SHEERAN James (1806-1870), siblings and ancestors

Hi Ray,

Thank you for your message.

Unfortunately, Catholic records for Kilbeggan do not begin until 1818, so it may be difficult to find information such as parents names etc. :

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&churchid=943&CityCounty=Westmeath&CityCounty=Westmeath&parish=Kilbeggan

I did a search for Sheeran?s in Kilbeggan in Griffith?s Valuation. This is property valuation survey that was carried out in Ireland 1848-1864. One result came back for a James Sheeran, in the townland of SKEAHANAGH in Kilbeggan, 1854, could this be your James?

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&Submit.x=42&Submit.y=16&Submit=Submit&familyname=sheeran&firstname=First+Name&baronyname=&countyname=WESTMEATH&unionname=&parishname=KILBEGGAN

There were no Sheerans recorded in kilbeggan in the earlier  Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838)

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/results.jsp?surname=sheeran&firstname=&county=Westmeath&parish=&townland=&search=Search

It may be an idea to contact the Dun na Si Heritage and Genealogical Society in Westmeath for further assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email address: dunnasimoate@eircom.net

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

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

Family Search: www.familysearch.org

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

Hi Emma,

Thank you so much for responding and for the time and effort you put in to doing so and for the research. I am a complete 'newby' to family history research in Ireland so every bit is a great help.

Your finding of James Sheeran in the Griffiths Valuation Roll is an excellent find. I notice he seems to have been the only Sheeran in the area at the time who occupied rateable property so it seems quite a high probability this is the person sought.

On the off chance the priest mentioned in my initial message was in some way linked e.g. perhaps being an uncle, or cousin, do you think the Catholic Church may have record of the Rev James Sheeran?  If that is a possibilty where do you suggest I enquire?

I don't know why I thought he may have been the father or grandfather or my wife's James Sheeran - clearly I was not thinking properly. His death less than 2 years after taking up his post is another pointer to my lack of logic.

Kind regards,

Ray

Hi Emma,

Thank you so much for responding and for the time and effort you put in to doing so and for the research. I am a complete 'newby' to family history research in Ireland so every bit is a great help.

Your finding of James Sheeran in the Griffiths Valuation Roll is an excellent find. I notice he seems to have been the only Sheeran in the area at the time who occupied rateable property so it seems quite a high probability this is the person sought.

On the off chance the priest mentioned in my initial message was in some way linked e.g. perhaps being an uncle, or cousin, do you think the Catholic Church may have record of the Rev James Sheeran?  If that is a possibilty where do you suggest I enquire?

I don't know why I thought he may have been the father or grandfather or my wife's James Sheeran - clearly I was not thinking properly. His death less than 2 years after taking up his post is another pointer to my lack of logic.

Kind regards,

Ray

Hi Ray,

For records on Rev. James Sheeran it may be an idea to contact the Diocese of Meath however they may or may not give out the information. Here is a link to their contact page:

http://www.dioceseofmeath.ie/diocesan-office

Best of luck with your research!

Emma