William Strain
was born in 1805 in Ballynagappoge Townland, Clonduff Parish, South Down. He
became a master printer in 1830 and founded William Strain & Sons in
Belfast in 1859.
He
married Mary Young in 1836 and they had four children born in Ballynagappoge.
They then moved to Darkley near Keady, Co. Armagh around 1850 and had two
further children, one of whom Robert (1853) was the participant’s
great-grandfather. Moving to Newtonbutler Co. Fermanagh they had a further child
and finally settling in Belfast they had their last child.
There
is a family legend that William’s great-grandfather was a French Huguenot named
L’Estrange (c1670-c1750) who fought for William III at the battle of the Boyne,
changing his name to Strain and settling in Ballynagappoge. He had a son James
who emigrated to America after 1720 and another William (c1720-c1790) who
remained in Ballynagappoge.
This
son William had in turn three sons, James who died in the troubles around 1798,
William (c1775-c1872) survived to become the participant’s great, great,
great-grandfather and recorded this family history, and John who died sailing
to France in the 1790s to try trace family origins.