Hi Nancy,
Thank you very much for your message. Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information on the Gavins without knowing a specific parish of origin in Monaghan as most record sources are based on specific locations-usually a parish.
Do you have any documentation pertaining to the family that mentions any place names in Monaghan at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records,census records, letters, diary entries etc.
Have you tried looking :
www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.
www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.
Have you tried looking into the family?s emigration? Sometimes more infomation can be found at the port of arrival rather than that of departure. You may be lucky and find a place name here. For information on US immigration records check http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/
I did a search for Gavins in Griffith?s Valuation. This is a property valuation survey carried out in Ireland 1848-64. The only name that matches is Patrick Gavin, recorded in Currin parish 1861-
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&Submit.x=25&Submit.y=24&Submit=Submit&familyname=gavin&firstname=First+Name&baronyname=&countyname=MONAGHAN&unionname=&parishname=
It is difficult to know if he is related to your Gavin?s but it may be a starting point.
It may be an idea to contact Monaghan Genealogy while you are here to see if they can be of any assistance to you, here is their webpage: http://monaghangenealogy.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
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
Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm
Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/monaghan/index.html
Monaghan People: http://www.monaghantourism.com/people.aspx
Have a lovely visit!
All the best,
Genealogy Support
