The story is that the O'Brien brother's were from County Kerry. The 2 brother's, Patrick and William immigrated to the USA. Their they married and their first 2 children were born in NY. They then moved to Massachusetts. On both their death certificates their parents are Michael O'Brien and Bridget Casey.
I am not sure where in Ireland they are really from. I have been looking for a marriage record for Michael and Bridget but have had not luck. I am not even sure if the brothers came over by themselves or with their parents.
If anyone can guide me as to where to look I would be very grateful.
Thank you
Barbara
Thursday 7th Mar 2013, 04:41PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi Barbara,
Thank you for your message.
You do not give any dates in your message so it is hard to know what records might be relevant to your search. However, here are some suggestions of how you may be able to confirm if th family came from Kerry.
Irish Genealogy have begun a project to upload both Catholic and CHurch of Ireland church records to their website free of charge. It is an ongoing project so only a few counties have been covered so far:
Kerry
Dublin,
Carlow
Parts of Cork
If the family are from Kerry you should be able to find some record of them here. http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/
www.familysearch.org also have some Irish records available online.
www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish records available, however you have to pay to use this site.
Civil registration began in Ireland in 1864, so if any important life events happened after this date, such as birth, death, marriage, there should be record of it in these records. Civil 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 online at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
You could also check for record of the family in the land acts pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
These do not offer any genealogical information but they can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place.
Have you tried looking into Patrick and William?s emigration? Sometimes more information was given at the port of arrival rather than that of departure so you may be lucky and find a place of origin in these records. For inforamtion on US immigration records check the National Archives at:
http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/
Some other websites that you may find useful 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/kerry/index.html
Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm
I hope that some of these links are helpful. 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.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Tuesday 30th Apr 2013, 10:59AM