 1869.

John Stewart McCullough and Eliza Patterson had a son, John Stewart McCullough Junior in Clontonacally on 22nd May 1867;  they also had Samuel McCullough in Clontonacally on 6 Feb 1864, and James Rae Patterson Mccullough on 16 Aug 1865.  James Rae Patterson McCullough married Rebecca Jane Howe on May 26, 1890, in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand and had one child, Laura, during their marriage. James died on May 23, 1938, in Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand, at the age of 72, and was buried in Bromley, Canterbury, New Zealand.

John Stewart McCullough, son of Samuel of Ballyknockan, died young on April 18th, 1870, at 14 Ward Street in Belfast, aged 39.  The widowed Eliza, née Patterson, married Thomas Walker CAMLIN and they had one daughter together, Agnes Arnold Camlin, on 14th June 1874 in Belfast.  Eliza Camlin, widow of John Stewart McCullough and wife of Thomas Walker Camlin, died on October 18, 1877, in Belfast, Antrim, at the age of 41 and was buried in Ballyknockan graveyard.

Another son of farmer John Stewart McCullough and Eliza Patterson was Samuel McCullough. He married, in in Knockbreda on 11th December 1889, Annie White of Ballymaconaghy, Castlereagh, the daughter of farmer and pawnbroker Henry White.   The witnesses were the  groom's brother, John Stewart McCullough, and Mary L. Busby.  This was probably Mary Louisa Busby, the daughter of linen draper Gawn Busby of Belfast. The bride's brother, pawnbroker Edmund White, married on the same day, same place,  Maggie Busby of Braniel, daughter of farmer James Busby, the witnesses being Rebecca Busby and Hugh Perry.

Administration of the estate of Samuel M'Cullough (son of Samuel McCullough) late of Saintfield, County Down, who died 24 March 1902, was granted at Belfast to Samuel M'Cullough, pawnbroker, the son of John Stewart McCullough..
Samuel McCullough, the son of John Stewart McCullough and Eliza Patterson, was a pawnbroker in Belfast;  his son, John Stewart McCullough, was born in South Parade on 10th October 1891. An electrician, son John Stewart McCullough, died in South Parade in 1921.  Henry was born 30th August 1890.  Lilian McCullough was born at 6 South Parade on 18th November 1895.  Pawnbroker Samuel McCullough died at South Parade 9th May 1919 aged 55; son John Stewart McCullough was there.

(A Samuel McCullough had died aged 76 in Moneyrea on 25th Aug 1888 and his will named his nephew as Samuel McCullough of Lisburn who had a daughter named Lizzie.  Another nephew of the testator was David McCullough who was to inherit his land.)

As previously noted, James McCullough who died in 1870, had left a legacy to a James McCulloch Beattie who was the son of  Samuel Beattie, a farmer of Crossnacreevy.  James Beattie also links to the following McCulloughs, being one of the executors of the 1901 will of James McCullough junior, son of the James McCullough senior who follows....

James McCullough Senior, was farming 11 acres in Moneyreagh in 1863 and was also leasing houses to Hugh McCullough and to Margaret McCullough;  he died on 18th July 1878.  His daughter was Jane, who had married John Smiley, son of Robert Smiley, on  4th Sep 1852 in Moneyreagh. The wedding was witnessed by Joseph J. McCullough and Robert Connory/Connery.

 A second daughter of James McCullough senior was Eliza Nancy McCullough.  His sons were James and Thomas who follow.
The 1878 will of James McCullough senior was witnessed by Alexander and Matthew McCullough.   Daughter Eliza Nancy died unmarried on 8th February 1899 and her will was granted at Belfast to Robert Smiley Road Contractor, the son of Andrew Smiley, of Crossnacreevy,  who had married Jane Simpson in 1894.

James McCullough of Moneyrea, the son of the previous James McCullough senior, hung himself at Moneyreagh on 8th August 1901 - the executors of his will were Matthew McCullough of Belfast, David McCullough of Moneyrea and James (McCullough) Beattie of Moneyrea.  His sister was Jane Smiley and his will named his late nephew as Thomas McCullough Smiley who had died and left surviving children.  David and Margaret McCullough were the witnesses.  James McCullough Beattie, late of Moneyrea, died in Downpatrick on 8th June 1922 and was buried in the family plot in Granshaw Burying Ground.

