10 Ireland Tips
Nicola Morris, Irish expert on Who Do You Think You Are?, shares her top tips for uncovering your forebear’s birthplace
Nicola Morris, Irish expert on WDYTYA?, shares vital advice for uncovering your forebear’s Irish birthplace
You have found an ancestor in the English or Scottish census who was born in Ireland. However, how do you find a more specific location for your family in Ireland? Before you even think about crossing the Irish Sea, digitally or in person, to search for your roots, there is still a great deal of work that should be done with English and Scottish records that may prove vital.
It’s all very well popping the name Patrick O’Neill, born in about 1836, in Ireland, into a database. You are bound to find baptismal records for children with this name, but how do you confirm whether any of these children was your forebear?
If you knew where Patrick was born you could determine whether any parish records survive that are likely to record Patrick’s baptism. If records survive, you can target your search to a specific parish or collection of parishes. If the names of their parents and siblings can be ascertained using English or Scottish records, you can corroborate your findings and confirm whether or not you have found the correct baptismal record in Ireland. If parish records don’t survive, you can avoid spending hours trying to find the baptism of an ancestor that no longer exists in favour of focusing on other avenues of research for your Irish family.
The following are suggestions for sources that might help you to determine where in Ireland your relation was born, and identify their parents and siblings.
Newspapers in the USA and Canada Irish often refer to the place of origin of immigrants. Although the practice is not as prolific in England and Scotland, it is worth searching for death notices, obituaries and even trial reports that might mention a relation’s birthplace.