Searching Spence Family

Hi Len,

Thank you very much for your message.

It may be difficult to confirm this information as it can be difficult to find records that dates back that early. As you can see from the Irish Times websites Catholic records for the parish do not begin until c. 1840:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Donegal&parish=Donaghmore&churchid=362

Church of Ireland records generally tend to have an earlier start date as they were the official church of the country at the time so it may be possible to find something in these. 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.

It may be an idea to contact Donegal Ancestry Centre to see if they can assist you further, however a fee may apply. Here is their email: info@donegalancestry.com

I will also pass this message onto one of our volunteers in the area to see if they can offer any additional advice.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

Hi Len,

You did not mention what religion your ancestors were.

As stated in the message above, Roman Catholic records for this parish only go back to 1840.

However, records for the Protestant churches go back much earlier.

See the main Donaghmore page for links to the various churches.

Regards,

Len:

I am tracing this family as well through son Godfrey.  Can you tell me more about the scraps of paper you refer to?  Do you know where they originated?  Where do you live?  Please contact me at jwirish@gmail.com.