My great great grandfather John Rouse, was born in Ireland sometime in 1828.
His parents were Patrick Rouse and Jane Gillespie. From a death certificate I obtained Patrick was shown to have been a small farmer, which meant he probably leased a few meagre acres to sustain his family.
At this point in time Sept 2000) I don’t really know if Patrick had any brothers and sisters but as you might imagine this is more than likely.
John married Margaret Ann McGavigan (b1838) around October 1853 in Co. Tyrone, which is now part of the province of Ulster in the North of Ireland. This date of marriage is approximate as John provided it on a Birth Certificate in 1862 but 8 years later he thought he was married “around September 1851” (which is highly unlikely as Margaret was only 13!) however, he did remember the county he was married in!
Margaret Ann's parents as listed on her death certificate, were John McGavigan (a furnaceman) & Nancy McGlachlan.
From this information & other indicators I would assume they were originally from Co.Tyrone, or if not, then one of the surrounding counties: these being Donegal, Fermanagh, Armagh, Monaghan or Derry, see map below.
The name Rouse is not all that common in Ireland but it seems there were/are quite a few around the Strabane area of Tyrone. It’s more than likely the name first arrived in Ireland as part of the earlier “Ulster Plantation”
In 1855, John and Margaret had a child called Susan, who as far as I know was their first child. Susan it appears was born in Derry (no other details), perhaps she was born in transit to the couple emigrating, to escape the impoverishment and deprivation brought about by the latest in a series of terrible famines.
Sometime in 1855 the family moved to Scotland and it’s quite feasible that they moved first to Derry as it was the closest big city and seaport to Co.Tyrone.