There appears to be a connection between the Bogstown Laird’s and the Breden/Bredin family from Ballynagard. In 1886 William Bredin traveled with Richard Laird to Australia on the SS Orient and later married the widow Annie Rowe in Melbourne (the mother of Jean Absalom who married Richard in October 1889). William Bredin was the son of William Bredin & Margaret (nee Brown Bredin of Ballymagrorty) who were married on Jan 16th 1850 at Derry 1st Presbyterian Church. The family grave is located at Culmore Church of Ireland graveyard near the Muff border.
9 Comments
David Kemp
My gg grandmother was Sarah Bredin (Braden in Canada now) married to Robert Henry pre 1820. The family lived at Condermott /Glendermott and emigrated to Canada around 1845. Their son William Henry who died in 1889 left a sum of money to William Henry Bredin in Londonderry.
It is likely we are related to thiese people; an old letter mentions Ballymagrorty.
Gil Breden
Can you tell the relationship between the family Laird and Breden. My relative was born Donegal about 1806 + – and moved to England about 1820
Sean Conley
My ggggg grandmother was Yally Bredin who married Ezekial Moore and lived in Ballymagrorty. Their daugther, Anne Moore (b. abt 1795) married John McAdoo and came to the US with their two children Sarah and Robert. Interested if anyone has extract from will of Bredins in 19th century in mid-1800s and earlier.
Lynne Bredin
Hello Sean,
In the Registry of deeds project Ireland there is a marriage settlement dated 1776 concerning John Bredin of Ballymagroarty ( my Dad’s relatives), and Isabella Moore daughter of Ezekiel Moore of Ballymagroarty.
I’d love to know where you found the information about Yally Bredin and do you think Yally is short for something?
Regards
Lynne Bredin
Lynne Bredin
Hello Sean,
We appear to be related as there was a marriage settlement in1776 re a John Bredin of Ballymagroarty ( my father’s relatives) and Isabella Moore, daughter of Ezekiel Moore of Ballymagroarty. You can find it in the Registry of Deeds Index Ireland.
I’d love to know what information you have on Ezekiel Moore and Yally Bredin. Is there a written record somewhere?
Regards
Lynne
Julian Margaret Bentley Edelman
Dear Lynne,
My name is Julian Margaret Bentley Edelman . I believe you connected with my brother Sean Bentley some years back while he was researching our family tree on our dad’s side. Our father was George Nelson Bentley IV (1918-1990). His father was George Bentley III, and his father was John Bentley– married to Margaret Bredin. Our great grandmother Margaret Bredin Bentley was the daughter of William Mitchell Bredin (1823-1885) and Sarah Shaw Bredin. My brother traced our family back a bit further as well. My husband David and I will be traveling to Ireland later this year and hope to visit some places where my ancestors once lived. If you have any suggestions for us we would love to hear them. Thanks so much, sincerely Julian
Lynne Bredin
Dear Julian,
Good to hear from you. I did indeed connect with Sean and we exchanged some information. My 2x great grandmother Jane Bredin was a sister of William Mitchell Henry Bredin. Their parents ( so our shared ancestors:))were Ezekiel Bredin and Margaret Laird. Unfortunately I have no idea where their farm was in Ballymagroarty but I suspect it may be built over by now. I plan to visit the public record office in the coming weeks to see if I can find this out. According to newspaper records Margaret Bredin ( nee Laird) is buried at St Columbs Cathedral Derry/Londonderry so presumably her husband Ezekiel is there too. There is an Ezekiel Bredin buried there d 1840 aged 58, son of William and Jane Bredin, ( born in 1736 and 1745), but no mention of Margaret on that headstone??? I do believe however that this is our Bredin family, as my great grandfather had a headstone there recarved and Cathedral records show that this one was recarved ( it states the original age was 58 ). So for some reason Margaret’s name may not have been added?? I’m not sure burial records exist for that period. Even if it’s not your direct ancestors, given the recarving story, they definitely appear to be our Bredins. The headstone lies flat on the grass next the left side of Cathedral looking from the main entrance gate.)
There are a number of Detroit, Michigan photos in our old Bredin album. I’ve been able to identify William’s daughter Jane for sure and possibly Margaret as a young girl? I could email a copy of the Detroit photos to you if you liked? If you need any other help with your visit, let me know. I’m not far away.
My email is lynne.bredin@btinternet.com
Sincerely Lynne
Lynne Bredin
Dear Julian,
My 2x great grandmother Jane ( daughter of Margaret Laird and Ezekiel Bredin, Ballymagroarty ), married Ezekiel Bredin, Drumcorn, Londonderry, and went to live there. If you google Drumcorn farm cottage, that will take you to the location. Part of the farmhouse i.e. the room to the right of the front door was the old house where she lived. A walk around the city’s walls, also the Peace bridge, the guildhall, and Saint Columbs Cathedral could be interesting for you. The Laird townlands of Elagh and Bogstown aren’t that far from the city. Should you wish to meet if you have time feel free to contact me :)
Lynne
Julian Bentley Edelman
Dear Lynne,
I have just seen your kind response to my inquiries on this website! Please excuse my late return mail! My husband and I have spent the last month settling in and exploring Ireland, where we’ll be staying through January 2025. Currently, we are staying in Galway. However, we will be making a short trip up to Derry/Londonderry this coming Tuesday, September 3rd. I was searching the Derry library website in preparation, to glean family information, and thought I’d revisit the Laird-Bredin website to look at the image of the Bredin grave at Cullamore Cathedral, when I saw your messages. :-) I’m so glad that I checked the site!
Our plan during our two-day visit (September 3-6th) is to visit the Bredin family gravesite, which now sounds as if it’s at St. Columb’s Cathedral, not Cullamore as I’d thought. Ezekiel Bredin and Margaret Laird Bredin were my ggg grandparents on my father’s side. The “other” Ezekiel Bredin’s wife Jane was the sister of my gg grandfather William–Margaret Bredin Bentley’s father, I think. There’s a lot of Margarets and Ezekiels!!
I would love to meet you and share stories, information and pictures. My brother Sean is the family archivist, and he would be thrilled to see your family photos from Michigan (as would I, of course). I have with me a book that my brother Sean put together, which has our family photographs from Michigan in it, as well as other information he collected. Included is a photo of your Jane and Ezekiel. I realize this is very short notice of my trip to Londonderry/Derry. I have also written to your private email, where you will find my email address. (If it went to your junk folder for some reason, you may see an email from JulesBpretzel).
We are looking forward to seeing Derry/Londonderry, and exploring many of the sites you mention. It will be our first visit to Northern Ireland. As I said, we are going to be in Ireland for several months, working on various writing projects and immersing ourselves in the place.
Warm wishes, and thank you for connecting!
Julian Bentley Edelman