Maggie Moore Conundrum

My 2 x great grandmother, Maggie (or Margaret Jane) Moore was born c1873, presumably in County Down, Ireland. Despite an exhaustive search, a birth certificate and confirmation of her parentage have not yet been found, or have they?

Believed to be Margaret Jane Conway nee Moore, seated on right with daughter, Margaret Jane Martin nee Conway on left
and grandchildren, William, Robert and Sarah Martin c1916. 

What do we know about Maggie?

Maggie married Robert Conway on 09 February, 1892 at Ballygilbert Presbyterian Church in Bangor when she was 19 years of age. Robert was a driver of a post car, Maggie had no occupation. Both were of Conlig and the witnesses were Samuel Gamble and Anna Bella Clark. The other key information was that Maggie was the illegitimate daughter of Thomas Spence, a labourer! 

Marriage Certificate - Robert Conway and Maggie Moore - 1892 

When Maggie and Robert's daughter, Margaret Jane was born later that year, Maggie's maiden name was given as Brown, the informant being Ann Miller (who signed with her mark). When Margaret Jane died in Scotland in 1966, her mother's maiden name was given as Moore.

Birth Certificate - Margaret Jane Conway - 1892

Robert and Maggie had a further six children and examination of their birth records indicate both the Moore and Brown names were recorded as Maggie’s maiden surname.  

The family moved to Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland some time between 1905 and 1908 where their youngest two children were born. The family is recorded on the 1911 census living at Townhead St and Robert was working at Nobel's Explosive Factory.

Maggie and Robert ultimately returned to Northern Ireland and were living at 17 Primrose Ave, Bangor where they celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary on 9 February, 1942.

Belfast Telegraph 11 February, 1942

Maggie died in 1945 at her daughter's residence, 105 Bangor Rd of stomach cancer when she 71 years old.

Death Certificate - Margaret Jane Conway - 1945

Robert married again to Agnes Caufield and died 8 years later in 1953. His second wife, Agnes was mentioned in his probate record. 

Recent discoveries and clues

It was recently discovered that my grandfather, Robert Conway Martin had a cousin, William Cowan, living in Australia when he immigrated in 1950.  William was a minister living at The Manse in Killarney, Queensland.

Further research revealed that William is I believe actually a second cousin, being a nephew of Maggie Moore. His parents were William Cowan and Lizzie Moore and I have found the family on both the 1901 and 1911 census.  At the time of his birth, William Cowan's mother's maiden name was given as Moore, however, when he died her name is recorded as Elizabeth Brown!

I had always worked on the assumption that Maggie Moore's mother must have married a Mr. Brown and that is where the "Brown" came from, but as I didn't even have her mother's given name I've struggled to find a Moore/Brown marriage for her mother or even a birth for Maggie. Until recently!

Thanks to the wonderful website IrishGenealogy.ie I have since been able to consult a number of civil registration records (for free!) and have been able to view the following documents: 

• Birth certificates of most of Robert Conway and Maggie Moore’s children - their mother’s maiden names varies from Moore to Brown

• Marriage certificate of Lizzie Moore and William Cowan

• Birth certificates of Lizzie Moore and William Cowan’s children - mother’s maiden name varies from Moore to Brown

• Marriage certificate of a Margaret Jane Moore to a Henry Brown

• Birth certificates of Margaret Jane Moore and Henry Brown’s 3 children - their marriage certificates and children’s birth certificates

As a result, I now believe that Maggie and Elizabeth were both born out of wedlock and their mother is Margaret Jane Moore who married Henry Brown and that this is the Brown connection and why this name is referenced on so many documents.

Marriage Certificate - Henry Brown and Margaret Jane Moore - 1879

Margaret and Henry had a further three children together and what is evident is that these families often lived at the same address and that the women were frequently present at the birth of the other’s children and were the informant at the various children's birth registrations. The following is a timeline of events concerning these families:

Click on each image to enlarge

What's missing?

While I'm quietly confident that this is the same family, I would love some DNA evidence to support this theory. I have reached out to a few of the descendants of Margaret's half siblings that I can identify but unfortunately at this time, none have agreed to take a DNA test.

Ironically, I have had more success identifying DNA matches connected to Maggie's paternal Spence family, but that's another story!