Family Information?

Hi

Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to the people you are researching. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you.

Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

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,                    

Genealogy Support

Ireland Reaching Out

Hi Roni,

First, Dunfanaghy is in the Parish of Clondahorkey not Raphoe so you need to bear that in mind.  Secondly, Dunfanaghy is actually a town now BUT it is also a townland which is the smallest but most common land division in Ireland - not dissimilar to an American township and like America, it is usually a rural area.  Check out Bob Hilchey's map:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bhilchey/MClondahorky…

Second, you are operating on the very margins of what is possible in Irish genealogy because of the lack of records.  You are very unlikely to find a definitive link to the people you mention.  The best you will probably be able to do is find the occurrence of the two names in or around Dunfanaghy.  And be careful with spellings.  Virtually no-one could spell in Ireland at that time so the name Rortey, which I have never heard of, was probably Roarty, or even McGroarty, which is much more common.  

You are very fortunate in that the very earliest large scale resource has just last week been put online.  This is the Tithe Applotment Books of circa 1830.  It is here:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-searc…

There is an index to the TABs in Lindel Buckley's website and a lot of other useful data besides, including a 10 Step Guide to genealogy on her Home Page written by someone called Boyd Gray:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/Clondahorkypr…

Here are the Durnins taken from Lindel's index:

DUNANCharles Sen.CaseyDUNANMichael Jun.CaseyDURNANCharlesCaseyDURNIANCor.GreenhillDURNINPat.HornheadDURNINThomas & partnersHornheadDURNINThomasGrogaghDURNINTim.Hornhead

Durnin is NOT a very common name here so, these are your people even though there is no Daniel.  

And this is the only Roartys:

ROARTYRichardRouskey

Use the maps to see how close these townlands are to each other.  people did not go far to find a spouse or home in this period.

Lindel's section on her site on Clondahorkey will also give you the name of the local churches.  Civil Records did not begin until 1864 and chuch records not much earlier - Catholics about 1850, Presbyterians about 1830 and Church of Ireland about 1800.  BUT, many Catholics and Presbyterians ARE listed in CofI records if they do exist for this early period.  The best sites to search for births/baptisms, Marriages and deaths/burials, are Familysearch and RootsIreland.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Boyd