Lookin for info

Hi Heather,

Thank you for your message. I hope that someone who recognises the family makes a connection with you and helps you to further your research.

Unfortunately it may be difficult to find more information without knowing a specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

Have you tried finding their marriage certificate? Perhaps if you can find this it may mention a more specific place of origin. Check the UK National Archives for more information:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/default.htm

As James was buried in Bangor, it is possible that this is where he was originally from. You could try looking at church records in the parish. Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Bangor parish, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Down&parish=Bangor&churchid=452

As you can see from the above link, no records have been microfilmed so I suggest that you caontact the prish priest directly:

http://www.bangorparish.com/contact-us/

Most surviving Church of Ireland records 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. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42

Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.

www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.

www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.

It may be an idea to contact the Ulster Historical Foundation to see if they can offer some more assistance or advice, however a fee may apply. Here is their email: enquiry@uhf.org.uk

Some other websites that you may find useful in the meantime are:

The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm

Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/down/index.html

Remember to post any new information that you find here. 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.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

Thankyou very much Emma.The websites were very help full.Still looking.

kind Regards Heather.