Thomas McCullough of Moneyrea, son of James McCullough senior, died of dropsy on 15th September 1897.   His brother was James McCullough and his nephew was Thomas McCullough Smilie.  His sister was Eliza Nancy McCullough.   James Beattie and Alexander McCullough, both of Moneyrea, were the executors and the witnesses were Alexander and David McCullough.

The will of James McCullough senior, who had died in 1878, had been witnessed by Alexander and Matthew McCullough;  the 1901 will of James's son, James junior, had been granted to Matthew McCullough of Belfast.   Alexander and Matthew McCullough seem to form part of the following Moneyreagh family.....
.
...another Matthew McCullough of Gransha, Moneyreagh died on 14th March 1874 . Matthew's only daughter was Jane. On 1st February 1866 in Carryduff Presbyterian Church,  Mr. John Patterson of Killynure had married Jane, the only daughter of Matthew McCullough of Moneyrea.  Their son, Matthew WIlliam Patterson, had been born 14 Aug 1868 to John Patterson and Jane McCullough.
Matthew McCullough of Gransha, who died there in 1874, also had two sons, Joseph John and James McCullough.  An Alexander McCullough, possibly his brother, was the witness to the will.   A second grandson of Matthew McCullough was Matthew McCullough.

Joseph John, son of Matthew McCullough of Gransha, Moneyreagh, married another member of the Killynure Patterson family, Jane C. Patterson, daughter of Adam Patterson of Killynure, Mealough, in Drumbo on 30th December 1859 (the witnesses were Alexander MccCullough and Essie Ann Patterson) and settled as a farmer in Mealough.
Joseph John McCullough and Jane C. Patterson had David McCullough on 14th May 1866, Lizzie on 1st May 1868, Adam McCullough in the Comber area on 9th September 1873.  Joseph John died on 31st December 1897, leaving a will in which he named his children as William McCullough, who had returned from Australia, Adam (born 17th May 1870 ) and James who inherited the two farms in Mealough, youngest son John McCullough, Eleanor McCullough, Lizzie McCready (born 1st May 1868 in Monlough), Matthew McCullough (born 15th May 1860) in Australia, David Patterson McCullough in America and daughter Sarah (born 2nd May 1864) also in Australia.

The executors of Joseph John McCullough's will were his son, William, and Matthew McCullough of 21 Willowfield Street, Belfast.   Matthew McCullough (1838- 1909) of 21 Willowfield Street was the son of Alexander McCullough of Moneyrea, who also had Alexander McCullough (1835 - 1898) and bootmaker William McCullough of the Woodstock Road.
Alexander McCullough, a bachelor of Moneyrea and son of Alexander McCullough, hung himself on 23rd April 1898, aged 63. His brother administered his estate - William M'Cullough, bootmaker of 77 Woodstock-Road Belfast.
William McCullough of 77 Woodstock Road was also present for the death of another of his brothers, the joiner Matthew McCullough, who died aged 71 at Willowfield Street, Belfast, on 10th May 1909. William McCullough married Sarah Jane Browne and had Isabella and Sarah Jane in Belfast, and Samuel McCullough on 26th May 1875.
On 5th August 1887 in Hillsborough, 18-yr-old Samuel M'Cullogh, late of Moneyrea, was accidentally killed. He was to be buried in Moneyrea by his mother, Sarah jame M'Cullogh of 48 Willowfield Street, who must be the widow of William McCullough of 77 Woodstock Road.

Joiner Matthew McCullough's wife was Letitia Jane McCullough, daughter of farmer Hugh McCullough - this couple married late on 23rd May 1893 in Mountpottinger - the witnesses were George Andrews and Margaret Anna McCullough.
Letitia Jane, widow of carpenter Matthew, died aged 70, the widow of a cooper, in 17 Madrid Street on 27th January 1921;  Wm. W. Nelson of Ravenhill Avenue was present.  William Nelson, son of William Nelson, had married Isabella McCullough, daughter of bootmaker William and Letitia McCullough of Woodstock Road, on 15th September 1903.
In 1911 in Moneyreagh was James McCullough, aged 31, and his wife, Sarah Munn.  They had been married by Richard Lyttle in Moneyrea Unitarian Church on 1st September 1904. Their witnesses were Letitia Jane McCullough and Thomas Munn.   James was the son of Hugh McCullough, while Sarah was the daughter of Isaac Munn of Moneyreagh.

