RANKIN Family

Hi,

Thank you for your message.

It will be difficult to find information on John without a more specific location in Ireland. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

As John was in the RIC you may be able to find out where he came from in the RIC records as excellent personnel records were kept from 1816. These can be found at the UK National Archives here: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/royal-irish-constabulary.htm

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.

Here are some useful websites:

The National Archives Ireland: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/

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

Once you find his parish of origin, I recommend that you join that parish page and post your message there. 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