My 3rd Great-Grandfather, Michael J. Williams, arrived in the U.S. on St. Patrick's Day 1851 on the Ship E.Z. from Liverpool. With Michael (age 46) on the ship were: Bessy, age 46 [born ca 1805 (wife)], Ellen, female age 15 [born ca 1836 (daughter)], John, male age 13 [born ca 1838 (son)], Michl., male age 11 [born ca 1840 (son)], Bessy, female age 9 [born ca 1842 (daughter)], Cathn., female age 7 [born ca 1844 (daughter)], Margaret, female age 5 [born ca 1846 (daughter)], and Johan, female age 3 months [opine Johanna, (daughter, and my 2nd Great-Grandmother)]. The family was joined in Massachusetts by another daughter, Mary, who was said to have married Patrick Corcoran in Ireland. Bessy (also known as Elizabeth and Eliza) was later said to have been born in 1802. Michael's gravestone says that he was a native of Brandon [sic], County Cork, Ireland. I hope to visit Cork and Brandon in August 2013 and am hoping to find some records pertaining to the family before I do. One Eliza Murphy, daughter of Dionesia [Denis] Murphy and Honora Leane, was baptized 14 Sep 1802 in Cork & Ross Diocese, Murrah & Templemartin Parish, according to Roman Catholic church records online. In the same records I found that Michael Williams married Eliza Murphy on 27 Feb 1827 in Bandon. I am hopeful that this is the family. Any assistance would be appreciated! Jacqui
jacquiruiz
Friday 7th Jun 2013, 03:36AMMessage Board Replies
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Hi Jacqui,
Thank you very much for your message.
Did you know that records from the Catholic Diocese of Cork and Ross have been uploaded online free of charge? You can search these records here:
http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/
Another useful website is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. For Bandon parish follow this link:
You could also check for record of the family in the land records pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
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/cork/index.html
Failte Romhat: www.failteromhat.com
West Cork Genealogy: http://www.westcorkgenealogy.com/
Cork Past and Present: http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/genealogy/genealogicallinks/
Bandon Genealogy: http://www.bandon-genealogy.com/
I hope that some of this is helpful. I am delighted to hear that you will be visiting in August! If you would like to contact us via our contact form at info@irelandxo.com with details of your stay please do so and we will endeavour to find a volunteer that may be able to assist you.
Also, we have added a new link to the top of our website for people who are planning on visiting in 2013. It takes you to a short web form. We would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to complete this. Thank you!
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support