Searching for information on John Dobbin

Hello,

I am searching for more information on John Dobbin born 1740 in Conagher, county Antrim.  I believe his parents were James & Sarah (O'Neill) Dobbin.  I would like to know if he had any brothers or sisters. I would also like to confirm that I have his parents correct and whether James (if he truly is his father) had any brothers or sisters.  

More that I know about John.  He married Mary Miller in 1770.  They had 6 son's William, James, John, David, Miller & Samuel.  They also had a daughter Sarah that died as an infant.  Mary and Sarah would be buried in Ireland.  The rest of the family emigrated to the United States in 1797 & 1798.

Thank you for any help that can be provided.

Sincerely,

Heather Glenn (Dobbin)

Hello Heather,

It's great that you are researching your family tree! I'll do my best to point you in the right direction.

Before 1864, records were kept in the form of church and parish records; while some of these have regrettably been lost over the years, all the surviving records have been sorted into county-based genealogical centres. I'd suggest you have a look at the Co. Antrim records for any birth or wedding certificate of John Dobbin. You can also have a look through the archives on the Roots Ireland page or maybe the ships passengers lists for any leads about his family members who emigrated to the US.

I hope this helps. 😊 

Best,
Antoine

Hello Heather

Your problem may well be the one that all people tracing their Irish ancestry eventually face, i.e. once you get beyond registers of baptisms/births and marriages (which are the building blocks of Irish family history) you have few means (unless the precise family history has been documented and passed down through the generations) to confirm family connections.

It would appear that you should concentrate your initial research in Ballymoney parish, County Antrim as the townland of Conagher (spelt as Conogher in Townland Index) is located in this parish.

You can identify all church registers in Ballymoney parish (and indeed in all parishes in Northern Ireland), together with commencement dates, by examining the church guide produced by Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/guide-church-records .

It would appear that only one church in Ballymoney parish has surviving registers prior to 1800, namely 1st Ballymoney Presbyterian church which has baptism registers for the period 1751-1771.

With best wishes

Brian