I am looking for information on Patrick McGroarty (about 1829) and Catherine Gallagher (about 1829) of Donegal. Their son, Patrick F McGroarty (1855) was born in Donegal and came to the United States in 1883 with his wife Anne (McGroarty) McGroarty and young son Patrick F McGroarty (1881). There are descendants of this line in Massachusetts and New Hampshire who are interested in connecting with their Irish relatives, if any.
genie215
Monday 9th Apr 2012, 04:48PMMessage Board Replies
-
Hi there,
That is a fine photograph! Do you have any clues about what part of County Donegal he was from? It is very difficult to direct you to church records without some idea of the place of origin.
Civil registration records are available from the General Register Office (GRO). These start from 1864 however. You can access the website here: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You could also try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffth's Valuation (1848-64). Griffith's is freely available here: www.askaboutireland.com or here: www.failteromhat.com Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at.
Have you tried checking the Ellis Island records (www.ellisisland.org) or the Castle Garden records (www.castlegarden.org)? Generally, more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at, this could be a good place to find more information, and perhaps even find out an exact place of origin.
You can check the frequency of the surnames in the 1901 and 1911 census here: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/ It might give some indication of the fmailies who might still be living there today.
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,
Sinead Cooney
Genealogist (Ireland XO)
-
Than you for the information, Sinead! I know that Patrick McGroarty (III) was born in Keelogs in 1881. I believe the family was from that area of Donegal. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Genette
genie215
-
Hi Genette,
Could you please post your message on the Inver parish page here: http://www.irelandxo.com/group/inver-donegal
The Inver (Raphoe diocese) Roman Catholic church records start from 1861 for both baptismal and marriage records. These are available at the National Library of Ireland, Pos. 4599, or the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) MIC.1D/86, or the Church of Latter Day Saints, ref no. 0926210.
If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for more assistance.
PRONI have a document which should be of great interest to you. The reference number is MIC.1/158. It is the 1860-67 Emigrants to North America from Inver; with Church of Ireland registers.
Hope this will help get you started.
Kind regards,
Sinead