Category: Resources

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d point out some excellent sources for Irish genealogy research.

Ancestry

The 24/7 Family History blog article, Irish Database at Ancestry.com points out several of their most popular Irish databases. You must have a WorldDeluxe membership in order to use them, but I usually find at least some of what I’m looking for on Ancestry. Here’s the list:

1. Index to Griffiths Valuation, 1848—1864
2. Ireland, Tithe Applotment Books, 1824-1837
3. Irish Flax Grower’s List
4. The Royal Irish Constabulary 1816-1921
5. Cassell’s Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland
6. Irish Records Extraction Database
7. Irish Immigrants: New York Port Arrival Records, 1846-1851

Sometimes you can find Irish ancestors in databases from outside Ireland. I found an Ireland connection while researching my Scottish ancestors through the Scottish Records Office. Here are some other helpful databases suggested by Ancestry:

1. UK Medical Registers, 1859-1959
2. UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960
3. New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896
4. British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
5. British Army WWI Pension Records, 1914-1920

NEHGS

The New England Historical Genealogical Society are featuring three family bibles from Irish families online. The current features is the Irish Bible record for the John Gough Family, 1822-1878. The Goughs apparently immigrated circa 1822/24 and lived in Albany, New York before moving to Massachusetts and settling in the Worcester area. You can view some pages from the bible online here.

NEHGS also has several excellent articles written by Mary Daly for the Irish American family researcher. If you’ve got Irish ancestors, I’d recommend reading these articles Getting Started in Irish American Genealogical Research and Identifying the Origin of Your Irish Immigrant Ancestor. More articles on Irish research are also available for free.

FamilySearch.org

And, of course, the FamilySearch indexing project also has Irish records available. Currently, the Irish Civil Registration Indexes, 1845—1958 are available for viewing (index only).

Of course, this is only a small part of the information available for Irish researchers. If you know of another great resource, go ahead and post a comment to share it. It’s always great to discover new sources of information! Thanks.

I enjoy visiting cemeteries looking for the burial locations of long-lost relations. There’s a sense of connection you feel standing in a place where family is resting. Unfortunately, traveling to those locations is not always possible.

Now you can find grave sites and burial information—sometimes including photos of gravestones—online. Family researchers,  genealogy buffs, and local historians have contributed information from cemeteries all over the country. You can take advantage of their kindness to locate family members you’ve been searching for.

Here are some of the web sites that I’ve used:

1. Find A Grave (found a lot!)
2. Interment.net
3. Cemetery Junction
4. National Veterans Website (find an American Vet’s grave site)
5. Tombstone Transcription Project

If you do find someone you’ve been looking for, show a little kindness to someone else and share some of the information you’ve collected. You never know when it’ll lead to a family connection!

Ancestry.com has added five Florida state censuses to their online collection: 1867, 1875, 1885, 1935, and 1945. Read More

So, imagine how excited I was to find FamilySearch’s online Record Search. They have created an online search system that allows you to search records from around the world from the convenience of your home.

Volunteers from around the world are pouring through documents and transcribing them into the system in multiple languages. Millions of rolls of microfilm containing census records, vital records, probate records, church records and more are being indexed by individual volunteers, societies and companies. You can search the indices or browse through images that are waiting to be indexed.

I was able to search the records and found birth and marriage records from Rußheim, Baden-Wüerttemborg, Germany—the town where my Hacker ancestors lived. While I didn’t find any information on the people I was researching, I did manage to find Hackers in the village in the early 1900s.

I also search the Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania death records online and found numerous death records from my Hacker/Hocker relatives who lived in Philadelphia.

Researching your family history remotely can be a trying experience. Access to online indices can greatly improve your ability to continue your research. Access to free, searchable indices AND digital images of original records is a dream come true for any genealogist.

While a lot of work has already been done and made available to the public, it’s far from complete. I’m so excited about this opportunity that I volunteered to be an indexer. You can, too.

Now all I have to do is make some time to do some research and then do some indexing, too!