William John Barnes

Hi Bob,

Thank you for your message.

Have you tried looking for William in the 1901/1911 census records? These are available online here:

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

Also, civil registration began in Ireland in 1864 so if he returned to Ireland you may be able to find his death record in civil records or any other civil records relating to him once he returned.  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

Have you tried looking at church records in the parish for more information on him? 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 Aghalee  parish, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Antrim&parish=Aghagallon&churchid=380

Most surviving Church of Ireland records are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42

Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.

You could also check for record of the family in Griffith?s Valuation. this was a property valuation survey carried out 1848-1864:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

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

The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm

Family Search: www.familysearch.org

Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/antrim/index.html

Irish Newspaper Archives: http://www.irishnewsarchive.com/

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