Robert Ireland, Sr.
Robert Sr. was born in Belfast, Ireland in August 1765. The last name of his wife may have been Eastburn,
and it appears that she died there in 1816. Robert and his wife had five sons and one daughter in Belfast. He emigrated to America, as did four of his five sons,
in the late 1820s.
Robert Sr. died in 1848 in Clermont County OH, which lies on the east edge of Cincinnati along the Ohio River.
He was living with his son Robert's family at the time.
Henry Ireland
Henry was born in Belfast in 1799 and emigrated to America.
He married Rebecca Young, who was also born in Ireland. He's reported to have died in 1859 at about age 60.
However, Henry and Rebecca are recorded as residing in Yonkers NY during the 1860 census.
They had no children.
William B. Ireland
William was born in Belfast in 1802; he married Elizabeth Priestley after emigrating to America in 1829, where their son and five daughters were born.
William died in 1864 in Philadelphia, PA.
There are extensive genealogies available for the William Ireland / Elizabeth Priestley wing of the family. Many of their descendants are named Sloan, Wells and Ward.
Interestingly, Elizabeth Priestley's mother's name was Mary Ann Ireland. While it's not known if she was related to Robert Sr., they were likely cousins.
Several of William's "Ward" descendants currently live in England. All of his other descendant lines have died out.
Elizabeth Ireland
Elizabeth was born in Belfast in 1805. Almost nothing is known about her life. She died on the island of Tasmania in southern Australia in 1831 at the
age of 26. She is not known to have married or had any children.
David James Ireland
David was born in Belfast in 1807 and is believed to be the only child to remain there. The name of his spouse is unknown.
He had a son James and daughter Sarah; some report that there was a third child. Nothing further is known about him or his family.
All known American living relatives descend from Robert Jr. He was born in Belfast in 1809 and emigrated to America in 1829. He married London-born Sophia Elizabeth Morgan
in Cincinnati, OH, in 1837. They had seven sons and one daughter in Cincinnati; two of their sons died as infants. Robert moved his family by wagon to central Illinois
in 1863 where he died shortly thereafter at the age of 54.
John Ireland
John was born in Belfast in 1810. Nothing is known about his life except that he was living with his sister-in-law and her children in
Clemont County, OH during the 1850 U.S. census. He is not believed to have married or had any children. Some accounts report that he died at sea.
Migration to America
We know that William and Robert Jr. traveled to America together in 1829, arriving in Baltimore. No information is available on timing for the others,
so we don't know whether Robert Sr., Henry or John came at the same time, before, or after.
Life in America
Almost nothing is known about Robert's life in America.
Robert died in Clermont County, Ohio (the Cincinnati/Dayton-area) in 1848. My family descends from his youngest child, Robert Jr.