rochester chapter irish american cultural...

Hands-on Course II –

Searching irish Records for

your ancestors

Rochester Chapter –

Irish American Cultural Institutewww.iaci-usa.org

7 pm March 3, 2011

St. John Fisher College

Ralph Wilson Room 115Dennis Hogan, www.dennisAhogan.com

1www.iaci-usa.org

www.dennisAhogan.com

http://www.iaci-usa.org/



http://www.dennisahogan.com/

2) Handouts are Online

• At www.dennisAhogan.com, click on Lectures and Handouts tab

• Select a handout and save on your computer

• Then you can click on links to try out websites

www.iaci-usa.org www.dennisAhogan.com

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http://www.dennisahogan.com/

3) Tonight’s Presentation

• Based on:

Course II – Searching Irish Records for your Ancestors

• Handout for Course II is on my website as well as worksheets and other files


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4) (from feedback form) Latin

• Catholic records (US & Irish) use Latin but are easily decipherable.

• See tutorial at https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Latin_Genealogical_Word_List

• Alternate Forms for Given Names (another file on my website), examples:Abbreviation, Jno.; Nickname, Nabby; Synonym, Delia;

Irish, Alaois; Latin, Ioannes

• Rochester Catholic Diocese records available from FHC or Nazareth College library microfilm room in basement.


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https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Latin_Genealogical_Word_List

https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Latin_Genealogical_Word_List

5) Church Records• Rural Catholic records begin ~1820, while some urban records

begin ~1760. • Church of Ireland records may include all denominations.• UK & Ireland Records Collection, Parish and Probate Records, 15

million names covering 1538 - 1837, at www.ancestry.com • Heritage Centres have indexes of church records for their

county – mostly Catholic. Several Centres offer free searches of their databases. See file at http://www.dennisahogan.com/lecturesandhandouts.cfm

• Church sources by county at http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/index.htm

• Annual Irish Catholic Directory lists dioceses, parishes, churches including historic & current parish names. Published annually since 1835 - several past directories can be found on Google Books. For current info, http://www.catholicireland.net/church-in-ireland/dioceses


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http://www.dennisahogan.com/lecturesandhandouts.cfm

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/index.htm

http://books.google.com/

http://www.catholicireland.net/church-in-ireland/dioceses





6) (from feedback form) Maiden Names

• Sources for maiden names:– Social Security: SS-5 application forms (d1936-

current) Details in Course I handout.– Death certificate for subject, subject’s siblings,

subject’s children (civil & ~church funeral).– Marriage certificate for subject, subject’s

siblings, subject’s children (civil & church).– Birth certificate for subject, subject’s siblings,

subject’s children (civil & church baptism).– Wills and probate– Newspapers– Pension records


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7) Local Resources• Subscriptions made available by Monroe County Library System:

• Heritage Quest, Free at www.libraryweb.org/heritage.html with a Monroe County library card

• Ancestry.Com, Free at the Rochester Public Library, Rundel Bldg, Local History Room (also Brighton, Fairport, Henrietta, Ogden, Greece and Penfield Libraries) with Monroe County library card

• AmericanAncestors.org (for New England research), Free at the Rundel Bldg, Local History Room with a library card

• Subscriptions available at Family History Centers (including Brockport, Rochester, Perinton, Palmyra – to find locations see https://library.familysearch.org/ ):

• US Research: Heritage Quest, Footnote.com, Godfrey Memorial Library, American Civil War

• UK Research: FindMyPast.co.uk, British Newspaper Archive, The Genealogist

• World Research: Historic Map Works, World Vital Records, genline.com

• NEW: Ancestry.com - FHC Version www.iaci-usa.org

www.dennisAhogan.com7

http://www.libraryweb.org/heritage.html

https://library.familysearch.org/

8) Irish Records

• During the 1922 Civil War, the Public Record Office in Dublin was destroyed. Records lost:– Pre-1858 wills and administrations (most did

not have wills) Copies of some of these wills exist as well as indexes.

– 1821 to 1851 census records (1861 - 1891 were "pulped")

– About half of the Church of Ireland parish registers (Church of Ireland represented about 10% of the population)


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9) Administrative Divisions & Place Names

• Province (4) - Connaught, Leinster, Munster, Ulster

• County (32)– Connaught - Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon,

Sligo– Leinster - Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leix

(Queens), Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly (Kings), Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

– Munster - Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford

– Ulster – Antrim(NI), Armagh(NI), Cavan, Donegal, Down(NI), Fermanagh(NI), Londonderry(NI), Monaghan, Tyrone(NI)


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• Barony (270) - collection of civil parishes (or parts) http://www.seanruad.com/ for baronies within counties

• Civil Parish (2,508 - these are not church parishes) -Repositories often catalogued by civil parishhttp://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/civilmaps/index.cfm or http://www.seanruad.com/for parishes within counties

• Townland (~64,000) - Smallest official geographic unit, but doesn't have it's own government. Townlandindexes: http://www.seanruad.com/ or http://www.searchforancestors.com/locality/ireland/townlands.html


