Ballyrattan, Moville Upper, Donegal (1)

Warning This post will be of little interest to anyone outside my own branch of the family,

The earliest relative I can trace with confidence is a William McCorkell who appears in Griffiths Valuation 1857 for 23 Ballyrattan, Moville Upper, the name is spelt McCorkhill. He was tenant farmer his landlord being a Mr Thomas Ferguson, William farmed 25 acres and the annual rent for land and Farm was £27.

I also have William appearing as father of the groom for the marriage of his son Robert to Jane Williams on the 2nd February 1857, this at a rough guess would make him at least 50, possibly older in 1857 which takes me back to the beginning of the 19th Century.

I have then a tenuous link between William and the William who appears in the Flax Growers Bounty list for Inishowen in 1796, he also came from the Parish of Moville Upper but no other details are given. It is quite likely that William is Williams father but I cannot prove it as yet.

Although William appears in griffiths valuation he does not appear in the 1828 Tithe Applotment list, however a Robert McCorkell does appear, this is confusing were Robert and William brothers? I don't know I have been trying to build 2 separate branches of the family branching from William who appears in 1796.

I know there was a Mary McCorkhill living at 10 Ballyrattan in 1857 (Griffths Valuation) who may have been the widow of Robert mentioned in 1828, jumping forward almost 100 years there is a Robert McCorkell living at #10 in the 1911 census, I have therefore developed a 2 family tree, my own branch living at #23 and a separate branch living at #10.

So in conclusion we have 2 McCorkell families living in Ballyrattan, Upper Moville in the 19th century who may or may not have been related, it seems highly probable that they were, although numbers of McCorkells had increased dramatically in the 19th century Donegal there was still only the 2 families listed for Upper Moville.

to be continued...