Re: Cohill Clifden and New Jersey.

Hi,

Thank you for your message.

As Edward was born in 1874 you should be able to find his birth record in civil records as Civil registration began officially in Ireland in 1864. It is likely given this birth year that his parents were married after 1864, if this is the case you should then be able to find their marriage record. This can be useful as it names the couple?s father?s names and occupations. Also, as weddings usually took place in the bride's parish of origin it will give you some information as to Anne?s origin.  Civil records are available from the General Register?s Office in Dublin. Here is their website:

http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm

You can search the indexes to these records online at:

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347

You could also check in church records for the area for information. Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Clifden/Omey parish, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&churchid=1046&CityCounty=Galway&CityCounty=West%20Galway&parish=Omey

As you can see from the above link the Galway Family History Society West have copies available. If you would like to contact them here is their email, however please note a fee may apply: galwaywestroots@eircom.net

Have you heard of Griffith?s Valuation? this is a property valuation survey that was carried out in Ireland 1848-64. It doesn?t give any genealogicl records but can sometimes be used to tie a family to a specific place for the period:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

You could also check if any Cohill?s rmained in the area after Edwards emigration in the 1901/1911 census records:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

Some other websites that you may find useful are:

The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

Family Search: www.familysearch.org

Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/galway/index.html

US National Archives/Immigration info: http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/

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