See the link on the left to the Fulton Family of Waukegan, Illinois. This is my line. It is documented from my Great Great Grandfather William Fulton 1833-1909. My links to the Fultons of Lisburn are circumstantial and perhaps even a bit weaker than my suggested connections of other American lines to the Fultons of Lisburn. Still I think it highly likely that my line is a branch of this group of Fultons from around Lisburn, Counties Down and Antrim in Northern Ireland. I may never find the documented connection. Many of the old parish registers in Northern Ireland were destroyed in the bombing of the Customs House in Dublin in 1922 where many of them had been stored. Others that do exist simply have gaps and missing pages or while sections. For example the Lisburn Presbyterian Church Register has among several gaps the entire period from 1824 to 1840, the same period when my Great Great Great Grandparents would have been married and my Great Great Grandfather William Fulton was born on January 1, 1833. My logic for my likely connection to the Fultons of Lisburn is as follows:
1. The obituaries of our William Fulton, 1833-1909 says he was born either in Belfast or near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Lisburne is just a few miles SW of Belfast and a number of the Lisburne Fulton group did live and/or own property in Belfast.
2. Fulton is a fairly uncommon surname. Scotland is the original home of the Fulton name so you would expect it to be most numerous there, yet in the 1841 Scotland Census less than 1 in 1,000 people carried the surname. Therefore, anytime you see Fulton’s in days gone by, before it was so easy to move around, living near each other, the odds are pretty high there is a close Family relationship. See the link on the left for Names as clues.
3. As you can see in the under the link for the Fulton Family of Waukegan, Ill., the names used by our William Fulton 1833-1909 for his six sons: Joseph Henry, William Thomas, James, John, Robert, and Francis all occur fairly frequently in the Fulton’s of Lisburne branches. In particular Joseph and Francis are first names not commonly used by Scots and Scots-Irish. See also the link on the left for Names as clues.
4. The Fulton’s of Lisburne had a habit in several lines of using last names as middle names. See the entries for Robert Coulson Fulton, James Cammack Fulton, and John Williamson Fulton in the Lisburne charts, just to name a few. Our William used last names as middle names for at least three of his six sons: John Robertson Fulton, Robert Croskey Fulton, and Frank Hayden Fulton.
5. I know that Sir Theodore did not include all the Fulton’s connected to the Lisuburne group in his book and charts. For example, in addition to the Fulton’s in Hope’s book listed in the Lisburne Presbyterian Church Registers, I found the following additional Fulton’s in those same registers that Hope doesn’t mention, but clearly appear to be related:
Thomas Fulton of Magheralave
son Thomas bapt Dec. 19, 1779
son Joseph bapt Aug 18, 1782
then a Thomas Fulton but of Chappell Hill who I am guessing is the same man as above
dau Jane bapt March 9, 1785
son George bapt Oct. 7, 1788, married Jean Fulton in 1803
then a Thomas FUlton, but of Bow Lane, again, I am guessing the same man as above
son Joseph bapt March 31, 1790 (assuming elder son Joseph died if this is same Thomas)
dau Elizabeth bapt June 11, 1793
William Fulton of Knockmore
dau Margaret bapt June 12, 1797
John Fulton of Cornmarket (probably a son of Thomas above born before 1779 - a long gap in Lisburne Presby Reg before 1779)
son Thomas bapt June 14, 1796
then John Fulton of Belfast Gate (again I assume this is same as above but he moved)
dau Maria bapt Aug. 28, 1798
then John Fulton of Bow Lane (same logic as above)
son William bapt July 25, 1802
dau Ann bapt April 5, 1805
then John Fulton of Chappel Hill (same logic as above assuming same man)
son Richard bapt March 29, 1808
son George bapt April 4, 1811
dau Jane bapt August 29, 1813
dau Elizabeth bapt January 31, 1816.
Notice the Thomas, Joseph, John and William. Familiar first names. There are other Fulton’s in Northern Ireland and another group NE of Belfast in a place called Carnmoney. It is possible we could be of that group, but I did research on those Fulton’s and they frequently use first names Jonathan, David, and Samuel, with occasional uses of Hugh and Alexander, first names almost never found in the Lisburne group. One would think if our William was of the Carnmoney group, with six sons, he would have named at least one of them from the above list of names.
