Coming Home!!!

GIANTS!

We left Belfast today with mixed feelings, after having driven to each location where Thomas & Sarah, Hugh, John and their families lived. Mixed feelings because we were excited to visit the northern coast, and yet disparring because of the closeness we had come to feel towards those who came and also left Belfast, before us. Each experience has strengthened our conviction that the family in the 1852 census is ours.
The drive north was gorgeous! Of course it had to rain on us, but the sun was out and the air was clear when we arrived at the northern sea. First we roamed the abandoned halls of the Castle Dunluce, and then climbed the stairs to the hidden grotto below. The late afternoon was spent in wonder at the grander of Gods beautiful world. A camera, even one as good as Quinn's, can not capture the magnificence of this stone, water, grass and sky. Quinn, Brett and Rich loved it so much they almost decided to stay. Todd couldn't quite stomach the sight of those he loved tempting fate so close to the edge. We are now safely settled into our rooms, and the sun has finally set at 10:45.
Again, thank you for your faith and prays.

Traveling North to the Giants Cuaseway and other adventures

Our last day in Belfast

For two days straight we have searched in PRONI (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland). The facilities are brand new and with in walking distance of down town Belfast, and within eye site of the Titanic Center. It has been very fruitful. With all discoveries there are parts that are very convincing and a few other parts that might cause one to hesitate. We have put some of the more interesting bits of "information" into new.familysearch.org and encourage your discussion. Let us know what you think.
Without revealing any thing specific, we can say that ...
Brett has mastered the maps of the city of Belfast in the 1800's, and knows everywhere the McKennas and Singletons lived. Tomorrow he will take us on a tour.
Rich and Quinn have not only exhausted the baptismal, marriage and death records from the Christ Church, and St. Anns Cathedral data bases, but in the process they have guided our discovery of hundreds of other possible relatives.
Todd has identified at least two or three new resources at the Linen Hall Library that will be helpful in pursuing the discovery of future generations.
Rich has shared with us the history of the church in Ireland, exposing how extremely lucky we are that our ancestors we ever to find the church.
Quinn ended our day by picking a record with Rich that didn,t contain what he wanted but, but added five married siblins to another line. What a way to finish.
Brett has demonstrated how to survive on the "wrong" side of the line.
The weather is truly beautiful, the people are wonderfully convivial (unless driving an automobile), and the spirit has guided us daily.
Thanks for your encouragement and prayers.
Cheery-O

The story begins to take shape.

On Wednesday we traveled from Leslie Castle to Belfast through the beautiful country side. Ireland truly is an emerald isle. We love the country side and the people who live here.

We were able to retrace the steps of John Taylor and the first missionaries to ireland. We even had the opportunity to visit the small lake where the very first person from ireland was baptized. What a wonderful experience.

It turns out the first missionaries were preaching in the cities just immediately south and west of Belfast. This is directly between the Mckenna homelands and Belfast.

We had the opportunity to stop in a town near Lisburn and visited at an information center. The woman there was very helpful and confirmed that during the series of potato famines in the 1840's that many people left all and migrated to where the work was in Belfast. She then directed us to a "linen" museum. We were able to see how this was made and also got some good additional information about when factories begin to be built which would attract people into the belfast area from the surrounding communities.

We are beginning to think seriously that the McKenna's came from this country in the 1840's and that is why we can't find any records of them in belfast prior to this. We also have a really good lead on a birth of a Hugh McKenna with parents in this country. Today's work will be to try and get as much confirming evidence as possible.

We also had the opportunity to revisit Hugh McKenna's grave. That is the picture of Todd pointing to the ground by the tree. There is no head stone. Kind of sad.

The story is beginning to take shape. We are excited and having a wonderful and safe time. Out love goes out to all of family while we are away. You have our prayers and thoughts.

Records, Names, and Books Galore

Today was a busy and full day. We started by working at the public records office in Dublin. Who would have guessed how many books on marriages, deaths and births you could go through in one day. We went through quite a few names and some misses before we found our first matches for the trip. We were able to confirm marriages for one of Hugh McKenna’s children and a couple of other direct hits to add to our records. We are excited to find even more.

You can only get 5 copies of records per person per day, so after we finished with our 20 copies, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Emyvale. We visited a cathedral on the way where John McKenna had been given recognition and memorialized in one of the stain glass windows.

After that we visited a cemetery where the McKenna clan chieftans had been buried. We took down some additional names from here that we will try to do their work as well.

We also visited a hill where a McKenna clan had a three ring fortress built. Please ignore the 4 grown men trespassing across someone’s fence and onto private property.

We also took a drive around the country side and stopped and talked to a really nice norseman. He invited us in for coffee, but we politely declined. The people here in Ireland are really nice.

We are staying tonight at the Lodge at Leslie Castle. We are tired but excited to continue on the search tomorrow in Belfast.