My name is Ron Johnson and I live in Birmingham, AL in the U.S. My 5th great grandfather lived in Dublin in the mid 1700's and his name was william Cole. According to family records he lived in Dublin and committed a political transgression and had to flee to America, changing his name to William Johnston, which later became Johnson.
We are trying to find out what his transgression was and who his ancestors were. We think he left Dublin around 1750. His oldest child was named James and there was a James Cole baptised in St. Michans in 1695. Could this have been William's father? Williams other children's names were Samuel, Charles, Benjamin, Elizabeth, and Nancy.
We believe that he was English and his ancestors probably came from the SouthWestern part of England. I have researched the Cole book by James-Edwin Cole, dated 1867 and believe that William's and thus my ancestors are listed in the book.
Any help anyone can provide would be deeply appreciated. My email address is ronsanctuary@hotmail.com.
Ron Johnson (Cole)
RonJ
Wednesday 2nd Jan 2013, 05:59PMMessage Board Replies
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Hi Ron,
Thank you for your message.
Perhaps you could try looking in newspaper archives. http://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ is a good website as it has newspapers dating back to the 1700's. You can search the archives for free, however to view specific articles there is a fee. The two best newspapers to search, given the fact that his transgression happened in the 1700's are the Freeman Journal and The Leinster Journal.
Some other websites which may be helpful 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 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
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/dublin/index.html
You coud also try contacting the Dun Laoghaire Heritage and Genealogy Centre in Dublin, for assistance. However, a fee will probably apply for their services. Here are their contact details:
Dun Laoghaire Heritage and Genealogy Centre,
Craft Courtyard,
Marlay Park,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16
Phone: (01) 495 4485 Email: cmalone@dlrcoco.ie
I hope that this helps-it would be very interesting to find out what the political transgression was!
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Wednesday 27th Feb 2013, 01:48PM