What services do we offer ?
We undertake research on ancestors of people of Irish descent, using all known sources & material in repositories in Ireland & abroad.
1) Full ancestor research
2) Applications for Irish Passports
3) Will searchesSources searched
The following are the most common sources employed:
1. Tithe Applotment Books 1820-35: listing householders in the 32 counties, with size of holdings, quality & amount of tithe (on microfilm at the National Library & National Archives of Ireland)
2. Griffith’s Valuation of Ireland 1848-64: includes a list of householders in Ireland in the 32 counties, with size of holdings & Annual Rateable Valuation (on microfilm at the National Library & National Archives of Ireland). This is supported by details of ownership & change of ownership of properties from the time of the Valuation to the present day, available from the Valuation Office in Dublin. There are large scale maps available outlining specific properties.
3. Parish Records: Catholic, Anglican (Church of Ireland) & Presbyterian. The starting dates vary widely, from the mid-eighteenth or early nineteenth centuryin the case of R.C. records (earlier for Anglican records in certain city parishes)
- R.C. records on microfilm: at the National Library of Ireland. To 1880 in general, baptisms, marriages & deaths.
- Anglican records on microfilm: at the National Archives of Ireland. Many of the original early registers are at the Representative Church Body Library, Dublin. Some are in local custody.
- Presbyterian records: most at the Public Record Office in Northern Ireland, or in local custody.
4. Civil Records: from 1864 to the present, with the exception of protestant marriages (1845). A project is under way to index these records centrally on computer & make them available on a website. This is some way off. For the present, the researcher must visit the General Register Office in Dublin & read the indexes & records there. Many of these records are available from other sources.
- Details included on Birth records are: names of both parents (including the mother’s maiden name) & their address
- Details included on Marriage records are: names & addresses of the marrying parties, their occupations, their addresses & the names of their fathers & their occupations.
- Details included on Death records are: name of deceased, address, cause of death & the name of a witness present at time of death.
5. Census Records: complete for 1910 & 1911; fragments from the 19th century, complete for some parishes. The first full census in Ireland dates from 1821 (most of the returns are, unfortunately, lost).
6. Land Records: in addition to the details from the Tithe Books & Griffith’s Valuation, records are available at the Registry of Deeds, Dublin. These involve land transactions, mortgages, transfers, etc., from 1708 to the present day. An important source for the 18th century especially, where few other records are available. By the 19th century many more people were registering deeds of land transactions. Many wills were also deposited at this registry. Deeds often name several people.
(1) Estate records. Land in Ireland was largely in the hands of big landowners until the 1840s, when many of the estates were broken up under the Encumbered (with debts) Estates Act (1849). A series of Land Acts from the 1880s saw more & more land going to the occupiers of land, until the Wyndham Land Act (1903), which enabled many thousands to own their own land. Estate records vary from county to county, estate to estate. Many involve small tenants.7. Wills. Annual Calendars are available from 1858, with details of address, date of death, executors names & names of heirs. Before that there is an Index from 1484. A fire at the Public Record Office in Dublin in 1922 destroyed much of the nation’s records, including some of the 19th century census returns, original wills, etc. Many of the missing records have been replaced from other sources. New records are appearing all the time, as interest in genealogy & family history grows. Administrations (intestacy) indexes are also available.
6. The County Heritage Centres: this project, laudable in its original aims, has not been as successful as might be wished. The aim was for every county to index all records particular to it. Many of the parish records have been indexed. Some centres are more successful than others. The problem probably lies with the county system. There are insufficient resources made available to fund the centres. A central location for all records countrywide, maintained by professional researchers, would lead to economies of scale & better results. Some of the centres have closed their doors, other take too long, or ignore queries from the public. Many relevant records have not yet been indexed. This is especially frustrating for clients overseas.
8. Miscellaneous Records: these include Census substitute forms (used by people applying for pensions in the early decades of the 20 century), publications (on surnames, local history of places, journals, existent genealogies & family histories, know information on surnames, commercial & social directories, city directories, gravestone inscriptions, newspapers), indexes of marriage licenses, Voters lists, Freeholder lists, emigration records, etc.
Much information is available on various Irish & International websites already. Particular mention should be made of the LDS (Latter Day Saints) on http://familysearch.org/. This site has many civil records from the early years of registration, as well as some parish records & pedigrees of clients submitted to the site.
