looking for info on great grandfather

Hi,

Thank you for your message.

Do you have any other information that you can share?

It will be difficult to find information Thomas without a more specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

Do you have any documentation belonging to the family, official/unofficial, that mentions any townland, parish, village or town? Records such as census records, wills, land/property records, death records may sometimes contain more information.

Immigration records can also be useful. Have you looked into Thomas? emigration much? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than that of departure-sometimes even an exact place of origin. For immigration records in the US check the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/

Do you know his parents?? names?   If you do you could try searching Griffith?s Valuation for them. This is a land record dating from 1848-1864, it does not give any genealogical information but can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place (if multiple results are not returned). You can search this here:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/     

It may also be an idea to search for Thomas or any family members at Family Search. This is a huge database of genealogical records compiled by the Church of the Latter Day Saints. If you can find a birth record for Thomas or his parents?? marriage record it should give a parish name also. Here is the link:

www.familysearch.org

Some other websites that you may find useful include the National Library and National Archives at:

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

Also Genealogy Links gives a list of links to genealogical sources available in each parish in Ireland, which may be helpful. http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/index.html

Finally, you could try searching for any family members that remained in Ireland in the 1901/1911 census records here: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

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