kellys

Hi Gail,

You are doing exactly the right thing by posting your message on our website!

Could you also please post your message on the County Dublin page here: http://www.irelandxo.com/group/county-dublin

Can I ask why you have this message in Abbeyshrule? Do you know of a connection to that parish? If you don't know which parish they were from, could you please post your message on the County Longford page here: http://www.irelandxo.com/group/county-longford

It would of course really increase you chances of getting an accurate response if we knew a more precise place of origin, but there are other avenues you can check in the meantime.

Civil registration records are available from the General Register Office (GRO). These start from 1864 however. You can access the website here: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm

Do you know anything about William's emigration? Do you know much about their emigration? Dates, the reason why they left, etc? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at (e.g. Liverpool), this could be a good place to find more information, and perhaps even find out an exact place of origin.

You could also try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64). Griffith's is freely available here: www.askaboutireland.com or here: www.failteromhat.com Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at. Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38). Microfilm copies of the books for all of Ireland are available at the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/tithe-applotment-books-and-the-primary-griffith-valuation/ or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS).

The Tithe Applotment List might be of use to you, or at least interesting for you. These lists constitute the only nationwide survey for the period, and are valuable because the heaviest burden of the tithes to the Established Church, the Church of Ireland, fell on the poorest, for whom few other records survive. The information in the Tithes is quite basic, typically consisting of townland name, landholder's name, area of land and tithes payable. Many Books also record the landlord's name and an assessment of the economic productivity of the land. the tax payable was based on the average price of wheat and oats over the seven years up to 1823, and was levied at a different rate depending on the quality of land. For Parishes where the registers do not begin until after 1850, this information can be useful, as they are often the only surviving early records. They can provide valuable circumstantial evidence, especially where a holding passed from father to son in the period between the Tithe survey and Griffith's Valuation.

You can information about the frequency of the name in the mid-19th century and any other variant spellings of the name here: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/

1800-1835 Freeholders. Genealogical Office 444. Also Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS), film 100181.

There is a book you could look at by G. Brady called 'In search of Longford Roots', 1987.

Please make sure you link anyone else in your family who is interested in their Irish heritage to our site - and indeed anyone else you know of Irish heritage.

Kind regards,

Sinead Cooney

Genealogist (Ireland XO)