The requested search into your ancestry has now been completed. Our first task was to assess the information which you provided us with. We knew that William Leith/Leech was born in 1864, the son of a Samuel Leith and a Margaret 'Peggy' Craig. There were a number of siblings born between 1855 and 1870. The townland of Slaght was a possible birth place. William Leith married Annie Nicholl in 1891, and they had a number of children.
Our next step was to assess the relevant sources we could utilise for the purposes of this search. The Foundation has on computer all civil marriages (Protestant 1845-1922 and Roman Catholic 1864-1922) for Cos. Antrim and Down, including Belfast. Obligatory, universal registration of marriages, births and deaths only commenced in 1864. Since the dates of marriage for this family would fall within these parameters, we felt confident that some information would be uncovered.
We were fortunate. We identified the marriage record of William Leith and Annie Nicholl in Cullybackey Presbyterian Church. The date was July 17th, 1891 The groom was a bachelor farmer, of Slaght. This townland is located in the parish of Connor, near the large market town of Ballymena. William's father was given as Samuel Leith, also a farmer. The groom is described was 'Full Age', meaning aged 21 years or over. The bride was a spinster of Craignageeragh. Her father was a John Nicholl, a farmer. Annie is also 'Full Age'. The two witnesses were Elizabeth Leith and Johnston Nicholl. The clergyman who officiated was Rev. W.G. Strahan, and the marriage was by licence. The details are from register 3, page 83, entry 165.
Since we knew William's father's name, and who he was married to, we checked if this marriage record was available. Once more, we were fortunate. The marriage of Samuel Leith and Margaret Craig took place on February 7th, 1851, in Ahoghill First Presbyterian Church.
The groom was a bachelor weaver of Slaght. His father - William's grandfather - was a John Leith, a weaver. The groom was 24 years old, meaning he was born c. 1826-27. The bride was a spinster of Cloghogue. Her father was a William Craig, a farmer. She was 22 years old. The two witnesses were Robert Leith and James Craig. The clergyman who officiated was Rev. D. Adams and the marriage was by licence. The details are from register 1, page 89, entry 117. This allowed us to determine both name of parents, a location and a time basis for future research. We also wondered if any marriages of Samuel's siblings would be on record.
We located a marriage of a John Leith, the son of a John Leith, in Ballymena 3rd Presbyterian Church on July 21st, 1849. This is probably Samuel's brother. The bride is an Elizabeth Craig, daughter of William Craig. This is the probable sister of Margaret. The groom was a weaver, also aged 24 years. However, the address is given as Drummaul, which is the name of a parish in the Randalstown area of Co. Antrim. The bride was 19 years old and still located in Cloghogue. The two witnesses were Robert Leith - probably the same man who was a witness at Samuel's marriage, and a likely brother - and James Dempster. The Rev. H.J. Dobbin officiated and the marriage was by licence. The details are from register 1, page 25, entry 50.
We decided to leave the database at this point in order to concentrate on other sources. We next examined the records of the tithe survey c. 1830 and the valuation records 1862 for the various parishes. These two sources were 'Griffith's Valuation' and tithe applotment books.
'Griffith's Valuation' is so called after Sir Richard Griffith, who oversaw the compilation of these tenement valuation records between 1848-64. They are useful in locating people in the mid-nineteenth century. They are available for every parish and county in Ireland. However, the sub-divisions of these volumes are as follows. Counties are split into baronies. These are then divided into Poor Law Unions. These correspond to a large market town which was the centre for administering outdoor relief under the Irish Poor Law Act. These towns had a workhouse managed by a Board of Guardians.
Poor Law Unions are then divided into parishes, and they are then divided into townlands which are the smallest administrative unit in Ireland. The parishes we were interested in were Ahoghill and Connor. Both fall within the Poor Law Union of Ballymena. We checked the relevant book on the search room shelves of the Public Record Office Northern Ireland (PRONI) and the following was noted.
In the parish of Ahoghill, the first interesting entry we found was for a Goodlet and Ellen Leech. They were located in Tullaghgarley. They leased a house and land from the representatives of George Joy. Within the village of Gracehill, we located a Joseph Craig. He leased one acre from the Moravian Society. Within the village of Ahoghill, an Alexander Nicholl was located, whilst in Lisnafillen, an Ellen and James Nicholl were located. The next townland we checked was Craignageeragh. We already knew this was where Annie Nicholl was living at the time of her marriage. The following was noted.
