Hamilton birth of twins

Hi Gareth,

Thank you for your message.

As civil registration did not become mandatory in Ireland until 1864, you will have to look at Church records to find birth records for Joseph and William?s siblings. Do you know what religion the family were?

Most Catholic records are held locally so it may be an idea 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. For Clones parish follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Monaghan&parish=Clones&churchid=297

For information on Church of Ireland records check: http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.  The Anglican Record Project is has created an index to their records: http://ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/AngRecord/bunclodyunionindex.pdf

Some Irish church records are also available online:

www.familysearch.org have a large collection of Church records compiled by the Church of the Latter Day Saints

www.rootsireland.ie also has a large collection available-however you have to pay to use this site.

Some other websites which you may find useful are:

The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm

Genealogy Tool kit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/trace-family-history.html

Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/monaghan/index.html

Alternatively, you could contact Monaghan Genealogy for assistance- a fee may apply. Here are their contact details:

Monaghan Genealogy,

6 Tully,

Monaghan.

Email: theomcmahon@eircom.net

I hope that this is 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.

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