[I recently received an email asking a series of several part questions. I think a number of others have wondered the same things, so I will post my answers here.]
Do we know when Joseph & Mary Campbell moved to Northern Ireland? I have that their son Joseph was born 1793 in Scotland, William was born in N. Ireland in 1795, and James was also born in No. Ireland in 1798. So it would appear that Joseph & Mary moved their family to No. Ireland sometime between 1793 and 1795. I assume we don’t know exactly when. Do you know under what circumstances they moved to N. Ireland. Was it for jobs in the Belfast Iron Works, or were there other contrtibuting issues that made them make the move? Also, do you know their line of work in Scotland, prior to moving to N. Ireland?
There’s conflicting evidence as to which child was born where, but I’m fairly confident that the 4 eldest children (Sally,, John, Mary & Elizabeth) were born in Scotland and the 3 youngest ones (Joseph, William & James) were born in N. Ireland. Which, if correct, means the move was made between 1789 & 1793. The answer to all the other questions is “No.”
This is pure speculation, and worth what you paid for it, but here’s a conjecture for you to consider. We have no idea what their occupation were in Soctland, farmers, fishermen or whatever. But what if they were employed in iron works in Scotland? That would have earned them a large bonus for emigrating to N. Ireland. And at that time, the largest concentration of iron works in Scotland was around Glasgow, which is about 55 miles southeast of Inveraray. which we discussed in Question 1.
Note Ayrm which is about 35 miles southwest of Glasgow.
In Scotland, everywhere you look, there are many different maps of the country, purporting to show where various surnames lived. ‘Harper’ is a thin reed to build an edifice upon. It derived from an occupation, and there were harp players, unrelated to each other, all over the British Isles. Nevertheless, when looking at one such map, my attention was caught by noticing ‘HARPER’, between Ayr and Glasgow,. And then seeing ‘HAZLETT’ next to Glasgow. And my interest hightened at seeing ‘CAMPBELL’ next to Ayr (and in many other places). It’s not “evidence” and may just be coincidence or a fluke. It’s a very remote possibility, but worth keeping in mind while we look for better evidence.
Thank you for another wonderful post. Where else could anybody get that type of information in such a perfect way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such info.
Thanks, bunches, Bill, for this mind-boggling amount of work you have done for every cousin !!!! Marylyn