Hugh Shields

Hi Beatrice

Thank you for your query. Firstly you can check the frequency of the Shields name in Ireland in the mid 19th century through the link below:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/

Have you seen a death certificate for your great great grandfather? this can often reveal valuable clues to exact origins, parents names etc. Have you checked the emigration records? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city he arrived at (e.g. Liverpool, New York, etc.), this could be a good place to find more information. -And perhaps even find out an exact place of origin.

Ellis Island: http://www.ellisisland.org/search/passSearch.asp

Castlegarden: http://www.castlegarden.org/

US National Archives/Immigration info: http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/

When you find an exact place name ( Parish or Townland) you can then search church records.

Most Catholic records are held locally - One site which might be of use is - http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/ - where you can ?browse? an overview of available records per county. If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for possible assistance.

Church of Ireland parish registers for the period up to 1870-are public records. Registers are available for about one third of the parishes, however many were destroyed in the Public Records Office in Dublin in 1922. Most 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. A list of all surviving registers is available in the National Archives. http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.  The Anglican Record Project is has created an index to their records: http://ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/AngRecord/bunclodyunionindex.pdf

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 and 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. For the rest of Ireland, almost all records are in local custody. It can difficult to locate these as many congregations in the South have moved, amalgamated, or simply disappeared over the last sixty years.

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/        

The Tithe Applotment List might be of use to you, or at least interesting for you. These lists constitute the only nationwide survey for the period, and are valuable because the heaviest burden of the tithes to the Established Church, the Church of Ireland, fell on the poorest, for whom few other records survive. The information in the Tithes is quite basic, typically consisting of townland name, landholder's name, area of land and tithes payable.

Here are some other websites that may be helpful:

http://www.nli.ie/

http://www.nationalarchives.ie/

http://www.rootsireland.ie/

http://www.goireland.com/genealogy/

http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/

http://mallowheritagecentre.com/

http://www.skibbheritage.com/

http://www.corkarchives.ie/genealogy/

All the best in your research Beatrice

Kind Regards

Genealogy Support

Hi Beatrice

This is a free website : http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/

the name Shields is also spelt Shiels (no d on the end or Sheils, I suppose it depends on who wrote it 

the ones I found were in Dublin, but do check it out

Good luck

Maureen NZ