I’ve been at PRONI 4 or 5 days over the summer but most of my work has been focussed on my wife’s family.

One thing I did try to do for my own family was to locate my great grandparents wedding at St Anne’s Church/Cathedral in Belfast. I waded through hundreds between 1892 and 1897 (based upon Mary Ann Smyth and James Robert Brown’s estimate of number of years married on the 1911 census).

I am doing this because I cannot find any marriage for them either on GRONI or the free Irish Government websites and thought it possible that they had not completed the legal registration.

I was unable to find a marriage record there, unfortunately. There are several other churches where they could have got married but most are in local custody.

I spent much of a day going through the Tithe Applotment Books which are available on the computers at PRONI.

This confirmed a James Hanlon at Aghantaraghan, holding 6 acres, 3 rods and 34 perches, mostly of second quality ground but around a 1/3 of 3rd class quality. He paid a tithe of 5 shillings and 3 and a halfpence per year.

I found no Hanlons or Gibsons at Federnagh, Corcrum, Cullentragh or Demoan. This indicates that they held land of very low standing or that they came from elsewhere to the area by the 1860s.

One interesting result from Ancestry’s DNA analysis is that Mum’s DNA contribution to me is counted as much more Scottish than I would have expected. It makes me wonder if the Gibsons or Browns might have come from Scotland in the 19th century?

Against this, however, there are many Browns showing up on the Tithe Applotment Books within Derrynoose Parish. This includes the townlands of Camagh, Corryhughes, Drumherk and Killireavy, Madden, Goland and Lisdrumbrugnas.

I also spotted a Patrick and Thomas Gibson at Camagh and a William Gibson at Madden (possibly two). There was a Joseph Gibson at Goland as well. These are all within Derrynoose Parish.