Stephen’s family surnames included Bennett, Cochrane, Coulter, Drummond, Duff, Ferguson, Gamble, Gray, Hunter, Jellie, Johnston, Kenny, McBride, McMullen, Nolan, Smyth and Willis. His family story involved ancestors who died in Belfast workhouse and children in an industrial school, migration from Belfast to England (and back again) for employment, an ancestor’s long connection with the Orange Order, a daughter looking for her elderly father who had emigrated to Brooklyn and was not heard of for over 20 years, and finally a stolen or ‘borrowed’ bicycle!
Gillian and our Research Director Dr William Roulston both appear in the documentary Stephen Nolan: Ulster-Scots, My Family and Me, which aired on the BBC in February 2022. In the programme Gillian joined Stephen at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland to share her findings and show him documents relating to his ancestors. William met Stephen at a number of different locations which had a connection to his family, and placed the experiences of his ancestors in the broader context of rural life in Ulster in the nineteenth century.