Dave,
I had a look at the tithe applotment records for Ballykine, and Ballykine Upper & Lower. There were no Hamiltons in Ballykine Upper or Lower, which is helpful in a way. The only 2 households were in Ballykine itself.
The tithe records are dated 1826 and list 21 households in the townland. No 9 was a Thomas Hamilton who has 22 acres, 2 roods & 37 perches, and beside him at no 10 was a David Hamilton with 21 acres 1 rood and 37 perches. The acres are Irish measure which equals 1.62 English acres.
So I would guess that these 2 farms, side by side, must be the same 2 farms listed in Griffiths in the 1860s. (So if they were originally one farm split, then it happened before 1826). I took a copy of the tithe records and if you want it, I can e-mail it to you.
I then had a closer look at the information in Griffiths. As you know in the initial valuation in 1863, James Hamilton had plots 15 & 16, with John Hamilton senior on 16b. John Hamilton jr was on plot 18. Only the initial valuation is on line. However the valuation clerks revisited the properties from time to time to record changes of owners and tenants and also any improvements, in which case they bumped up the value. These revaluations are not on line, but they are held in PRONI. So I checked them out today.
The first revaluation records that James Hamilton ceased to be the tenant of 15 & 16 in 1875 and was replaced by Isabella Hamilton. The normal interpretation from that is that he died then, and Isabella was his wife, who would have had a life interest in the property. John Hamilton snr was still alive and moved from 16b to 16a in 1875. I took a photocopy of these changes and can e-mail them to you if you want.
On plot 18, John Hamilton has gone and been replaced by a James McMaster in 1869. I can’t draw any conclusions about why he might have left.
Next change, on plot 15, is that it changes from Isabella Hamilton to Eleanor Hamilton in 1887. Normal inference from that is that Isabella had died and the farm passed to her unmarried daughter Eleanor. 2 years later in 1889 it changes again from Eleanor Hamilton to Eleanor Tate indicating she had married, (to John Tate, registered Downpatrick Oct – Dec 1884 Vol 1, page 651.) John Hamilton is still on 16a, but with 30 acres, and with Eleanor having 6.
Next change is in 1905 when plot 15 changes from Eleanor Tate to John Tate. On plot 16 the tenant is the “reps of John Hamilton” indicating he is dead around 1905. It changes to Thomas Hamilton in 1907.
Linking that to the 1901 census, here’s John Hamilton before his death:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Dromara/Ballykine/1237904/
Here’s Eleanor Hamilton in 1901, with her husband John Tate:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Dromara/Ballykine/1237915/
And in 1911:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Down/Dromara/Ballykine/247145/
John Tate was still in possession of 15 in 1928, having bought the farm under the Land Purchase Act. Likewise Thomas Hamilton on 16.
Looking at the townlands of Ballykine Upper and Lower, we know there were no Hamiltons there in 1826. Likewise none in 1863. The revaluation records tell me that a John Hamilton acquired plot 15 in Ballykine Lower from Simon Martin in 1870. He stayed there till 1915 when he was replaced by David Hamilton. The property had been purchased in 1911 under the Land Act. He was still there in 1928. In addition a Dr Samuel Hamilton took plot 53 in Ballykine Upper in 1891. It passed to Andrew Hamilton in 1920 and then to a John Gibson in 1921.
Your search for James Hamilton 1812-1820 probably isn’t very likely to get a correct match. Very few Presbyterian records outside Dublin are on line anywhere, but in this case you say that the family attended Ballynahinch 1st Pres church. Their baptism records don’t start till 1841 (the earlier one are obviously lost, as often happened). So I’d say the records you are looking for are lost. So you’ll only get a match with fairly limited info eg either someone else’s tree or LDS submitted data which is usually not very reliable.
With the death searches, bear in mind that death registration only started in 1864, so if James or Ellen died before that you won’t get one.
You ask about ordering the certs on-line. The only snag with that is that you have to pay the full fee of €10 plus postage, whereas with the photocopy option it’s only €4 provided you give them the place, year, quarter etc. But if you can’t print off the form I can see that’s a nuisance for you. But if you are only ordering one or two, the cost probably isn’t that important.
Your information (as per your post no 11) is that James Hamilton took the famr over. Well Griffiths tells us that there was a James on plots 15 & 16 in 1863, so that seems to fit OK. He seems to have died around 1875. Also the name Ellen is clearly a family name both in your information and in Griffiths. So that fits too.
Anyway I’ll leave you to mull this lot over.
Re the graveyards, they could probably be in any of the ones you have found. We’d need to check the Church of Ireland as well, as it was very common for Presbyterians to be buried in COI graveyards. (Goes back to before Presbyterian churches were built and COI had a monopoly. So once a family plot was acquired in a COI graveyard Presbyterians tended to carry on using it, even when Presbyterian graveyards did become available0.
I tried this site, searching on Hamilton & Ballykine but got no matches:
http://www.historyfromheadstones.com/index.php?inscriptiondb
I see the information in post 13, which I take it you got from Ros Davies site. It will be hard work working out which relate to your family. You may be able to follow up some of the references and see the primary docs.
Re Arthur Willoughby Stafford, he is listed in Jim Herlihy’s book on RIC Officers. It says he was born 1819 Co Cavan, son of Major Stafford of the Londonderry Militia; 3rd sub inspector 1.1.1845; County Inspector 26.5.1869, pensioned 15.2.1880; died 28.12.1903 Gardenmore, Larne, Co Antrim; administration granted 30.11.1904 at Belfast to Jane Hall and Elizabeth R Nelson, effects £3,292. 11s 0d. He’s on LDS 2097/144, which would presumably say where he served in 1854.
Elwyn
