I am looking for information and relatives of my great grandfather John Scott, supposedly born in Omagh in Co. Tyrone in 1833 or 1838 to John and Janet Scott. He is supposed to have been in the Irish Constabulary. In about 1858 he married Hannah McAlhany (various spellings) in Co. Donegal before emigrating to Australia and then on to NZ as a St John Brannigan Constable in 1861. Their first child Joseph was born in Co Donegal in 1859 or 1860, and their 3 remaining children were born in Dunedin, NZ. He was in the police force in NZ for only a short time and was then listed as a labourer. He died in Dunedin, NZ in 1885. I would be grateful for any help in fleshing out this very meagre outline of my Irish roots.
Saturday 17th Nov 2012, 09:26AM
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Hi
Have you checked the immigration records in Australia? Generally, more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. The University of Woolongong has produced, on microfiche, a complete index and transcript of all information concerning immigrants of Irish origin recorded on ships' passenger lists between 1848 and 1867. These are useful for finding out an exact place of origin as well as parents' names. The Public Record Office of Victoria has good online databases of settlers at www.prov.vic.gov.au Otherwise, other records may be found in the Colonial Office Papers of the UK National Archives, class reference CO 201. This class contains a wide variety of records, including petitions for assisted passages, emigrants' lists, records of emigrants on board ship, petitions from settlers for financial assistance and much more.
There are lots of books and documents available about the Irish emigration to NZ. There is a website you could look at: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/irish/2 for information about the Irish in New Zealand.
If you haven't already -you could try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64) http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) https://familysearch.org/ for John Scott and his relatives.
Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at ). www.failteromhat.com
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 find information about the RIC here: museum@garda.ie There they are currently digitising RIC records and they may be able to help you find information. Excellent personnel records were kept from 1816. These can be found at the UK National Archives here: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ HO 184. There are microfilm copies at the National Archives of Ireland, The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). For each recruit it includes a brief service record, date of marriage and wife's native county, and the name of the individual who recommended him. This is important to identify an exact place of origin, because the recommendations usually came from local clergymen or magistrates who knew the recruit personally. There is a book by Jim Herlihy called, The Royal Irish Constabulary: a complete alphabetical list of officers and men, 1816-1922, 1999. This supplies the Service Number needed to use the Registers quickly and easily. Also worth checking at the UK National Archives is PMG 48: 'Pensions and allowances to officers, men and staff of the Royal Irish Constabulary and to their widows and children'. This dates from the 1870s and usually gives the address of the recipient. The Dublin Metropolitan Police Register is held by the Garda Archives at Dublin Castle, but is more readily available on microfilm at the National Archives of Ireland. It does not give marriage details but does supply a parish of origin.
Remember to post as much information as you can regarding the people you are researching. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further 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