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http://www.seanruad.com/

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/civilmaps/index.cfm

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/civilmaps/index.cfm



http://www.searchforancestors.com/locality/ireland/townlands.html

http://www.searchforancestors.com/locality/ireland/townlands.html


• Poor Law Union (163) - Poor Law Act of 1838, unions of townlands responsible for poor. Each had a workhouse. For PLUs within countieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Irish_Poor_Law_Unions

• Superintendent Registrar’s Districts (245) –used in Civil Registration Indexeshttp://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bifhsusa/irishregnc.htmlfor districts within counties

• District Electoral Division (3,751) - a division of the Poor Law Union, important when using Griffith's Valuation. DEDs within counties


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Irish_Poor_Law_Unions

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bifhsusa/irishregnc.html

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/singlepaymentscheme/categoriesofdisadvantagedareas/

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/singlepaymentscheme/categoriesofdisadvantagedareas/

12) Books for Irish Genealogy

• These books are sometimes cited as go to resources for Irish research.– Mitchell, Brian. A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland.

(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1986). Probably the best aid to sorting out Administrative Division issues -includes maps.

– Grenham, John. Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide (3rd ed. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, Ltd., 2006). Significant free content is available at http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/sitemap.htm

– Ryan, James G. Irish Records: Sources for Family & Local History (rev. ed. Salt Lake City, Utah; Ancestry, 1997).


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http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/sitemap.htm

13) Major Irish Sources• ~1760-present (1820-present, rural) Catholic

church records• 1823-1838 Tithe Applotment Composition

Books/Householders Index (GV) • 1840-1847 Valuers’ Notebooks (GV)• 1841-1851 Census searches for old pension

applications• 1844-1864 Griffith's Primary Valuation (GV) • 1860-present Valuation Revision or Cancelled

Books (GV)• 1864-1958 Civil Registrations (bmd)• 1901-1911 Complete Census


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14) Griffith’s Valuation

• Reilly, James R. Richard Griffith and His Valuations of Ireland, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2000.

• Exercise: bring up http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

• For O names & Mc/Mac names, search indexes with & without the prefix

• Inconsistent punctuation in indexes: – O'Flynn, OFlynn, O Flynn, O_Flynn, O.Flynn– McGrath, MacGrath, Mc Grath, M’Grath, Mgrath,

Magrath


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http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/




• Select Family Name Search – Hover cursor of question mark circle

• Select Place Name Search • Enter Clarbally in the Mandatory box• Click Search• Click the circle under Occupants• Click the larger icon under Original Page• Click the larger icon under Map Views


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• Bring up http://maps.google.ie

• Enter Clarbally• Click on pointer to Clarbally

– Click on Search Nearby• Enter Catholic Church & click Search• Click the backarrow

– Click on Street View


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http://maps.google.ie/

17) Familysearch.orgHistorical Records


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• Civil Registrations (bmd), 1845-1958 (non-Catholic marriages start 1845, all bmd 1864)

• Exercise• Activate the www.familysearch.org tab• Click Europe• Click Ireland• Click Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958• Enter Ireland, Cavan, Clarbally

http://www.familysearch.org/

https://www.familysearch.org/s/collection/show



18) Familysearch.orgLibrary Catalog

• Exercise

• Click Library Catalog

• Enter a placename, like Ireland, Cavan, Clarbally

• Availability:– Family History Center = can be ordered

– Family History Library = does not circulate

– Digital = can be accessed online


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19) Irish Times (Grenham)

• Exercise: bring up http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/– Click Surname search– Enter a surname of your choice & click Go

• Click Placenames– Enter Clarbally & click Enter

• Click Sitemap– Click RC Parish Maps– Click on a county– Click on a parish name


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http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/

20) 1901 &1911 Census

• Exercise: bring up http://census.nationalarchives.ie/

• Click Search the census records for Ireland 1901 and 1911

• Select 1901• Enter a surname & county of your choosing• Select 1 person from the list• Note ages, relation to head of household,

and religion• There are 4 forms, view all four


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http://census.nationalarchives.ie/

http://census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

http://census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

21) Heritage Centres

• Heritage Centres have indexes of church records for their county – mostly Catholic (and other types of records as well).

• Several Centres offer free searches of their databases (registration required).

• See file at http://www.dennisahogan.com/lecturesandhandouts.cfm

• Exercise: bring up http://armagh.rootsireland.ie/


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http://www.dennisahogan.com/lecturesandhandouts.cfm

http://armagh.rootsireland.ie/

22) GenWeb

• Exercise: Bring up http://www.irelandgenweb.com/ or https://sites.google.com/site/northernirelandworldgenweb/

• Click on a County

• www.genuki.org.uk is another similar site


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http://www.irelandgenweb.com/

https://sites.google.com/site/northernirelandworldgenweb/

http://www.genuki.org.uk/

23) Google.com

• On my website is a handout for my “Googling for Genealogy” class

• Exercise: bring up www.google.com• Search for John Hogan & note the number of results• Search for “John Hogan” & note the number of results.

(This search will NOT find instances of John with a middle name or initial.)

• Search for “John * Hogan”. – This search will NOT find John Hogan.

• Search for “John ** Hogan” – You can continue to add more *s.

• Search “John Hogan” OR “John * Hogan” OR “Hogan John”


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http://www.google.com/

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