looking for family name LETTUS

Hi thanks for your message and interest in Ireland Reaching Out.

Do you have any more information on Peter that would help narrow down the search for him? Do you have any documentation on him that mentions a parish/village/town? Also do you know what religion he was as this can also be important in determining which records are relevant to your research.

Do you have any other information on his emigration? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than that of departure. If you knew which city he arrived at it may help you find information-and perhaps even an exact place of origin. The US National Archives Immigration Information is a good place to start. You can find it here:

http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/

Also have you tried doing a search for the surname? Lettus is not a very common surname in Ireland so this may help you narrow down your search area.  I used the irishtimes website to do this, but Lettus yielded no results. However, the name Lettis did.. you can see the results here:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID=

It might help to bear in mind during your search that there may be differnat variations of the name.

Other websites that may prove useful to you in your research are the National Library and The National Archives of Ireland found at http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/  respectively.

You could also do a search at https://familysearch.org/  

I hope that some of these links help. Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to the people you are researching. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.

Kind regards,                    

Genealogy Support 

Hello, Emma

Thank you for your reply. I have searched all of the places you have mentioned. Peter Lettus was Roman Catholic and I do not know what town he was from, only that it was County Meath. His brother, Andrew, lived in Scotland for about 10 years and married there and had children before he emigrated to the US. After that, Peter and Andrew always lived near one another. Andrew's records in Scotland spell his last name Lettice, but after he came here he is listed at Lettus.

I have Peter's request for naturalization and he states in that that he arrived in the US on December 31, 1840 although I can't find any ships that arrived that day that would have come from England or Ireland. The entire family settled in one area of New York, so I am assuming that he landed in NY, but it could have been somewhere else.

Another one of your volunteers suggested I contact the Meath Heritage center, which I have done and sent them a check for $100.00 US to research both Peter and my other GGGrandfather who I know was born in Kells. I am hoping that will help find something.

My husband and I are coming to Ireland in April and I am truly hoping to find some extended family to visit with!

Thank you again,

Carol

Hi Carol,

Thank you for your response. Yes hopefully the heritage centre will be able to find some informatation for you as it would be fantastic if there was someone you could connect with while here!

We have recently added a new link to the top of our page for people who are planning to vist in 2013. It is a quick form just asking questions such as what counties you will be visiting, where you are coming from etc. You can fill it out here, if you do not mind taking a few minutes to do so :

http://www.irelandxo.com/visiting-ireland-2013

Also, if you would like to share more details of your visit with us, such as dates etc please do so via our contact form at info@irelandxo.com, and we will endeavour to find a volunteer that may be able to assist or advise you during your visit. (Hopefully you will have made your own contact in the area already- but just in case!)

Kind regards,

Emma

Good morning.   Hope this message finds you.  It seems a while since you posted.   Lettus is my mother's maiden name and I have been trying to find family as well.   Her father Thomas was born in Troy New York.  He had a brother Andrew.  Thomas was born 1865.   His father James was born in Ireland in 1829 or 30. And died their in 1870   His Father may  have used the sur name Lettice   
First name Micheal.  No dates but his wife may have been Catherine Finnan. (1785). not sure if any of this helps but I find the Lettus name is so hard to find that it was great to see any possible info.  We have very little information about this side of our family.