THE BUSBY FAMILY OF LISNAHARRAGH, BRANIEL, CASTLREAGH AND BELFAST:

This family intermarried with both the McCullochs of Gransha and with the relatives of the Stewarts of Gransha.

According to the Orr/McClement Pedigree, which was compiled by Gawn Orr (1756 - 1830) and which was lodged in the Linenhall Library before being transcribed by Ray Jones in 1977, John Busby of Braniel marrioed Margaret Magee of Carricknasesnock and had William Busby of Belfast, John Busby Junior (born circa 1781) who married Rebecca Busby, Mary Ann Busby who married, firstly, James Carr of Magherascouse, then, secondly, Andrew Maxwell of Magherascouse, and James Busby, a mariner.

John Busby Junior (born circa 1781) who had been widowed, married Rebecca Busby, the daughter of Hugh and Sarah Busby of Lisnaharragh, Castlereagh.  In March 1865, a John  Busby died at Braniel.

The only daughter of John Busby, publican, of Ritchie's Dock, Belfast, married Captain John Pascoe on 21st December 1841.

A draper, Gawn Busby of Belfast, son of John Busby,  married Esther Whyte, only daughter of John Whyte of Cairn's Hill, Newtownbreda, on 19 Oct 1863 in Knockbreda.  A daughter was Mary Louisa Busby.  They also had Esther White Busby and George Orr Busby (1878 - 4th March 1938)  
Gawn Orr Busby was the executor of his brother-in-law's will when he - James White, pawnbroker of the Shankill Road -  died on 14th June 1878.   James White named his brothers as William White of the Newtownards Road and Henry White of Ballymaconaghy and a nephew as William White.  A cousin was James Carse and another was Eliza Carson of Mealough;  James White was a witness.

On May 7th 1868, in Granshaw by Rev. Isaac Vance, John Busby of Belfast married Jane, eldest daughter of John McCulloch of Granshaw, as already noted earlier in this post. Son John Busby was born at 36 Melrose Terrace, Belfast, on 10th May 1879.   On 13th November 1870 in Athol Street a daughter, Mary, was born.  Father John Busby was a draper, in common with Gawn Busby, but was later a bookkeeper.  James McCulloch Busby was born 16th April 1869 at Athol Street.

On 7th June 1905 in Belfast, James McCulloch Busby, son of John Busby and Jane McCulloch, married Marianne Halliday Fulton daughter of Dr. Thomas Fulton.  Wits - H.M. Glass and Norah Fulton.   Norah was born 1885 in Saintfield to Thomas Fulton and Marion Hamilton Thompson.

On 24th April 1860 in Dundonald, James Busby of Castlereagh married Agnes, eldest daughter of John Morrow of Ballyhanwood, Gilnahirk.  A brief genealogy of the Ballyhanwood Morrow family follows later in this post.

Hugh Busby of Lisnaharragh, the husband of Sarah, died on 2nd April 1869 aged 77. He named his children as son Hugh Busby and his daughters as Elizabeth or Lizzie Busby, Rebecca Pascoe (she had married Captain John Pascoe, master mariner and publican, in Belfast on 26th February 1863), Deborah Jane McDowell (she had married Thomas McDowell, son of Thomas McDowell, in Belfast on 29th August 1885 and she died at 3 Lower Frank Street, Castlereagh, on 15th July 1897), Anne McDowell (who married Stewart McDowell, son of Robert McDowell of Ballyhanwood and of Mary Stewart of Gransha), Dorothea Hunter (wife of James S. Hunter).   A nephew was James Busby.
The son of Hugh and Sarah Busby of Lisnaharragh was Hugh Busby who married Lizzie, the only daughter of the late Isaac Kirker of Killead on 4th November 1875.  Hugh died in Bangor on 25th December 1906;  a nephew, Isaac Kirker, was present.

