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Irish Genealogy: Working With Vital Records

Irish Genealogy: Working With Vital Records. Class Handouts. Administrative Divisions of Ireland. Grenham’s Surname Distributions Across Ireland. Search for a surname by county and civil parish (1851 or 1890) Search against frequency of 2 surnames in a location.

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Irish Genealogy: Working With Vital Records

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  1. Irish Genealogy: Working With Vital Records Class Handouts Vermont Genealogy Library

  2. Administrative Divisions of Ireland Vermont Genealogy Library

  3. Grenham’s Surname Distributions Across Ireland • Search for a surname by county and civil parish (1851 or 1890) • Search against frequency of 2 surnames in a location NOTE: This CD is available at our library in the computer room Vermont Genealogy Library

  4. Reference Books at VT-FCGS Library: Tracing Your Irish Ancestors by John Grenham, 3d Edition, 2007 Richard Griffith & His Valuation of Ireland by James Reilly, 2000 Irish Famine Immigrants in the State of Vermont by Ron & Janet Murphy, 2000 A Guide to Irish Parish Registers by Brian Mitchell, 1988 A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland by Brian Mitchell, 2d Edition, 2002 A General Alphabetic Index to Townlands in 1851, Genealogical Publishing Co. A Guide to Irish Family History by Larry O’Keefe Tombstones of Ireland by Joanne Schmidt The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham-Smith In Search of Your British & Irish Roots by Angus Baxter A Guide to Your Irish Ancestors by J. Anderson Black Databases on CD: Grenham’s Irish Surnames An Index to Griffith’s Valuation Vermont Genealogy Library

  5. Abbreviations Used In Many Reference Books • ROI & NI – Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland • NLI – National Library of Ireland (Dublin) • NAI – National Archives of Ireland (Dublin) • GRO – General Records Office (Dublin) • GRONI – General Records Office, NI • PRONI – Public Records Office (Belfast, NI) • RC – Roman Catholic • P, COI, M, Q, B – Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Methodist, Quaker, Baptist • PLU – Poor Law Union • FHL, FHC – Family History Library (Utah) & Family History Center (Local) • IFHF – Irish Family History Foundation (website is RootsIreland.ie) Vermont Genealogy Library

  6. Civil Registration 1845 for Protestant marriages 1864 for Protestant births & deaths 1864 for Catholic births, marriages & deaths Parish Registers Church of Ireland (COI) - some parish records begin in 1600’s - most 1750 - 1820 Presbyterian (P) – most after 1800 Methodist (M) - 1747 – 1816 kept with COI - 1816 – 1878 kept in Methodist churches Quaker (Q) – begin in 17th Century & continue uninterrupted Roman Catholic (RC) - some in late 18th Century - most by 1850 Vermont Genealogy Library

  7. Locating Civil Registrations in Ireland 1864 to 1921 (All of Ireland): All records at General Record Office (GRO) in Dublin Index of all Ireland (each 5 yr period = €2.00/$2.62) Microfilm of original registers (copies €2.00/$2.62) 1921 to Present (Republic of Ireland): Same as above 1921 to Present (Northern Ireland): Manual search of B/M/D at the GRONI (£5.50/$8.69) Computerized search of index up to 6 hrs(£10/$15.80) Certified copies are (£11/$17.40) Vermont Genealogy Library

  8. Online Access To Civil Registration Data • FamilySearch.org • Index of names with Registration District and FHL Film Number • Order for local delivery to FHC in Essex ($7.50, 2-3 weeks) • Ancestry.com • Index of names with Registration District and FHL Film Number • Order for local delivery to FHC in Essex ($7.50, 2-3 weeks) • Irish Family History Foundation (www.rootsireland.ie) • Excellent Index to the records • Immediate transcript of original document • Cost of about $8.50 (compared to $7.50 & 2 week wait for film) Vermont Genealogy Library

  9. Irish Family History Foundation Vermont Genealogy Library

  10. Some Tips on Civil Registration Research • When using the GRO indexes (located in Dublin) • order is alphabetical by surname • keep spelling variations in mind!! • When searching for births • if looking for a Catholic and you know the location • start with parish register first • use that data to find the civil record • Searching for marriages • if both surnames known & you avoid spelling traps • look in Registration District for both surnames • start w/ 1st child and work back • the surnames should be only ones w/ same vol. & page numbers Vermont Genealogy Library

