Porter Family Inch co. Donegal

Hi,

Thank you for your message.

Have you tried looking in church records for more information?

Presbyterian registers are held in three main locations:

• in local custody
• in the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
• at the Presbyterian Historical Society http://www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com in Belfast.

PRONI has microfilm copies of almost all registers in Northern Ireland and also lists of records held by the Presbyterian Historical Society.

You could also check for record of the family in the land acts pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:

The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

Civil registration began in 1864, so you should be able to find any births, deaths, marriages that occurred in Thomas? family in these records. Civil records are available from the General Register?s Office in Dublin. Here is their website:

http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm

You can search the indexes to these records online at:

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347

Have you tried looking in the 1901/1911 census records to see if you can find any information on family still in the area at the time? These are available here:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

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/donegal/index.html

Family Search: www.familysearch.org

Alternatively you could try contacting the Donegal Ancestry Centre however a fee may apply. Here is their email: info@donegalancestry.com

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

Hello,

Your message is intriguing. In 1866, my great-great grandfather John Porter left the Isle of Inch as a young man with his wife Rebecca and young son James (age 5 at the time). They immigrated to the United States. My great-great grandmother's maiden name was Cresswell. They settled first in Philadelphia, and then three years later they left for Iowa. After working as a field hand and renting land, John eventually bought some land of his own in 1873. 

Your message does not mention John, regardless, the time frame and mention of Philadelphia caused me to wonder if there is any connection (perhaps cousins?). Perhaps records of John are incomplete too.

Best of luck to you in your search. Please respond to this message if you need any more information...perhaps there is a connection.

Sincerely,

Clark Porter