i am trying to find the family of my gt grandfather john kelly born 1849 i think banbridge?his parents were william kelly and catherine kennison. wiliam b abt 1819 catherine b abt 1824 john married sarah potts in ayrshire scotland in 1899 sarah came from banbridge. i know sarah had 2 sisters and 2 brothers.margaret.potts.annie potts.william potts.david potts.
Sunday 1st Jul 2012, 10:58PM
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Hi there,
As far as I can tell, there is no Banbridge in Ireland. There is a Banbridge in Co. Down. It also exists in the UK however. Do you have any idea where in Ireland? Which part of Ireland even?
In the meantime, please post your message on the Seapatrick (Banbridge, Co. Down) parish page here: http://www.irelandxo.com/group/seapatrick-down
John Kelly certainly sounds Irish. In saying that, it must be one of the most common names in the country! Perhaps you should start your research going back a generation further. Have you looked for the marriage record of William Kelly and Catherine Kennison? This might offer the first clues for you. You could look at the UK National Archives here: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
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).
Have you looked at the 1901/1911 census records? You can find these here: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
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
You can check for 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/ You can do a combined search for both surnames to gain some idea of where the names were found.
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)
Friday 13th Jul 2012, 10:22AM