looking for relatives

Hi William,

I searched baptisms/births on rootsireland.ie for Patrick McNiff with father Hugh born 1880 + - 10 years and got a birth record of Patrick MacNiff born 1877 in Leitrim. I checked the parish and it was Drumkeeran. 

rootsireland is a pay site so it would cost to get the record. You already know the father is Hugh but it would give Patrick's mother's name so that you could find their marriage record which would have Hugh's parents' names on it.

I tried searching for Hugh's birth 1845 + - 10 years but there were 3 so it was impossible to know which is correct.

The 1901 Irish Census which is freely available online has a family of 9 McNiffs in Boleybaun, Drumkeeran, Leitrim: John 48 Anne 37 Hugh 18 Bee 16 Myles 13 John 11 Lizzy 8 Patrick 3 & James 1.

The 1911 census has the same family plus John 25 MARY 68 and margaret 14 all in Glasdrumman Beg Drumkeeran.

Griffiths Valuation free to search & done in Leitrim 1856 has 48 McNiffs all in Innishmagrath and Killarga.

Similarly, the Tithe Applotments - free to search - 1823-37 has 42 McNiffs.

Then I checked ancestry public member trees and got some different information.

The McNiff tree has Patrick born 2nd Aug 1866 & married Mary Ann MacNama 1896.

Their children were John 1897 & Mary Kate 1900. He then married Mary Ann McSharry 12 Feb 1907 at Killargue. They had Mary Ellen 1908.

Patrick's parents were Mathew McNiff & Catherine McPartland.

Feel free to post again if you need help or clarification.

Col

Eleven years later, a follow up Post regarding McNiff's. 

Patrick McNiff, born about 1825 in County Cavan, married Winifred Inez Gallagher, born about 1830 in Country Leitrim.  They married on March 6, 1845.  They boarded the Dromahair from Sligo to NYC where they landed  April 26, 1850.  Winifred was called "Kinny" in the ship's register.  There was a infant, Catherine, and possibly a brother, Hugh.  One of their children born here was named Francis Miles McNiff.  There are now three generations of Francis Miles McNiffs here in the US, so "Miles" or "Myles" may be a key to finding there origins in Ireland.  Patrick's other children were named John, Katherine W., Mary A., Helen, James, Francis Miles McNiff and Lawrence.

A search for Myles McNiff  comes up with four (4) of them in Parish Inishmagrath, Country Leitrim and one Myles McAniffe in Parish Drumreilly in County Leitrim.  The close proximity of Cavan and Leitrim gives me hope that I'm in the right area.