I am trying to trace relatives of my great grandmother whose name was Mary Jane Clarke born (I think) in Ballintra, Donegal, Ireland on the 6 October 1865. Her parents were Thomas and Mary Ann Clarke. I do not know if she had any siblings. She came to New Zealand when she was 16, once again 'I think'. I am sorry I do not have a lot of information but hoping someone may know something, I would be eternally grateful. Unfortunately I did not ask my grandmother anything about her grandparents or parents!
Friday 5th Oct 2012, 11:37PM
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Hi Barbara,
You could try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64)for some of your relatives. The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38): Microfilm copies of the books for all of Ireland are available at the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/tithe-applotment-books-and-the-primary-griffith-valuation/ or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS). Griffith's is freely available here: www.askaboutireland.com or here: www.failteromhat.com Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at.
Civil registration records are available from the General Register Office (GRO). These start from 1864. You can access the website here: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm Valuations office in Dublin (http://www.valoff.ie) will have a record of the land registry from 1855 to modern times. This will assist in seeing what happened to any land that the family may have owned(as it usually passed on to a relation).
You can check for information about the frequency of the name in the mid-19th century and any other variant spellings of the name here: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/
Do you know much about Mary's emigration? Dates, the reason why she left, who she might have travelled with etc.? Generally, more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at, this could be a good place to find more information, and perhaps even find out an exact place of origin. There are lots of books and documents available about the Irish emigration to NZ. There is a website you could look at: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/irish/2 for information about the Irish in New Zealand.
You might also try contacting one of the National Genealogy Centres. You can find a listing for them here: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-centres-nationwide/
I wish you the best of luck with your search.
regards
Thursday 11th Oct 2012, 01:28PM