On 24th April 1860 in Dundonald, the (possible) nephew of Hugh and Sarah Busby of Lisnaharragh, James Busby of Braniel, son of John Busby, married Agnes Morrow, the daughter of John Morrow of Gilnahirk.

Hugh Busby of Braniel (son of John Busby) married  Eliza White.  Eliza was the daughter of   William White and the couple married in Knockbreda on 13 Feb 1862.   Two sons were John and William Busby.  Daughter was Agnes Busby, and another was Rebecca Busby who married James McDowell, the son of John McDowell of Ballyhanwood, and grandson of Mary Stewart and Robert McDowell.  Rebecca McDowell of 25 Canning Street was present when her father, Hugh Busby, died aged 73 at 105 Madrid Street on 19th March 1893.
Hugh had made a will before he died in 1893, in which he named his two daughters as Agnes Busby and Rebecca McDowell, and a brother as John Busby. The executor of the will was William Robert White of Crossnacreevy, son of Samuel White and Martha Jane White and brother of James White, all probable relations of Hugh Busby's wife, Eliza White.    (13th January 1864, Robert Smyth of Castlereagh to Jane, youngest daughter of the late William White of Crossnacreevy.)

Hugh Busby and Eliza White had two daughters, Agnes Busby who was born in Braniel on 3rd August 1871 and Rebecca.
27th November 1866 in Pres Church, York Street, James S. Hunter of Ardmore,  Killead to Dorothea Busby of Lisnaharragh.


THE MORROW FAMILY OF BALLYHANWOOD, GILNAHIRK:

Adam Morrow of Ballymaglaff died on 25th October 1864, leaving a will.  His wife Agnes Morrow died aged 64 on 20th September 1859.  Their children, as named in Adam Morrow's will, were John Morrow, who had a daughter Agnes, William who had a daughter Agnes, James who had a daughter Agnes, Adam, Elizabeth Little, Agnes wife of Hugh Hill and Mary wife of John Young who died at Ballykeel in 1879.

A James Morrow of Ballyhanwood died 14th May 1896.  His daughter, Agnes, married John J. Chancellor of Ballymaglaff in Granshaw Presbyterian Church on 16th February 1877.   Another daughter, Bella Morrow, married Andrew Anderson of Crossnacreevy.

Adam Morrow's son, William Morrow of Ballyhanwood, died 17th July 1883 and named his wife in his will as Jane.  His son-in-law was James Morrow;  his cousin was William Morrow of Tullycarnet. A son was William Robert Morrow, as were Adam and John.  Daughters were Agnes and Sarah, and his brother-in-law was John Young of Gransha, then Ballykeel.

A William Morrow of Ballybeen died 12th September 1859.  His wife was Isabella.  He mentions a house currently occupied by Robert Warden.  His daughter was Ellenor McDowell (who had married John McDowell, son of Mary Stewart and Robert McDowell of Ballyhanwood).  William's grandson was James McHarg or Meharg (William's daughter Isabella Morrow had married Samuel Meharg, son of James Meharg, in Knockbreda on 13 Mar 1855) His sons were William and Hugh and his brother was Thomas Morrow of Ballyhanwood.  (William  Morrow of Ballybeen had married Isabella Loughlin and had James Morrow in September 1840.)

An Agnes Morrow of Ballyhanwood, eldest surviving daughter of William Morrow, married James Morrow of Belfast, in Gilnahirk on 29th May 1877.
Adam Morrow, son of William of Ballyhanwood, married Minnie or Mary Ann Stewart, the eldest daughter of William Stewart of Tullycarnett, Knock, on 30th November 1892. Adam Morrow had been born 26th September 1864 in Ballyhanwood, Ballymaglaff, to William Morrow and Jane Herron. They also had John Morrow on 9 November 1868.  A Robert Herron died in Ballyhanwood in 1879.
William's son, William Morrow, settled in Ballymaglaff and married Eliza Anne Warden.  His sisters were Agnes Kennedy and Ellin McDowell, wife of John McDowell of Ballyhanwood.  He had a brother, Hugh Morrow, and a nephew James Mcharg.  Sons were named as William,  Thomas, Edward, James and Samuel.

