Looking for my Irish families

Hi Patty,

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 etc...), this could be a good place to find more information, and perhaps even find out an exact place of origin. Sone useful sites are: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/022/022-908-e.html   http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ and http://www.castlegarden.org/

You could try checking the land records called the 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) https://familysearch.org/ . 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.

Another source for you may be the1796: Spinning Wheel Premium Entitlement Lists. This was part of a government scheme to encourage the linen trade, free spinning wheels or looms were granted to individuals planting a certain area of land with flax. The lists of those entitled to the awards, covering almost 60,000 individuals, were published in 1796, and record only the names of the individuals and the civil parish in which they lived. The majority, were in Ulster, but some names appear from every county except Dublin and Wicklow. A microfiche index to the lists is available in the National Archives, and in PRONI http://www.proni.gov.uk/index.htm .

hurch records may be of some assistance to your search. Church of Ireland parish registers for the period up to 1870 are public records. Registers are available for about one third of the parishes, however many were destroyed in the Public Records Office in Dublin in 1922. Most are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. A list of all surviving registers is available in the National Archives. http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/. If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for more assistance.

I wish you the best of luck with your search.

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,

Genealogy Support

Ireland Reaching Out

Thank you again for the links. Are the Catholic church records held by the National Archives?

Almost all of the immigration records for New Brunswick, Canada have been lost.

Patty

Hi Patty,

Some of the Catholic records are held in the National Library of Ireland. You can get some information here: http://www.nli.ie/en/parish-register.aspx . Others are held locally and their information can be requested through local parish offices, which is why it is so important to know which parish your ancestors came from! You may be able to make some inqueries from the Diocese of Waterford & Lismore...? But finding a place of origin for your relatives will be very important in gathering more information about them..

All the Best.

Cynthia