Belfast, Northern Ireland
My "Ireland" relatives can be traced back to Robert Sr., born 1765 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His five sons and daughter were born there.
Robert Jr. and his brother William came to America together from Belfast in 1829. It's not clear when his brother Henry or father Robert Sr. came across.
Some sources say that his brother John was lost at sea, but it appears likely that he was living in Clermont, OH with Robert Jr.'s family in 1850./p>
While William is not a direct ancestor, his wife's mother was Mary Ann Ireland from Belfast. We have no information about how or if Mary Ann was connected to Robert Sr.,
but it's very possible that they were cousins.
Robert Sr.'s son David James was his only child to stay in Belfast. He's believed to have had 2-3 children, including a son James and daughter Sarah.
Nothing more is known about his family or descendants.
History
While nothing is known about Robert Sr.'s ancestors, it's very likely that they came from Scotland during the Ulster Plantation colonization of Ireland that started in 1609.
Belfast Timeline
- 1765 - Robert Sr. born
- 1799 - Henry born
- 1802 - William B. born
- 1805 - Elizabeth born
- 1807 - David James born
- 1809 - Robert Jr. born
- 1810? - John born
- 1816? - Robert Sr.'s wife dies
- 1829 - William and Robert Jr. emigrate to America
Other events
- Robert Sr., Henry and John emigrate to America
- Elizabeth goes to Tasmania, Australia, where she dies in 1831 at age 26. No known children.
- David James marries and has a son James, a daughter Sarah, and possibly a third child. No other known information about them, but believed to have remained in Belfast.