My great-grandfather, Robert Machesney, was married to Eleanor Magrath in Enniskillen in 1878. They lived in the townland of Gortmaconnell and had six children between 1879 and 1889: Kathleen and Margaret, who emigrated to Australia; George, William and Edward (my grandfather) who all moved to Liverpool; and Robert.
There are areas of research where evidence is patchy.
1. It has been difficult to find records of the son Robert.
2. I think my great-grandfather was born in County Cavan. Some evidence points that way, but it has been difficult to confirm.
3. I think this was my great-father's second marriage. There is marriage record of a Robert Machesney in 1849 in Enniskillen to an Anne Leonard, but it has been difficult to be sure.
Any other information on Machesneys in Enniskillen and Killesher would be welcome.
Friday 1st Feb 2013, 11:29AM
Message Board Replies
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Hi,
Thank you for your message.
Have you tried checking church records for Robert?s birth? Most catholic records are held locally so it may be an idea to write to the parish priest for possible assistance. One website which you may find useful however, is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. For Killesher parish follow this link:
For Church of Ireland records check 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
Have you already tried searching for records online? If you haven?t a good website where you can do this is www.familysearch.org
Also www.rootsireland.ie ?however you have to pay to use this site.
Given the dates you have mentioned you should also be able to find record of Robert?s birth or marriage in civil records as civil registration began in Ireland in 1864. These records are available from the General Register?s Office in Dublin. Here is their website:
http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You can search the indexes to these records here:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
Have you seen the original of the marriage record dating to 1849? If you have not it may be worth your while to try and get it. Marriage records also record the names of the witnesses and sometimes other information such as father?s names and residences both of which may help you to confirm if it is relevant to you.
Some other websites which you may find 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/fermanagh/index.html
I hope that this is helpful. Best of luck with the rest of your research!
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
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Thank you for the message, although I ahev to say that my experience of Family Search has not been particularly good.