There were a number of Nicholls residing in this townland, all in close proximity (numbers 20-25). There was a Thomas and Jane Nicholl , who leased 18 and 24 acres, respectively, from Charles Adair. However, there were two interesting entries. The first was a John Nicholl who was at number 23b (Hugh Nicholl was at number 23a). Could this be John Nicholl , who was Annie's father? Furthermore, at number 25, an Anne Nicholl was listed leasing a plantation of one acre from Adair. Is this the woman William Leith married? Or could this Anne Nicholl be John's wife or sister? We do not know. The date of this valuation was 1862 and as Annie Nicholl was married in 1891. It is highly unlikely that the Anne mentioned here is the same woman, given the age difference. However, it is likely that some of the people mentioned are Annie's siblings, uncles and aunts. The precise inter-relationship is impossible to tell.
In Limnaharry, a Robert and James Craig were listed. Is he the man who acted as a witness at William's marriage? In Cordonaghy, three Nicholls - George, Thomas and Joseph - were all listed as leasing land. In Galgorm townland, a Thomas Leech leased a garden from a Margaret Agnew. In Galgorm Parks, a number of Craig and Nicholl entries were located, although the
most significant entry was for a George Leech who leased a house, out-buildings and land from a John Young. There were a few more Craig and Nicholl names in the same townland and in Dunclug, but no name of immediate interest.
We then checked the parish of Connor. We knew that Slaght was in this parish, and it was here that three interesting entries were found. At number 3e, a Martha Leith was recorded. She leased a house from a Robert Harper. At number 6, a Samuel Leith leased a house and land from a Stafford McCartney of 8 acres worth �5/15 shillings. This is likely to be William's father. We also noted a John Leith at number 7 leasing a house. This could be either Samuel's father or his brother. If this is Samuel's brother, then it is possible the Martha Leith is Samuel and John's mother. The father - John senior - could have died. There was also a James Nicholl listed at number 26. That was the final entry of note.
Ideally, the next source we would have liked to have searched would have been census returns. Although a census was taken in Ireland every ten years from 1821, a fire in the Four Courts in Dublin in 1922 (a shell hit the building where the documents were housed during the War of Irish Independence) destroyed the returns between 1821-51. Added to this was a government directive which pulped the returns between 1861-91. Thus, the extent of census material is negligible. The 1851 census is available for very few parishes in Co. Antrim. Connor and Ahoghill are not included.
One rough census substitute are tithe applotment books. They are available at parish level, and they act as a type of farm or rural census. They list people liable to pay tithe to the 'Established' Church of Ireland in the 1820s and 1830s. Tithe was payable by all other denominations. However, this system was arbitrary and unfair. In 1823, Richard Wellesley -the Duke of Wellington's brother - introduced the Tithe Composition Act. It made provision for a twice-yearly sum based upon land value and quality to replace the old system. Those liable to pay tithe were recorded in tithe applotment books.
We checked the book for the parish of Ahoghill, and the following was noted. The date of the book was January 3rd, 1826. The first entry of note was for a Margaret Nicholl in the Four Towns of Ahoghill. There were two more Nicholl names in Aughnahoy - John and Widow Nicholl. However, we did locate a John Leech along with an Enoch and Peter Craig in Ballykennedy. A number of Nicholls were present in Ballyminestha and Ballyclosh, however, we did note a Robert Nicholl in Craignageeragh. This may be John Nicholl's father and Annie Nicholl's grandfather. There was another Nicholl in Cullybackey, along with a William Leech.
Indeed, there was a Matthew, Thompson, Robert and Peter Leech in Galgorm Parks. It's possible the Robert Leech maybe the one mentioned on the marriage records as a witness. In Killy?, we noted a Samuel Leech. Given that Samuel appears to be a recurring name in this family, it is possible this may be a relative. It may be John Leith's (the father of Samuel who married Margaret Craig) father, given the date. There continued to be a proliferation of Craig and Nicholl names, although we did locate a John Leech in Loan townland.. There was also a Robert Leech listed in Teeshan, and a Samuel Leech in Tullaghgarley. They may be the same people mentioned before who leased land elsewhere. Since we located a Goodlet and Ellen Leech in Tullaghgarley, in 'Griffith's Valuation', Samuel maybe related to them. That was the final entry of note located in this parish.
