AM I WORRYING TOO MUCH ABOUT MY TRIP TO IRELAND?
Brenda Kellow
April 7, 2013
Brenda Kellow
April 7, 2013
It has been a while since I searched for family in a foreign land, but this summer I am going to tackle it
one more time. I will be searching in Nova Scotia and Ireland. In previous years, I successfully researched the Kellow line in Cornwall. Searching only one branch of the family, I encountered fewer family surnames. This time I will be searching multiple lines in different branches.
On this trip, I will search one German branch in Nova Scotia who left Northampton County, Pennsylvania, to answer the call to minister to other German Lutherans who had lost their minister. These lines stayed three generations and are buried in the local church cemetery before some of the descendants returned to Northampton County. I have not conducted personal research here before, so to streamline my time there I will meet with a local I met on another trip who will take me to the church
and cemetery.
I have conducted research in Canada previously, so this time I will only search a couple databases for the Wallace family. I will work one database that has yet to be digitized. Since I consider myself finished with this line and do not wish to continue any further, the one record set is all I am interested in at this time.
From Canada, I will travel to Ireland to research several lines. One line is supposed to be from Ireland, but
at this time, I have only found them in England. Another surname is supposed to be from Ireland but I have only found the surname in Scotland and England. I have searched under many spellings and variations, but no feasible variation of these surnames appear in Ireland. Their trails just seem to disappear.
Ireland has many new records online to help the family historians searching for Irish ancestors. Although I know records that need searching, I do not know what is available in Ireland and what they are called there. Because I need to know what is there for me when I travel to County Cork and Dublin, I have been searching for online user-friendly sites, publications, etc.
I found the site called Irish Genealogy, supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht,
www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/. According to Wikipedia, Gaeltacht is an area encompassing the Irish language and includes County Cork. This site contains church vital records, census, Tithe Applotment Survey, soldier’s wills, Griffith’s Valuations, military records, graveyard records, migration, property, the Irish abroad and the National Photographic Archive from the National Library of Ireland. The searches at this site include known variant surname and forename spellings. So far, it has not been a help in my research.
It suggests using interchangeably the records from the General Registry and the census for traveling from known generations to earlier ones. I will follow this advice.
Property records for the mid-1800s should be attainable from Griffith’s Valuations. For earlier records, some may be found in the Tithe Applotment Survey of 1823-1938.
Parish records must be used before civil registration was mandatory in 1864. Since no site has the complete information, it suggests using additionally www.ancestry.co.uk.
Another site with helpful information is www.askaboutireland.ie/. Here I found a Reading Room and a tab
for learning about the library. It describes what it includes as well as eBooks for Irish research. I am finding basic research information to help in the search of this unfamiliar country.
I will take with me the four-page laminated guide and the app for my iPhone titled, Irish Genealogy at a Glance. Certainly, I will not leave Family Chronicle’s Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, Your Irish Roots Made Easy. It is 68 pages of information and resources for researching ancestors in Ireland available in
print and offered in PDF format that I will take with me. I have used it for research to date and found it very helpful, but those elusive surnames seem nowhere to be found.
I had a similar experience in Cornwall years ago, but searching the church records at one particular church solved the mystery and took me back several generations. I am hoping to have the same experience with Ireland. Still, researching there is a little scary.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries
to: [email protected].
one more time. I will be searching in Nova Scotia and Ireland. In previous years, I successfully researched the Kellow line in Cornwall. Searching only one branch of the family, I encountered fewer family surnames. This time I will be searching multiple lines in different branches.
On this trip, I will search one German branch in Nova Scotia who left Northampton County, Pennsylvania, to answer the call to minister to other German Lutherans who had lost their minister. These lines stayed three generations and are buried in the local church cemetery before some of the descendants returned to Northampton County. I have not conducted personal research here before, so to streamline my time there I will meet with a local I met on another trip who will take me to the church
and cemetery.
I have conducted research in Canada previously, so this time I will only search a couple databases for the Wallace family. I will work one database that has yet to be digitized. Since I consider myself finished with this line and do not wish to continue any further, the one record set is all I am interested in at this time.
From Canada, I will travel to Ireland to research several lines. One line is supposed to be from Ireland, but
at this time, I have only found them in England. Another surname is supposed to be from Ireland but I have only found the surname in Scotland and England. I have searched under many spellings and variations, but no feasible variation of these surnames appear in Ireland. Their trails just seem to disappear.
Ireland has many new records online to help the family historians searching for Irish ancestors. Although I know records that need searching, I do not know what is available in Ireland and what they are called there. Because I need to know what is there for me when I travel to County Cork and Dublin, I have been searching for online user-friendly sites, publications, etc.
I found the site called Irish Genealogy, supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht,
www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/. According to Wikipedia, Gaeltacht is an area encompassing the Irish language and includes County Cork. This site contains church vital records, census, Tithe Applotment Survey, soldier’s wills, Griffith’s Valuations, military records, graveyard records, migration, property, the Irish abroad and the National Photographic Archive from the National Library of Ireland. The searches at this site include known variant surname and forename spellings. So far, it has not been a help in my research.
It suggests using interchangeably the records from the General Registry and the census for traveling from known generations to earlier ones. I will follow this advice.
Property records for the mid-1800s should be attainable from Griffith’s Valuations. For earlier records, some may be found in the Tithe Applotment Survey of 1823-1938.
Parish records must be used before civil registration was mandatory in 1864. Since no site has the complete information, it suggests using additionally www.ancestry.co.uk.
Another site with helpful information is www.askaboutireland.ie/. Here I found a Reading Room and a tab
for learning about the library. It describes what it includes as well as eBooks for Irish research. I am finding basic research information to help in the search of this unfamiliar country.
I will take with me the four-page laminated guide and the app for my iPhone titled, Irish Genealogy at a Glance. Certainly, I will not leave Family Chronicle’s Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, Your Irish Roots Made Easy. It is 68 pages of information and resources for researching ancestors in Ireland available in
print and offered in PDF format that I will take with me. I have used it for research to date and found it very helpful, but those elusive surnames seem nowhere to be found.
I had a similar experience in Cornwall years ago, but searching the church records at one particular church solved the mystery and took me back several generations. I am hoping to have the same experience with Ireland. Still, researching there is a little scary.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries
to: [email protected].
