Family history mystery: Adam & Robert Kilpatrick of Lislea

Categories Emigrants and settlers, Family history mystery,

The children of one of our nearly related Kilpatrick families of Lislea townland seem to have disappeared from the Irish record, qualifying as another family history mystery.

A Victorian era engraving of wo boys hiding from their mother; to illustrate the blog article, "Family history mystery: Adam & Robert Kilpatrick of Lislea."
Two young boys hiding. Image credit.

Adam Kilpatrick (IV) was born on 13th December 1834 in Lislea townland in the parish of Kilrea, county Derry, the son of Adam Kilpatrick (III) (d.1837) and Hester [Hessy] McNeill (c.1807–1890).1 He was baptised in Kilrea Presbyterian church on 5th January 1835.2

Adam’s father died before his younger brother, Robert, was born in 1837.3 For the remainder of her years, their mother led a difficult life. In 1886, Hessy Kilpatrick’s name was recorded in the Outdoor Register of the Ballymoney Poor Law Union.4 On 31st March 1890, Hester McNeill died in the home of John Sloan of Moneygran townland, parish of Kilrea. She was in her eighty-fourth year.5

Though the course of their mother’s fate can be traced, both Adam (IV) and Robert disappear from the Irish record. Other Kilpatrick family members had emigrated as far afield as Australia; perhaps they followed suit.

If an interested reader or near relative to our first cousins (thrice removed), Adam Kilpatrick (b.1834) or Robert Kilpatrick (b.1837), and have information which might solve this family history mystery, please consider dropping a line to Alison Kilpatrick.

Source citation for this page: — Kilpatrick, Alison. “Family history mystery: Adam & Robert Kilpatrick of Lislea.” Citing Adam Kilpatrick (b.1834) of Lislea, parish of Kilrea, county Londonderry, and his brother, Robert, in 1837, sons of Adam Kilpatrick, sen., and Hester McNeill. Published on 13th December 2020 to Arborealis, arborealis.ca/2020/12/13/kilpatrick-mystery/, accessed [insert date of access].

Image credit: — Sharpe, C.W., after W. Mulready (1786–1863). Two young boys hide behind a tree from a woman who is looking for them. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Creative Commons licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). — Follow the Creative Commons licence to find out what options and restrictions are placed on this image.

See also: — the Kilpatrick family history index page.

Footnotes:

  1. Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Kilrea (First) Congregation. Solemnization of a Marriage. Extract: Adam Kilpatrick, son of Adam Kilpatrick and Mary Gordon, and Hester McNeill, daughter of Neill[?] McNeill and Ellen White, married 16th January 1833. Original record held in local custody; microfilm copy held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Belfast). Transcript by Barbara Braswell; posted to Bann Valley Genealogy mailing list (hosted by Richard Torrens), Autumn 2002.
  2. Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Kilrea (First) Congregation. Solemnization of a Baptism. Extract: Adam Kilpatrick, born 13th December 1834; son of Adam and Hester; baptised 5th January 1835. Original record held in local custody; microfilm copy held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Belfast). Transcript by Barbara Braswell; posted to Bann Valley Genealogy mailing list (hosted by Richard Torrens), Autumn 2002.
  3. Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Kilrea (First) Congregation. Solemnization of a Baptism. Extract: Robert Kilpatrick, born 12th June 1837; son of late Adam and Hester; baptised 16th July 1837. Original record held in local custody; microfilm copy held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Belfast). Transcript by Barbara Braswell; posted to Bann Valley Genealogy mailing list (hosted by Richard Torrens), Autumn 2002.
  4. Ballymoney Poor Law Union. Outdoor Register. Index compiled, and hosted online by Ballymoney Ancestry, ballymoneyancestry.com (accessed 2015-02-18).
  5. General Register Office, Ireland. Civil Registration of a Death. Extract: Hester Kilpatrick, female, widow of labourer, aged 87 years, died 31st March 1890 in Moneygran townland; cause of death: senile decay, certified; informant: Robert Sloan, occupier, present at the death, of Moneygran; registered 3rd April 1890, James Lennox, registrar. Archival ref. no. 414/04743416/113. Digital image online at Irish Genealogy, hosted by the Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie (accessed and transcribed by Alison Kilpatrick, 2018-03-22).

Published by Alison Kilpatrick