I’m trying to locate my Kerr ancestors who came from County Donegal and any relatives who might still be living, but I don’t know the name of the parish. This is what I know: During the religious persecution inspired by King Henry, VIII, John Kerr was driven from his native land to the highlands of Scotland. After conditions improved, he returned to the County of Donegal where he found himself impoverished by the confiscation of his estates. His wife’s surname was McCready. With his three sons, he set sail for America in 1783, but his health being impaired by the hardships of war and the gloomy prison from which he had been released only a short time before, he died early in the voyage, and his three sons continued to America and settled in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. One son, James Kerr who was born in 1766 in County Donegal, married Margaret Haney, born 1780 in County Donegal. They were married in Fayette Co., PA. The other two sons were John Kerr and Charles Kerr, both born in County Donegal. I know this is probably a long-shot, but thought I would try. Any information you could provide will be deeply appreciated. Thank You, Barbara J Mogush305 Waterford St.Edinboro, PA 16412e-mail bjmogush@velocity.net
Thursday 13th Dec 2012, 09:40PM
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Hi Barbara, thanks for your message and interest in Ireland Reaching Out.
Unfortunatley, it may be a bit of a long-shot. The reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/deaths/marriages in Ireland prior to 1800 is that they simply may not exist.
The Church of Ireland was the official church of the country and therefore the bulk of information that does survive for earlier periods is often from these registers. 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
Some other websites that may help you in your search include:
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
Perhaps you could also try getting in contact with the Donegal Ancestry Centre, however they may charge a fee for their services. Here are their contact details:
Donegal Ancestry Centre,
The Quay,
Ramelton,
Co. Donegal
Email: info@donegalancestry Phone: (074) 915 1266
I hope that this helps, and that you do manage to find the information that you are looking for.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Wednesday 6th Feb 2013, 12:00PM