I am looking for any early records on Patrick McGinley (born 1791) and his wife Catherine McGrath (born 1794) Their children- all born in Ireland -were:Andrew,(1817);John(1820);Mary Margaret(1822); Ann (1825); Catherine (1828);Daniel (1829);Margaret (1831); Patrick (1833) and James (1838). Margaret we know was born in Fermanagh.
There is a letter dated 15 April, 1841, at Pettigo, signed by a Fr. Ryan, given as they were emigrating to Canada. I don't know if any records remain from this time but would appreciate any help you could give me. Thank you,
Ruth McGetrick
Monday 11th Feb 2013, 11:31PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi Ruth,
Thank you for your message.
Unfortunately, the reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/baptisms/marriages/deaths in Ireland prior to 1800 ? particularly in rural areas ? is that they simply may not exist.
The Church of Ireland was the official church of the country at the time, so usually the bulk of what does survive is from these registers. For more information on Church of Ireland registers check:
http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.
Copies of Catholic records from the area only begin c. 1851. You can see this at the Irish Times website here:
It may be an idea to contact the local parish priest for possible assistance and in order to see if the originals start earlier.
If the McGinley?s followed Church of Ireland and their records are available you may be able to find them online.
www.familysearch.org has a large collection of genealogical records including some Irish birth and marriage records.
www.rootsireland.ie also has a vast collection. However you have to pay to use this site.
You could also try contacting the Irish World Heritage centre for assistance; however a fee may apply for their services. Here are their contact details:
Irish World Heritage Centre,
51 Dungannon Road,
Coalisland,
Co. Tyrone.
B71 4HP
Phone: +44 28 8774 6065 Email: info@irish-world.com
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Thursday 18th Apr 2013, 09:25AM