  11. Some Tips on Civil Registration Research • “Late Registrations” • not unusual for people to avoid registering events • later in life they need proof of registration • they come forward after 10 – 20 years (or later) • How Late Registrations Were Recorded • generally recorded in the original volume they would have used • births & deaths were recorded in the back of that book • marriages were written in the body of the book on that date Vermont Genealogy Library

  12. Some Precautions When Working With Parish Registers • The complexities of historical, political & ecclesiastical land divisions • Civil parishes (COI) very often are not identical with Catholic parishes • New divisions were often not consistent with pre-existing boundaries • Unlike civil registers these parish records are kept in many different places • NET: Know the religion, the time period & the geography before starting Vermont Genealogy Library

  13. Where to Travel for Protestant Records • Church of Ireland • A Table of Church Of Ireland Parochial Records (NAI, NLI) • Only definitive list of which parish records still exist • 830 parish registers at the Representative Church Body Library • Microfilm of records from 9 counties of Ulster at PRONI, Belfast • Presbyterian (scattered in 3 locations) • Registers exist at local parish, PRONI & Presbyterian Historical Society • Microfilm copies of most local records kept at PRONI • PRONI has list of records at PHS • Methodist (it’s complicated) • PRONI - list for 9 counties of Ulster - surviving registers, dates & locations • Quaker • Libraries of The Society Of Friends (Dublin & Lisburn, N.I.) • FHL as microfilm of ROI copies; PRONI has microfilm of Ulster Vermont Genealogy Library

  14. Where to Travel for Roman Catholic Records • National Library of Ireland (NLI) • Microfilmed 1,066 of 1,153 parishes • Diocese of Cashel and Emly do not permit use of the records • Diocese of Cloyne and Kerry require permission (usually granted) • Family History Library (FHL) • Microfilmed 398 of 1,153 parishes Vermont Genealogy Library

  15. Online Sources of Parish Registers • Ancestry.com ($) • Index to FHL records – links to FHL film numbers for ordering (398/1153) • FamilySearch.org (Free) • Index of 398 parishes on microfilm with link to order • Ancestry’s index is easier to use • RootsIreland.ie ($) • Indexed transcriptions of RC & COI records as well as some B, M, P & Q • By far, the largest collection (same $8.50 for immediate results) • AncestryIreland.ie ($) • Many RC, COI & P registers from Counties Antrim & Down (NI) • IrishGenealogy.ie (Free) • Indexed transcriptions for counties Carlow & Kerry + Dublin City & part of Cork Vermont Genealogy Library

  16. Other Online Vital Records Collections • O’Kief, Coshe Mang (16 vols) • FamilySearch.org has 12 RC parishes from Kerry & NW Cork • www.rootsweb.com/~irllog/churchrecs.htm • records of five Longford RC parishes • interment.net/Ireland • volunteers have added gravestone inscpriptions (no data on completeness) • www.fermanagh.org/uk • Fermanagh Gold has a good collection of inscriptions • www.webone.com.au/~sgrieves/cemeteries_ireland.htm • has a good selection, mostly from Tipperary (Source: Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, 3d ed., 2007, by John Grenham (pp. 145-6), Genealogy Pub. Co., Baltimore) Vermont Genealogy Library

  17. Gravestone Inscriptions • Less effort made to capture inscriptions & photos than in USA • Some good collections exist – varies by county • Many buried without headstones • Headstone data often extensive • name • age • date of death • other deaths in family • townland • Often earliest records (pre-1800) • In North – www.irish-world.ie & www.historyfromheadstones.com • In ROI – check www.rootsireland.ie ($) Vermont Genealogy Library

  18. Some Final Thoughts • Effective use of Vital Records requires knowledge of land divisions, religion & history • Surnames in Ireland are tied to the land – find the distribution in your target county - use Grenham’s Irish Surnames CD (available at the library) • Don’t forget to check for databases by local/regional entities • Searching for ancestors in VRs is best done w/ help from census data - Ireland’s 19th Century census records were destroyed • Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith’s Valuations are the best census substitutes - both are covered in Lecture 3 (on December 15th) Vermont Genealogy Library

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