Seeking origins of John L. Erwin who emigrated to New York before 1818. He was probably born in the 1790s. His wife Mary (surname unknown) was also born in Ireland. She died in 1833 and John remarried to Susan Mulford. He had two surviving children by each marriage, and he died in New Jersey in 1838. Census records say he and Mary were born in Ireland but no further detail is given. Family lore links him possibly to Armagh or Fermanagh, but this is unconfirmed. The family was Protestant. Any help on getting started on this search much appreciated! --Charlotte Erwin
Shelley
Thursday 22nd Jun 2023, 08:36PMMessage Board Replies
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Charlotte,
Researching in Ireland in the 1700s is very hard going due to the general lack of records. If you don’t know where they lived it’s a needle in a haystack. Ideally you need to know the person’s exact denomination and the townland or parish they lived in to have any chance of finding them, and even then there may not be any records for that location.
Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.
The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project in conjunction with FTDNA and can offer testing kits at a reduced price. http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).
Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Sunday 25th Jun 2023, 06:08PM