We checked the book for the parish of Connor also. We located a John Leech in Castlegore, as well as several Craig and Nicholl names. However, within the townland of Slaght, there was no mention of any Leech/Leith, Craig or Nicholl names. The date of the book was October 28th, 1835. Therefore, it is probable that these families moved to Slaght after this time.
After these sources had been consulted, our task grew trickier. When one searches for families in the eighteenth century and beyond, very few documents exist. One source which can be useful for tracing people are flax premium lists. They are available in 1796 for virtually all Ireland and especially full for the northern counties - such as Tyrone, Londonderry and Donegal. The government sponsored farmers to grow flax on their land in an effort to boost the linen industry. We checked the 1796 flax premium listings for Co. Antrim which unfortunately are very incomplete. However, there was no entry for any relevant names in the Ballymena area.
Another source are the 1776 religious returns. Again, these do not cover every parish. We did not locate any entries of relevance. We then checked the listings of Protestant Householders in 1740. On this occasion, we were fortunate. Two relevant entries were recorded. A William Leech was recorded in 'Ballymenagh' parish, whilst in Ahoghill, a George Leech was recorded. The final source which we checked were Hearth Money rolls in the 1660s. Anyone who owned a hearth or fixed fireplace was obliged to pay tax on it. Those liable were listed. We checked the relevant records but, we could not locate anything of interest.
Gravestone inscriptions can, on occasion, prove worthwhile. We checked this source for the parishes of Connor and Ahoghill and the following was noted:
St. Saviour's, Connor.
LEETCH Erected by Alexander Leetch in memory of his beloved wife, Ann Leetch who departed this life 29th January 1839 aged 28 years.
LEETCH Erected by Peter Leetch of Cross in memory o his father Hugh Leetch who died 1837. Also his mother Jane Leetch who died 1870 And his son Samuel Leetch who died 12th April 1887 aged 24 years 'Asleep in Jesus'.
LEETCH Erected by Samuel Leetch of ? in memory of his kinsman John Leetch of Castlegore who departed this life the 3 1 st ? also the above Samuel Leetch who departed this life 3rd April 1850 aged 53 years. Also John, son of Samuel Leetch who departed this life 21st Decr 1878 aged 51 years Also Agnes Carnaghan wife of Samuel Leetch who died 8th Feby 1884 aged 84 years.
That was the final inscription relating to the name Leetch/Leech or Leith which we located in this volume. It could be possible that the John Leech of Castlegore mentioned in the tithe book is the same John Leetch mentioned above. The names Samuel and John again recur.
Time did not permit further investigation beyond this point. However, we can tell you that some Leetch wills and letters of administration have been identified for people in the Ballymena area. We could check these in a subsequent search. We could also undertake a more in-depth search of gravestone inscriptions for other churches in the Ballymena area. Likewise, valuation revision books could highlight when and to whom the property of those mentioned in Griffith's Valuation was passed on.
Regarding church records, since a number of churches were highlighted in marriage records found on our database, we could - in the first instance - check the microfilm registers in PRONI for Cullybackey Presbyterian. They could unearth more details of the Leech-Craig-Nicholl families. A budget of �50 would be required to search this church. If results look promising, you could increase the budget which would allow us to check other churches in the area, and the sources mentioned above. In any event, we hope this present report is of interest and value to you and your family.
UHF4/99/147
Sources List
Uster Historical Foundation Database Marriages (Craig, Leech/Leith, Nicholl) Ballymena area, Co. Antrim
Public Record Office Northern Ireland (PRONI)
'Griffith's Valuation' of Tenements (Printed Version)
County: Antrim
Barony: Lower Antrim
Poor Law Union: Ballymena
Parishes: Connor and Ahoghill
Date: 1862
Tithe Applotment Books
Parish: Connor
Date: 28th October 1835
Reference: FIN/5A/83
Parish: Ahoghill
Date: 3rd January 1826
Reference: FIN/5A/10
Gravestone Inscriptions
Ballymena Area
(St. Saviour's, Connor) Leetch
Flax Premium Lists 1796
Nil
Religious Returns 1776
Nil
Hearth Mongy Rolls 1669
Leetch (Ahoghill)
Leetch ('Ballymenagh')
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