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my great grandfatherWALKER BOYCEb1849 emigrated to New Zealand c1873 from Ballydugan,County Down,Northern Ireland.He married MARY JEMIMA SLOAN in Invercargill NZ in 1879. They had 13 children.My grandfather WILLIAM JOHN b1881 married Louisa Catherine Everett 1911.They had 3 children.My father WILLIAM HORACE BOYCE b1914 is still alive.His cousin GORDON ASHER BOYCE travelled to Ireland in the early 1970s and compiled a very comprehensive family tree of the descendants of WILLIAM BOYCEb1818,married JANE PATTON b.c1822at Knocknamuckly Parish County Armagh Northern Ireland 22.4.1841 As Parish registers were not preserved prior to 1820,any earlier family history has been impossible to trace.

Hello Neil,
I’m interested in the Boyce family of Ballydugan / Ballydougan, County Down and reading your note we may very well be connected.

John Boyce (1815/1820-1897), son of John Boyce and Mary McCormick, was my Gt Gt Grandfather. He married Sarah Ann Forsyth (1820-1902), daughter of William Forsyth and Isabella Harvey, from Dromore, Co Down in Gilford, Co Down on 18th Nov 1844.

John and Sarah moved to Ayrshire, Scotland and lived their lives there in Girvan, Troon, Saltcoats and Ardrossan, having 11 known children along the way between 1843 and 1862. Among them was my Gt Grandmother, Mary Boyce (1846-1915), who married James Welsh in Glasgow in 1877.

A poor relief application made late in life in Ardrossan by John Boyce indicates he was from the parish of Ballydongan, Co Down, Ireland. However, as far as I can determine, there is no place called Ballydongan in Co Down, and I am sure the reference should be to Ballydugan aka Ballydougan, close to both Gilford and Dromore.

Trying to get some verification of the marriages of John Boyce/Mary McCormick and John Boyce/Sarah Ann Forsyth, and if John Boyce and Mary McCormick had any other offspring.

I'd heard of the publication by Gordon Asher Boyce. Would you know where I can obtain a copy?

Kind regards David McMillan (Aberdeen, Scotland)

David, you've posted on a very old thread started in Nov 2004.

Although It's unlikely that Neil is still a member, you could try contacting him. Click on his name to send a personal message. If he still has the same linked email address....and can access it....he'll be notified that you have sent him a message. Non paying members can reply to messages; they can't instigate them.

Have you searched the internet for the author's name? Familysearch.org have copies of many genealogy self-published books. Apparently you can pay to have a newly copied version produced.

Thanks for the tip!

Try here
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL16736931M/A_Boyce_family_tree_1783-1975

Edit - forget that. It doesn't lead anywhere. It would appear that it was originally published in NZ. May be a NZ publishing organisation can suggested who you could contact? Not sure if the NZ ' Ask a Librarian' service can help you, but it's worth a try.

Apparently there is a copy in Alexander Turnbull Library, New Zealand. It consists of 70 pages.
Maybe they would photocopy it for you - at a price, no doubt?


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