Mary Ann (Johnston) Gray (abt. 1839 - 1905)

Born about 1839 in Milltown, County Down, Ireland

Died 21 Jun 1905 at about age 66 in Hillcrest, Fort William Park, Belfast, Ireland

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Biography

Mary's birth year, 1839, is calculated from her age at marriage on 10 June 1859 (20 years old). ^[1]

On 10 June 1859, Mary Johnston and Hugh Gray married at Malone, County Antrim. Hugh is listed as a 30 year old Blacksmith, son of William Gray, also a blacksmith. Mary is listed as daughter of James Harvey Johnston, shoemaker. Both William and Mary are recorded as living in Miltown. It was a first marriage for both Hugh and Mary. Witnesses to the wedding were Robert Johnston and John Johnston, presumably Mary's brothers who were soon to emigrate to New Zealand. ^[2]

In the 1864 Griffiths Valuation records, a Hugh Gray is listed as residing in a house and forge in Drumbo, Ballynavally. ^[3]

Mary Ann and Hugh had perhaps as many as six children together - Hugh b. 1866, James b. 1868, Robert b. 1869, Henry b. 1871, William b. ~1868 and perhaps a daughter born about 1870.

Hugh died in 1872, of typhoid fever. ^[4]

In October 1878, Mary Ann Gray, daughter of [James Harvey Johnston [Johnston-10110]], a widow, married, by licence, John McWhirter, occupation modeller, also a widower, at Fisherwick Place Church. ^[5] Witnesses were Thomas and Eliza Mansell, Mary Ann's sister and brother in law.

The M.A. McWhirter who registered the death of [James Harvey Johnston [Johnston-10110]] in 1886 is most likely to be Mary Ann.

Mary Ann McWhirter is listed on the 1901 Census return for her son, William Gray's, household. Mary Ann was listed as a widow. There were three other men in the house, all boarding. Her son William is listed as single, working as an iron moulder. ^[6]

Sixty seven year old Mary Ann died on 1 July 1905 at 125 Westmoreland Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her brother Henry Johnston registered her death. The certificate lists her as widow of Hugh Gray, with a note in the margin that she was widow of John McWhirter, plasterer, at the time of her death. ^[7]

Research notes

In the 1864 Griffiths Valuation records for Drumbo, Ballynavally, Hugh Gray, William Gray, and James Harvey Johnston are all listed as immediate lessees and residents, and (secondary) lessors. ^[8]

Hugh died in 1872, of typhoid fever. His death certificate lists him as a married blacksmith. Thomas Johnston (also a resident of Drumbo, Ballynavally in the 1864 Griffiths Valuation records, was informant of the death. ^[9]

Mary Ann's father's death certificate records the 16 year old daughter of M.A. McWhirter being present at his death. This would suggest that Mary Ann and Hugh had at least one child. Sixteen years old in 1886 would put the daughter's birth year at approximately 1870, two years before Hugh's death.

Sources

1. ↑ Belfast Church Marriages, accessed from https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/
2. ↑ https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1859/09565/5467957.pdf
3. ↑ Original data: General Valuation of Ireland. Dublin, Ireland: Irish Microforms Ltd., 1978. National Archives, Dublin and Public Record Office, Belfast. Accessed on ancestry.com
4. ↑ https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1872/020740/7276293.pdf
5. ↑ https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1878/11115/8068652.pdf
6. ↑ http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000354437/
7. ↑ https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1905/05588/4570273.pdf
8. ↑ Original data: General Valuation of Ireland. Dublin, Ireland: Irish Microforms Ltd., 1978. National Archives, Dublin and Public Record Office, Belfast. Accessed on ancestry.com
9. ↑ https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1872/020740/7276293.pdf