Lavelle's in Lackan

Hi Shannon,

Thanks for your message. The fact that you have a placename to start with should really help you in your search!

Have you tried looking in church records?

Most Catholic records are held locally. One website which may be of help to you is the irishtimes. Here, they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. For Lacken, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Mayo&parish=Lacken&churchid=754

As you can see from that page, records in Lacken did not begin until c. 1852.  This is unhelpful in terms of James' birth record or his parents marraige records. It may be worth your while however, to check what records are available in neighbouring parishes. New parishes were created in the 19th century as a result these start dates can sometimes be misleading. Here is a link to all the Roman Catholic parishes in Mayo, simply click on the parish to see what is available there:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/mayorc.htm

You could also try writing to the parish priest for possible asistance.

For Church of Ireland records check http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/

You can also do a search 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/  

Civil registration began in Ireland in 1864 . These are available from the General Register Office, here is their website:

http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm

If you can trace the family that remained in Ireland up to the turn of the century, you can do a search for them in the 1901 and 1911 census records here: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

Have you looked into his emigration much? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than that of departure so it can sometimes be a place to find more information. For immigration records in Canada check the National Archives and Library at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html

Some other websites which may help you 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

Family Search: https://familysearch.org/  

I hope that this helps. 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

Hi Shannon,

I didn't see any Lavelle's in the Tithes from 1833, but some Lavans.

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/results.jsp?…

I did see 10 listings for Lavelles on Griffiths's valuations

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNam…

I did find a Michael Malley listed on the tithe for Lackan: 

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004625690/00…

Do you happen to know when your ancestor emigrated to California?  Lackan parish church records start around 1854 ...

John