Two Very Different Moses McDonalds
Before we had Internet access to PRONI (Provisional Records of Northern Ireland) we only “knew” what a “professional genealogist”, Brian Leese sold us about Moses McDonald. This page from my 1966 Book of Remembrance was only sourced by a notation “Research by Brian Leese”. Literally the only correct information is the name Moses McDonald and Ila Fisher Maughan’s info. Everything else is incorrect. Grace or Grizelda Maxwell was NOT married to Moses McDonald. James was NOT born in Ballylesson and NONE of the siblings listed (from all over County Down) have been verified. Some family members maintain this unsupported information on their tree on Ancestry.com and Family Search.org because the temple work has been done. I don’t begrudge any temple work being done, but NOT INSTEAD of the work for our actual ancestors! Brian Leese alleged the Maxwell line tied into royalty and claimed royal lines go back to Adam! This is NOT only inaccurate, but misleading thousands to not do further research when the Internet makes it much easier than ever before for anyone to do research of the original records.
Moses McDonald
This Individual Summary (below) is taken from the research of Eunice Young from 1976. She discovered film #258610 in an LDS Family History Library of the Carnmoney Presbyterian Church in Belfast Ireland of a 1776 christening of a James whose father was listed as John McDonnald (with two ‘n’s). On the next page was a 1778 christening of Moses which listed John McDonnald as his father. This is properly sourced, accurate information.
This is our Moses who was christened at Carnmoney Presbyterian Church in Belfast, This is an actual christening bowl from that period that is still preserved and pictured below. It is amazing to imagine Moses McDonald being christened in such a pewter bowl in 1778.
The Carnmoney Presbyterian Church registry of records, the right column, 7th name from the top read, “Aug 30 1778 Moses, parent John McDonnald. In the first column, 27 lines down is an older brother “Sept 27th, 1776 James, parent John McDonnald”. The Scottish tradition was to first name a son after his paternal grandfather and then a son after his maternal grandfather and then other relatives. Given names were repeated generation after generation. If our ancestors continued this tradition we may be looking for a James McDonnald born about 1720, near Belfast to find the father of John McDonnald.
