Greetings all,
I just learned from a US naturalization record that my 3rd great grandfather, Thomas BULGER was born in Wateree in August 1823, arrived 8 Dec 1846 in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Milton, Massachusetts in 1867.
Thomas BOLGER married Margaret ALLEN, worked with leather (morrocco dresser) and had 8 known children while the couple lived in Milton. Only one son, John A. Bolger, seems to have left descendants.
Thomas may have been related to a William BOLGER/BULGER (b.1810) living next door to him in Milton at the time of the 1860 census.
I'd live to know if any records or relatives exist in Ireland for Thomas BOLGER's family.
Thanks so much for your assistance.
Christine Roane
Tuesday 11th Jun 2013, 07:55PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi Christine,
Thank you for your message.
Civil registration did not begin in Ireland until 1864 so prior to this all records were kept by the local church. Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Gowran parish, follow this link:
As you can see records begin quite early in the parish so you should be able to find Thomas? birth record and also William?s if he was born in the parish too. The Kilkenny Family History Society at Rothe House have copies available. Here is their email if you would like to contact them, however a fee may apply: kilkennyfamilyhistory@rothehouse.com
As I mentioned earlier, civil registration began in 1864 so any births, deaths, marriages after this year were recorded in civil records. If Thomas? parents? died after this year you may be able to find their death record. 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 up to 1958 online at:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
You could also check for record of the family in the land records 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/
Have you tried looking in the 1901/1911 census records to see if there were any Bulger?s in the area at the time? These are available to search online here:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
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
Family Search: www.familysearch.org
US National Archives/Immigration info: http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/kilkenny/index.html
Kilkenny Library: http://kilkennylibrary.kilkenny.ie/eng/Our_Services/Local_Studies/
Ireland Gen Projects: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik2/
I hope some of this is helpful. Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Tuesday 2nd Jul 2013, 09:24AM