I found another group of Fulton’s not mentioned in Hope’s book, but definitely linked to them. See page 34 of Hope’s book. Here he discusses a Richard Fulton and lists his first son as Robert, born 1777. He then lists three sons of Robert; Joseph, James, and Robert, but ends the tree there. In the information about Richard he quotes an entry in the Belfast Newsletter noting his death “At Killinchy”. I researched the Parish registers of the Presbyterian Church at Killinchy and found children and grandchildren of Robert listed as outlined below. In addition, all these Fulton’s disappear by 1850 for the area. To American maybe?
Below are the entries for the Killinchy Presbyterian Church Register that clearly appear to be a continuation of the family listed on page 33 of Hope’s book.
Sept 24, 1824, James son of Robert Fulton of Ballymaccarran to Sarah Mallent of Ardmillam, in the presence of Mathw Fulton of Killimore and Robert Fulton of Ballymaccarran.
August 6, 1830, John son of Robert Fulton of Ballymaccarran to Sarah Marshall, Curragullan, presence of Mathew Marshall Sr and Mathew Marshall, Jr.
August 18, 1830, Mathew son of Robert Fulton of Ballymaccarran to (unreadable first name) daughter of James Shillen, Ballymacashen, in the presence of David Stewart Sr and WM Stewart.
And there are the following births:
Hamilton son of Joseph Fulton of B: Macrely, bapt Aug. 2, 1820
Samuel Spratt son of James Fulton of B M????, bapt June 5, 1825
Sarah to James Fulton of B. Mcarron, bapt Dec. 10, 1826
Robert to James Fulton bapt May 11, 1829
Robert to Mathew Fulton bapt Dec. 26, 1830
William of James Fulton of Ballymacamore, bapt April 22, 1832
Elizabeth of James Fulton of Ballymaccomore, bapt Dec. 22, 1833
Sarah Jane of Mathew Fulton bpt Feb. 17, 1834
Mathew of James Fulton, bapt August 11, 1835
James of John Fulton of Quarterland, bapt August 10, 1835
Agnes of James Fulton and Sarah Mallart, bapt June 30, 1837
Robert of John Fulton and Sarah Marshall, bapt June 30, 1838.
John of John and Sarah Marshall, bapt June 12, 1841.
The is also another large group of Fulton’s in the late 1700’s frequently using the names Thomas, Joseph, James, and William in the Parish of Drumbo, just a couple miles south of Lisburne, that other researchers (as am I) are convinced are of the Lisburne group. Many of this group also disappear in the 1800’s, likely at least some if not most to America and possibly including our William.
In my searching Parish Registers in Northern County Down and Southern County Antrim in Northern Ireland, I noted that there are a number of parishes near Lisburn for which the Parish registers are missing or were destroyed. There are also gaps in other registers. For example, even in the Lisburn Presbyterian Church Registers, which are extensive, there are many gaps including the entries for 1824-1840 covering the likely years of the marriage of my William's parents James and Margaret McWilliam Fulton as well the birth dates of my William and likely siblings.
The family information, also noted on my William Fulton's death certificate, that his mother's maiden name was Margaret McWilliam does not provide a great deal of additional help as McWilliam is a more common surname than Fulton and is found throughout Northern Ireland. However, it certainly doesn't rule out the connection as there are McWilliam Families in and around Lisburn including no less than 5 adult McWilliam men who married and had families in the Presbyterian Parish of Banbridge, just a few miles SW of Lisburn. In addition two other naming clues, although not likely significant, add a small amount of additional "evidence". First, one of my William Fulton's sons was baptized John Robertson Fulton. Their was a Robertson family in the Lisburn area, which is not significant at all by iteself as Robertson is a common Scottish surname, but that John Williamson Fulton 1769-1830 in Hope's Fultons of Lisburn ancestry did marry an Ann Robertson might be significant. Another small clue might be that my William Fulton named another son Robert Croskey Fulton. Croskey is a rare surname and although found scattered throughout Northern County Down and Southern County Antrim, it is also found specifically in the Lisburn area.
No “smoking gun” proof, but enough circumstantial evidence to lead me to believe my William Fulton is connected to The Fultons of Lisburn.