Information re Thomas McKee

Hi,

Thank you for your message.

There are two Mullaghboy townlands in Co. Derry. One is part of the civil parish of Magherafelt and the other is in Ballyscullion. Do you know which parish Thomas was born in?

Have you tried looking in Church records for information on Thomas? Most Catholic records are held locally. One website which you may find helpful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. For Magherafelt parish follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Derry&parish=Magherafelt&churchid=230

and for Ballyscullion parish follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Derry&parish=Ballyscullion&churchid=348

For Church of Ireland records check http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/. 

Do you know his parents? names? If you do, you could do a search of Griffith?s Valuation. This is a property survey that was carried out in Ireland between 1848 and 1864. You can search this online here:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/.

Another good website that you can search online is https://familysearch.org/ This is a huge database of genealogical records that has been complied by the Church of the Latter Day Saints.

Do you know much about Thomas?s emigration? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than that of departure. . 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.

Do you know the names of any siblings that Thomas had? If you know of any family that remained in Ireland you may be able to find them in the 1901/1911 census records. You can search these here:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

Some other websites which you may find useful 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/

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm

Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/derry/index.html

Alternatively you could try contacting Derry Genealogy Centre for assistance-a fee may apply. Here are their contact details:

Derry Genealogy Centre,

Harbour Museum,

Harbour Square,

Derry,

BT48 6AF

Phone: +44 28 71377331    Email: genealogy@derrycity.gov.uk

I hope that this is helpful. 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.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support