William Morrow, who died in Ballybeen in 1859, was the brother of Thomas Morrow of Ballyhanwood who married Jane or Jenny Warden and was the father of William Morrow.  Thomas died aged 101 on 28th February 1916; son William was present. Thomas and Jane Morrow had Mary in 1840, Hugh in 1841;  both were baptised in Dundonald Church.  Also William and Richard and Agnes Jane.  Jennie Morrow died aged 82 on 12th June 1901 at Ballyhanwood.    John Warden of Ballyblack died in 1860 leaving a will in which he named his daughter as Jane Morrow; another was Mary Stewart whose daughter, Mary Stewart, was living with Thomas Morrow in Ballyhanwood in 1911.  Executors were Thomas Morrow of Ballyhanwood and John Stewart of Cardy, Greyabbey
Thomas Morrow's son, Richard Thomas Morrow, married Mary Jane McDowell, the daughter of Stewart McDowell and granddaughter of Robert McDowell and Mary Stewart.

A John Morrow of Ballyhanwood, who had married Mary Morrow, had Adam Morrow in Ballymaglaff on 3rd September 1865, Richard Thomas Morrow on 29th May 1872 and a secomd Richard Thomas Morrow on 19th March 1875.

Another DNA link:

Having done an Ancestry DNA test for my father, I uploaded his raw Ancestry DNA results to the free sites, Gedmatch and FTDNA.   His FTDNA results bring up a match for a Karen Elizabeth Patton who descends from a Joseph McCullough who had a son, William McCullough, in 1840.

William McCullough married Sarah Connery in Newtownards on 6th November 1865, the daughter of James Connery (a James Connery was farming in Tullyhubbert in 1863).

William McCullough, labourer, and Sarah Connery had children - Mary Jane was born in Greengraves, Newtownards, on 29th March 1866, Margaret on 15th Febraury 1868, twins Anna and William were born in Cullintra on 26th February 1870 and James was born there on 22nd May 1873.
Another daughter was Agnes McCullough who had a daughter, Elizabeth Petticrew McCullough, in Maxwell Court on 2nd October 1895;  Sarah McCullough was present at the birth.

A Sarah McCullough died on 2nd July 1903 in Railway Street, Comber;  her widower, William McCullough, was present.

On 31st August 1906 in Dundonald, the widower, William James Thompson, son of Jeremiah Thompson, married Anna McCullough, the daughter of labourer William McCullough.  This couple were recorded on the 1911 census living in Comber with Anna's three children who had all been born before her marriage to William James Thompson.. Thomas Oprey McCullough had been born in Maxwell Court on 30th December 1891, Lizzie had been born in 1893 and William on 16th February 1904 in Mill Street, Comber.

The Connery Family:
Sarah Connery, the daughter of James Connery (of Tullyhubbert?), married William McCullough in 1865, while Samuel McCullough (1822 - 1899), son of a Matthew McCullough, had been born circa 1822 in Moneyreagh and married Margaret Connory on 15th November 1850 in Moneyrea Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church.  Rev. Fletcher Blakeley carried out the  ceremony which was witnessed by Robert Connery and James McCullough.  

The Connery family seems to have settled primarily in both Tullyhubbert and neighbouring Ballycreely.
 Samuel McCullough (1822 - 1899), son of another Matthew McCullough, had been born circa 1822 in Moneyreagh and married Margaret Connory on 15th November 1850 in Moneyrea Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church.  Rev. Fletcher Blakeley carried out the  ceremony which was witnessed by Robert Connery and James McCullough.     (Margaret Connery's brother might have been the John Connery who married Margaret Jane Rea, daughter of John Rea of Ballykeel, in Moneyrea, on 16th July 1861.)

A John Connery married Margaret Jane Rea, daughter of John Rea of Ballykeel, in Moneyrea, on 16th July 1861.

On 26th December 1874 in Moneyrea, blacksmith William Robson, son of John Robson, married Mary Connery, daughter of James Connery of Tullyhubbert.  The witnesses were Margaret Jane Robson and John Patterson.