McDonald Family - Carnan, Port Glasgow

The McDonald name has roots in Scotland but is widespread through Ireland but they are all of one family, Son of Donald.  The Donald in this case was grandson of Somerled, King of Mann and the Isles (1158-1164) and in doing the research for this family it's important to note that in some instances in Ireland the name is written as M'Donnell or McDonnell as well as McDonald.

William McDonald was probably a farmer born around Carnan, Tyrone, Northern Ireland, he and his wife Ellen Dorman have eight children including two sets of twins.  Family history has it that there were quite a few more children born earlier than the ones listed but I have yet to located any records for them.  Their son John was born in 1864,  William was born 29 April 1866 in Cookstown, Northern Ireland,  twins James and Margaret born 13 April 1868, Cookstown, twins Eliza Jane and Joseph were born 4 May 1871 and Thomas was born 30 July 1874.  Family history has it that William snr died sometime around 1874.

The absence of census records makes it difficult to detail much about their lives, young Thomas was in Port Glasgow for the Scottish Census in 1901 and was listed as Tom McDonald and was still single.  Meanwhile back in Ireland the widow Ellen was listed as a Farmer living with her children:

 Townland of Carnan, Parish of Arboe:  

RoCa = Roman Catholic, RW = read and write, RO = read only, NR = neither read nor write, MA = married, NM = unmarried, WI = widow or widower, HD = husband or head, SO = son, DA = daughter, GS = grandson,  NE = nephew or neice, SIL = sister in law, Co.T = County Tyrone.

So since none of the children are married the John McDonald listed is probably son of another child of William and Ellen Dorman.  Ellen Dorman died on  20  November 1908 from Bronchitis, oddly enough her death certificate was "signed" by the illiterate William McDonald her son.  The death certificate put her age at 59 year although she was already 63 years in 1901. 

The 1911 census for Ireland was released early as most of the previous census had been destroyed by fires and the family are still living in Carnan.  The census also stated that Elizabeth and John had been married 8 years and only had the one child, Joseph.

Townland of Carnan, Parish of Arboe:

John McDonald married Elizabeth Brady were married on the 16 September 1902 in Carnan, Tyrone, Northern Ireland and their son Joseph was born c1904.  As yet I don't know what happened to this Irish McDonald Family after the census.  Thomas McDonald meanwhile back in Scotland married Elizabeth Quinn on 5 January 1903 in Port Glasgow.  Their children were Helen 1903, Mary Anne 1905, William John 1907 (died 1908), Elizabeth 1909, Annie 1912 and twins Daniel and James 1916.

Helen McDonald married Henry Tosh in 1925 and they had five children, Mary Anne married Thomas Burgess in 1928.  Thomas was not a Catholic and they moved to Moffatt Dumfries and Galloway and had three children.  Elizabeth married Matthew McKimm in 1931 and they had four children.  Annie McDonald married John Clark in 1940 in Luton, England.  Daniel became a plumber and died in a motorcycle accident with his future brother in law John Clark in 1939, James joined 155th Field Regiment and was killed in action when Singapore fell to the Japanese on 13 February 1942.  Further details of his voyage to Singapore is detailed in the book Out of the Depths of Hell by John McEwan.  I have heard that there is a portrait of these twins etched into a mirror held by members of the family in Scotland

Annie McDonald was sent to live in Ireland with her father's family, the reason for which I don't know.  She was sent about 1920 and stayed until 1928, while there she attended the Albany Elementry School.  In the photo I'm not really sure which one is Annie but my best guess going by her age at the time would be the first girl in the doorway in the back row. 

Her brother died on the back of a motorbike which her future husband was driving on 15 August 1939 and they went away to England and were married on 22 June 1940 in Luton.  Her occupation at the time of her marriage was something like Feltmakers "Hardener"  Their first child a girl was born in Scotland in 1944 and three more girls followed.