details

Welcome to Section 2 of the family tree - the details page

Mary-Anne Willighan - Born 1842, Mary-Anne had a son (Thomas) in 1875, but the birth certficate does not state the father's name. This apparently was the case in those days when the child was born out of wedlock. The certificate does not even state the christian name of the child. It is believed Mary-Anne came from Sion Mills before being shunned by her family due to her pregnancy. She was buried at Belfast City Cemetary (plot M200) on 21st July 1900 aged 58 years.
Cemetary records show the plot was bought by Thomas and she is buried with grandchildren Margaret-Jane and Richard. Also in the plot are Eliza Jane Burns, aged 33, buried 16 February 1910 and William John Burns, aged 54, buried 18 April 1902.

Thomas *** - He was born on Nov 27th, 1875 at the Workhouse (site of the City Hospital) in Belfast. A labourer, Thomas married Margaret Burns, they lived at 86 Cambrai St, Belfast, and had 10 children (named below). Not all children survived to reach adulthood. He was in the Navy for a time before working in the Crumlin Rd mill. He worked right up until his death and died suddenly of pneumonia on 15 November 1950, aged 74. Margaret died three years earlier on 17 April 1947 aged 68. Thomas and Margaret are buried at plot E5 145 of Dundonald Cemetary Also in this grave is a one month old baby called Hugh Crawford - buried 21 February 1953.

Mary-Ann - Eldest child of Thomas and Margaret, she was born on March 16, 1899, and named after her grandmother (notice difference in spelling). She married Francis Martin Hamilton on November 9th, 1922 at St Matthews Church of Ireland, Shankill Rd, Belfast. Francis, the son of Joseph, was a motor mechanic from Lurgan. Their marriage certificate states the witnesses at the ceremony were Thomas Wesley Boyd and Lillie Shane. Mary-Anne had two children who died at birth before having Margaret, who currently lives in Carnmoney, Newtownabbey.

Robert Watters - 2nd child of Thomas and Margaret, and born March 15th, 1902. Robert was my great-grandfather, and his birth certificate eludes me. For some reason, his birth is not entered into the register for 1902. I have checked the register from when records began in 1874 to present, and his name is nowhere to be found. Don't know why.
Anyway, Robert married Sarah Porter Donaldson on the 28th of December 1928 at Church of Ireland Holy Trinity Church in Belfast. At the time, he was a sergeant in the Royal Ulster Regiment, and she was a weaver. Sarah previously lived at 85 Cambrai St, Belfast, and the couple lived for a time at the Willighan family home in 86 Cambrai St.
Witnesses at the wedding ceremony were brother-in-law Robert Mullan (Esther's husband), and sister Mary Hamilton.
Robert and Sarah had 6 children, the eldest Robert (Bobby) was my grandfather
Robert Watters Willighan died on July 8th, 1963, and Sarah died on January 24th, 1985. Both are buried at Cushendall Road cemetary, Ballymena.
Point to note: Wedding certificate states Robert's age as 27 on 28th Dec 1928, therefore he was born in 1901?

Thomas - The 3rd child of Thomas Sr and Margaret, he was born on March 1st, 1903. Present at his birth was the midwife, Mary A Lester of 66 Hooker St, Belfast Thomas became a professional footballer during the early 1930s, and played for Burnley, which at that time, was one of the best teams in England. He also had the honour of representing Ireland twice (click here) and was regarded as a celebrity by 1930s standards.
On December the 28th, 1934 (exactly 6 yrs after his brother Robert), Thomas married Alice Bradshaw. They had only the one son, and carried on the naming tradition, calling him Thomas. He was born in February 1936.
However, tragedy struck five months after the child's birth. His father died from cancer of the rectum in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. At the time of his death, Thomas had retired from soccer, and was a labourer. His address was given as 106 Cambrai St, and his wife Alice was present at his death. Alice returned to Burnley after her husband's death, and Thomas Jr lives in the Burnley area with wife Alys. Thomas is buried at Dundonald Cemetary. Also in the grave are Isabella, Jane Burns and Emily Burns.

Ester - The 4th child of Thomas and Margaret, she was born on February 19th, 1905.
Present at her birth was Maria Kells (no relation) of 105 Cambrai St. Esther, who was known as Essie, became a spinner, and on April 5th 1926, married a rougher by the name of Robert Mullan. He lived at 96 Cambrai St. They were married at Holy Trinity Parish Church of Ireland in Belfast
Witnesses were Thomas Willighan (her father) and Jenny Bamford.
Essie and Robert had 3 children - Tommy, May and Robert-John (who died young).

Margaret Jane - The 5th child of Thomas and Margaret, she was born on February 7th, 1907. Present at the birth was Emilia McClelland of 86 Cambrai St (the family residence). Unfortunately the child died five months later on 11th July. She is buried with her grandmother Mary-Anne at plot M200 of Belfast City Cemetary.

Isabella - The 6th child of Thomas and Margaret, she was born on June 17th, 1908. Again, tragedy struck the family as she died aged just 14. Her death certificate states she died from cardiac failure on April 23rd 1923, 7 days after contracting pneumonia. She passed away in the family home (86 Cambrai St) and the death certificate was signed by her sister, Mary-Ann Hamilton.

Richard - The 7th child of Thomas and Margaret, he was born on August 12th, 1911, but died 4 months later, on December 21st from meningitis. Present at his birth was Emily Burns (an aunt?) who lived at 161 Sydney St West, Belfast. Richard is buried at M200 of Belfast City Cemetary. Amazingly his name is recorded in the cemetary record books as Richard Willin, aged 4 and a half years!

Elizabeth - The 8th child of Thomas and Margaret, she was born on March 11th, 1913. Not much is known about her, but I think she also died young.

Hugh - The 9th child of Thomas and Margaret, Hugh was born on February 1st, 1916. Married Edith Crawford, known as Ivy, and adopted two child, Stephen who lives in Belfast and Carol-Anne. Hugh died in August 1975.

Evelyn - The 10th and final child of Thomas and Margaret (phew!), Evelyn was born on January 26th, 1919. Present at her birth was Maggie Baker of 90 Cambrai St. Evelyn married Jimmy Wright and they had 3 children: Margaret, Elizabeth and Jim.

*** A picture is available on the Family Pictures section from the home page.