I am doing our family history and need some help with the May/Starrett families who lived in and around Garvagh around 1874 up to 1924. Robert May Snr moved to the area around 1868 where he married Ellen Sarah Starrett in 1873. They had 9 children. Ellen Sarah died about 1908 and Robert died in 1924 at Bellury. He was a School master. Their children were - Ellen Sarah, Robert, Hugh(Canada), Jane, Thomas, John (Africa), Anna Bella, James & Samuel Thompson (Canada/USA)
Any help or suggestions would be welcomed.
Jenny May
Wednesday 12th Dec 2012, 07:35AM
Message Board Replies
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Hi Jenny May, thanks for your message and interest in Ireland Reaching Out.
Do you know where Robert lived before moving to Garvagh? If you can find this out you can check for some record of him in Griffith's Valuation. You may also find some record of the Starrett family here. This is a land survey that was carried out in Ireland between 1848 and 1864. It acts as a good census substitute as there are no census records in Ireland prior to 1901. You can browse the valuation here:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Have you looked a the 1901 and 1911 census records? In case you haven't you can search these here:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
You could also try searching through Church records. Many Catholic Records are held locally. One website which may be useful to you though, is the Irishtimes website. Here you can check what records are available in specific parishes. Here is the link for the Gravagh/Errigal parishes:
For Church of Ireland Records you can check http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.
Some other websites that may prove helpful to you are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
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/
and
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
I hope that some of these weblinks help you find some information. Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to 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 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
Tuesday 5th Feb 2013, 10:35AM