Thomas Murphy

Hi Michael,

Thank you for your message. I hope that someone who has information on your Thomas makes a connection with you and helps you to further your research.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information 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 pertaining to the family that mentions any place names in Waterford  at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records,census records, letters, diary entries etc.

There are some places where you can search online, however it may be difficult to discern whether the results are relevant to your family or not without more information. Also bear in mind that sometimes the reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/baptisms/marriages/deaths in Ireland prior to 1800 ? particularly in rural areas ? is that they simply may not exist.

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.

Transportation from Ireland for crimes committed in Ireland, lasted from 1791 to 1853, ending 15 years earlier than transportation from England. The records of the Chief Secretary's Office, which had responsibility for the Penal system, are the major Irish source of information on transportees. Not all of the relevant records have survived, particularly for the period before 1836, but what does exist can provide a wealth of information. The records were formerly housed in the State Paper Office in Dublin Castle, which is now part of the National Archives of Ireland (NAI). These records were microfilmed and a database was presented to the Australian government and can now be found in many State archives. The NAI retains copies and the database, in particular, can save a great deal of time and effort. www.nationalarchives.ie Early convict arrivals records, making up some of the gaps in the NAI material, are also online at www.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/convicts.htm

I did a quick search for Thomas Murphy in the National Archives Transportation database. Unfortunately, 51 matches came back. However there was one where the trial took place in Waterford. The document was dated 1828 but it is referring to a petition for the convicts family to join him, so this Thomas would have been transported before that.Convicts had to wait a minimum of 4 years before they could make a request for free passage for his family.

http://findingaids.nationalarchives.ie/index.php?simpleSearchSbm=Search&category=18&subcategory=147&searchDescTxt=thomas+murphy&offset=50&browseresults=true

Is it possible this could be your Thomas? Have you ever heard any stories about one of his wives been a prisoner also or his children joining him from Ireland?

Some other websites that you may find useful are:

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

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

From Ireland: http://www.from-ireland.net/county-waterford-genealogy/

Waterford Library: http://www.waterfordcity.ie/library/localstudies/familyhistory.htm

Irish Newspaper Archives: http://www.irishnewsarchive.com/

Remember to post any new information that you find here. 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