I've learned and am fairly certain that my grandfather, William Joseph Maher, was born in November 1863 in Rathmacan in County Kilkenny. He emigrated to the US around 1884 and settled in Omaha, Nebraska. He married my grandmother, Catherine McShane in 1891 and they had seven children. I have most of the information regarding the descendants but am lacking ancestral information. Catherine was born in 1864 in Loughross/Crossmaglen, County Armagh. Her parents were Patrick McShane and Anne Callaghan. My current interest is in obtaining further ancestral information for William's line. Family stories say his parents were Michael Maher and Mary Maher and that he had siblings named Pate, Kate and John, but none of this has been verified. Any assistance on either side would be highly appreciated.
Friday 26th Oct 2012, 12:29PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi
If you haven't already - You could try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64) http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) https://familysearch.org/ for these missing relatives.
Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at ). www.failteromhat.com
Do you know much about their emigration? Dates, the reason why they left, etc.? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at (e.g. Liverpool), this could be a good place to find more information.
Valuations office in Dublin (http://www.valoff.ie) will have a record of the land registry from 1855 to modern times. This will assist in seeing what happened any land owned by the families.
Some sites that might be of assistance are:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/
http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
http://www.nas.gov.uk/familyHistory/
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/
Remember to post as much information as you can regarding 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 make sure you link anyone else in your family who is interested in their Irish heritage to our site - and indeed anyone else you know of Irish heritage.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Ireland Reaching Out
Tuesday 27th Nov 2012, 03:56PM