Searching for Russells from Ballymena in 1700s.

Hi Candy,

Thank you very much for your message.

You could try checking in church records for information on the family however, it may be difficult to find information on the family as the reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/baptisms/marriages/deaths in Ireland prior to 1800 ? particularly in rural areas ? is that they simply may not exist.

Presbyterian registers are held in three main locations:

• in local custody
• in the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
• at the Presbyterian Historical Society http://www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com in Belfast.

PRONI has microfilm copies of almost all registers in Northern Ireland and also lists of records held by the Presbyterian Historical Society.

It may be an idea to contact the Ulster Historical Foundation for some help. however a fee may apply for their services. Here is their email:

enquiry@uhf.org.uk

In the meantime 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/

Familysearch: www.familysearch.org

Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm

Irish Genealogy Project: http://www.igp-web.com/antrim/index.htm

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

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support