Thomas O'Brien was transported to Australia 1822 on "Countess Of Harcourt". Shipping records name him Thomas Bryan - he was 23 yrs, native of Trim, ploughman, sentenced at Lent Assizes Meath 1822, he was 5'61/2" fresh, freckled complexion, , brown hair, grey eyes, and was sentenced to 7 yrs imprisonment - nature of crime not recorded. In 1996 I wrote to Meath Heritage Centre with no success. I understand church records in Trim commenced 1829, too late for my research and 1821 Census Return showed a Michael O'Brien - could be anyone! I was advised not to carry out a full search. I have been told by others researching Thomas O'Brien that his name was Thomas Emmett O'Brien, but I have not been able to prove this. I have hit a brick wall with my research. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Monday 25th Mar 2013, 01:02AM
Message Board Replies
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Hi Helen,
Thank you for your message. You seem to have covered a lot of the bases already. I hope that someone who may have some new information or some suggestions makes contact with you.
Have you already tried looking for Thomas? transportation record in the Irish National Archives? You can search this database here:http://findingaids.nationalarchives.ie/index.php?category=18&subcategory=147
Also perhaps you could try looking at newspaper archives to see if any more information about Thomas is given. Meath county library may have some newspaper archives, here is a link to their Local Studies Department?s page:
http://www.meath.ie/Community/Libraries/LocalStudies/
The National Library of Ireland also have a good collection: http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
Some newspaper archives are also available online. You can search for free however there is a small fee to see the full article: http://www.irishnewsarchive.com/
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
Wednesday 15th May 2013, 03:34PM