Finding Ballykeenan

In the early 1850s, while thousands were fleeing Ireland and the devastation caused by the potato famine, somebody or something lured Henry Webster to leave Scotland and to move his entire family to Ireland.

By 1851, Henry Webster, who I introduced in my first post, had become the farm overseer at Inch in the parish of Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, Scotland.  When the census was taken, Agnes was alone at their home in Scotland with three of their four children: John, age 4; Henry, age 2; and the baby, James.  Jessie, their 5 year old daughter, was staying across the river at Cowie Hill in Edzell with her Aunt and Uncle, Elizabeth and Richard Alexander. Henry wasn't home.  Perhaps, Henry was away scouting Ballykeenan, the farm in Ireland where they would soon be moving.


Two years ago, I went on a most extraordinary journey to Ireland. One of the many highlights of the trip was finding my husband's ancestral home, Ballykeenan, near Myshall in County Carlow.  


Come along and join us on our adventure by just clicking on the slide show,  FINDING BALLYKEENAN.

Enjoy.


Sources:
Christian Advocate, December 9, 1908, p. 595:  "Mr William Hopkins first invited the late Mr Henry Webster, of Ballykeenan, to the church (Clonegal). Mr Webster was a Presbyterian. He came from Scotland in the year 1850. He settled down on a farm some five miles distant. On finding there was no Presbyterian church nearer than Carlow, he threw in his lot with our people. He became a very staunch supporter of the cause. Two of his sons are in our ministry today. Mr John Webster JP who lives in the old homestead, has occupied some of the most important offices of our Church. He has represented this circuit at the Conference, and is now the divisional steward for Clonegal District."


1851. Scotland Census 1851 viewed at ancestry.com on July 24, 2007:
Parish Number: 257 Civil parish: Fettercairn  County: Kincardineshire  Address: Inch  
Agnes Webster, head, age 32  b abt 1819  in Edzell, Forfar  Occupation: Farm Overseer's Wife  
Betsy Low, sister, age 30  b Edzell, Forfar
John Webster, age 4, b Fettecairn, Kincadshire
Henny Webster, son, age 2, b Fettecairn, Kincadshire
James Webster, son, age 10 Mo, Fettecairn, Kincadshire
Source Citation: Parish: Fettercairn; ED: 3; Line: 5; Year: 1851.  Source Information:   Ancestry.com. 1851 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Original data: Scotland. 1851 Scotland Census. Reels 1-217. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1851 Scotland Census viewed at ancestry.com on July 24, 2007:

Parish Number: 285  Civil parish: Edzell  County: Angus  Address: Cowiehill  

Richard Alexander, head, age 30, b abt 1821 in Montrose, Forfarshire, Occupation: Ag Lab  

Elisabeth Alexander, wife, age 28, b abt 1823 in Edzell, Forfarshire  

Jessie Webster, niece, age 5, b abt 1846 in Fettercairne, Kincardshire  

Source Citation: Parish: Edzell; ED: 4; Line: 7; Year: 1851.  

Source Information:  Ancestry.com. 1851 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Original data: Scotland. 1851 Scotland Census. Reels 1-217. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.

© 2010, Cathy H Paris

The Road to Fettercairn

In my first post, I wrote about Henry Webster, the progenitor of the World Wide Websters, my email buddies who are descended by blood or marriage from Henry Webster and Agnes Low. Members live in Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, and the USA.

The 1841 Scotland Census has the earliest record we have found for Henry. He was a young man, age 23, working as an agricultural laborer at Inch in the parish of Fettercairn. His wife-to-be, Agnes Low, was working in the town of Fettercairn as a dressmaker, along with her twin sister, Margaret, age 22, and younger sister, Betsey, age 20. Their family lived at Meikle Tullo, the farm in the parish of Edzell where the sisters were born.

Stephanie and Martyn Robey of New Zealand, members of their World Wide Websters, went to Scotland in September 2006 to find a vestige of Henry and Agnes.

 You may join their journey by clicking on the slide show, THE ROAD TO FETTERCAIRN.

Enjoy.

© 2010, Catherine H Paris

Meet Henry Webster

An avid reader as a child, I aspired to become a great novelist. Now approaching the onset of Medicare, my dreams and aspirations have changed. I still aspire to be a writer:

Rather than a novelist be,

I will write about my family tree.

With much trepidation about going public and energized by yesterday’s inspirational news that prayers and modern medicine have partnered to shrink Joey’s brain tumor, I am writing the first article for my genealogy blog. Joey is the firstborn of our four grandchildren. It was almost five years ago that I sent an email to the World Wide Websters heralding Joey’s arrival.

From: Cathy

To: WorldWideWebsters ;

Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2005, 5:33 PM

Subject: New great-great-great-great grandson of Henry Webster

Our grandson was born yesterday at about 7:20 pm ... Baby and parents are fine. Grandparents are ecstatic.

I will send pictures soon.

--Cathy

To commemorate yesterday’s great news, I decided to write about Henry Webster, the progenitor of the World Wide Websters. The World Wide Websters are email buddies who are descended by blood or marriage from Henry Webster. Members live in Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, and the USA.

Our second grandchild was born just 3 months after Joey. Not wanting to name their son after a particular family member to the exclusion of others, our daughter and husband searched for a non-family name. Little did they know that Enrique had a 4^th great grandfather by the name of Henry.

Above is a photograph of Henry Webster surrounding by a newborn picture of Enrique on the left and a newborn picture of Joey on the right. Joey and Enrique will start kindergarten next year. They already know how to find their favorite video clips on Youtube. One day, I hope they will find my blog and read this article.

I received a copy of the photograph of Henry Webster from Colin Richard Mills (1931-2007) of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Colin was the driving force that joined so many of the descendants of Henry into the email group called the World Wide Websters. Colin told me that his copy of Henry’s photograph came from Robin Roddie of Belfast, Ireland, and that Robin found the photograph on page 595 of the Christian Advocate, dated December 9, 1908.

Henry Webster was born on March 1817 in Scotland. I am still trying to find Henry’s birthplace and the name of his parents. In 1841, Henry was working on a farm called Inch. The farm was near Edzell, Scotland. On December 15, 1843, Henry married Agnes Low, the daughter of Janet Jolly and John Low, a cotterman. Agnes’ parents lived at Meikletullo in Edzel. Agnes was born on August 14, 1818. Henry and Agnes immigrated to Ireland in about 1850, and Henry became the tenant farmer at Ballykeenan in Myshall, County Carlow. Henry died at Ballykeenan from a malignancy on August 10, 1881. Agnes outlived Henry by 23 years, dying on October 17, 1904.

What I know about Henry and Agnes and their children and grandchildren is largely attributable to the generosity of the World Wide Websters. They have generously shared their personal knowledge of family history, copies of old photographs, and the results of their research.