The Bells of Tamlaghtmore

It all started back in 1999 when a chance visit to Cookstown to research for a radio station licence gave me the opportunity to talk to one of the investors, a landowner and local historian.  I told him that my late father had often mentioned we were from Ireland  However he told so many tall stories that I never really took him seriously.  My friend told me there were many Bell's living in Tyrone and that part of Derry and it was worth digging around, so that is what I did.  My cousin living in Toronto was researching the County Durham part of the tree and I passed the info on to her.  Now 16 years later it has all come together so today and for the last few days I've been putting some formats together so that our history may be read as an interesting story rather than a dull collection of charts and photocopied certificates.  For those who are still with me…  My Great Grandfather was born in Tamlaghtmore in 1858 and we have traced his descendants antecedents through church records back to 1746. I'm quite chuffed about that!  All the indications are that we were moved from Scotland to Ireland as part of the Plantation of Ireland in the early 17th century from the Borders of Scotland, Canonbie or Middlebie, taking up work with the Draper's Company near Cookstown.  The research continues...