Great Grampa John Wilson

Hi,

Thank you for your message.

In order to find more information on John, you need to know the parish in Antrim that he was from. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

As he was married in Larne, it may be no harm to begin searching for his birth record here. You could also try searching for his marriage record in Larne?s records. Some marriage certs list both the bride and grrom?s place of residence which may give you some clues as to where he was from. Alos, sometimes the couple?s fathers? names are listed also.

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 Larne parish, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showlikerecords&citycounty=antrim&CityCounty=Antrim&parish=Larne

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.

If you can find John?s father?s name, you could then check for him in Griffith?s Valuation. This is a property valuation survey that was carried out in Ireland 1848-1864, it doesn?t have any genealogical information but can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place. You can search this online here: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

Also, the baptismal records of John?s children may also offer some information on other Wilson family members who may have acted as sponsors for the children.

There are a couple of places online where you can try searching for records:

www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.

www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.

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

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

You could also try contacting the Ulster Historical FOundation for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email: enquiry@uhf.org.uk

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

Good morning from Australia.

I have just come across this post, and am also a descendant of John Wilson and Elizabeth Cyde. I would be very happy to share information - I have some Wilson information, but also questions.

Hope to hear from you Golfgal.

I would also be ecstastic to hear from anyone else with a connection to this or related families.