Born Ireland - where do I start my search .....

[Kathy]

Hi,

I have several entries from Scottish census, place of birth, Ireland.

Can anyone direct me on where or how I can search online for Ireland, is there an Irish site similar to Scotlandspeople?

I am researching the following:

Edward McNeil or McNeill b abt 1832 Ireland, spouse Martha Graham b Ireland.
Their Son, Alexander McNeil b 1852 Ireland d 1912 Scotland.

William Orr b Ireland, spouse Hannah Gallacher b Ireland
Their Son, Mitchell Orr b bet 1843 & 1849 Ireland.

John Mitchell b abt 1781 Ireland, spouse Martha McArther b Ireland
their son,
William Mitchell b 1819 Port Glasgow, spouse Susan McMillan b abt 1821 Ireland.

Kathy

[WilmaM]

One way can sometimes be from the birth certificate of a child who was born in Scotland after 1855.

A BC in Scotland often tells the date and place of the parent's marriage, which is more specific than just 'Ireland' ! I don't know when this feature began though.

I did a 'parent search' on the IGI for your Martha Graham & Edward McNeil , only one child came up :
Mary Ann McNeill - International Genealogical Index
Gender: Female Birth: 1857 , , Scotland
[that was a submitted entry] but it could be worthwhile searching for her birth on Scotland's People anyway.

[Kathy]

Thanks for the reply,

I had seen the IGI submission for Mary Ann McNeil, but I have not been able to locate her on Scotlands people for births or census, I suspect this is an occasion of just being a submission.

Kathy

[JustJean]

Hi Kathy

A search on SP for the death of Martha gives only one hit that looks very likely...

1 1901 MCNEILL MARTHA GRAHAM F 76 GREENOCK EAST RENFREW 564/01 0528

And with utilizing that location this is a probable 1881 census record for her.....


Dwelling: 12 Springkell St
Census Place: East Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland
Source: FHL Film 0203572 GRO Ref Volume 564-2 EnumDist 22 Page 19
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
Martha MC NEILL W 60 F Ireland
Rel: Head
William MC NEILL U 40 M Ireland
Rel: Son
Occ: Foundry Labourer
Thomas MC NEILL U 23 M Ireland
Rel: Son
Occ: Carter


and from that you can see that if the above ages are accurate....(and if indeed it is your family!)....then Martha was still in Ireland in 1857 so the submission for the birth of Mary Ann is likely assuming she was born Scotland.......and also that Alexander would not have been her firstborn....

Viewing the DC for her should confirm that she is your Martha. Doing likewise searches on the other woman might assist you further in finding them on census returns in Scotland if they indeed did live and die in Scotland.

Hope this is helpful.....and hope this really is your family!!!

Best wishes
Jean

[Kathy]

Thanks Jean for you efforts,

I have had quite good results for SP, and I did have that information on Martha Graham (McNeil), her sons, William b 1841, Alexander b 1852, Thomas b 1853, all born in Ireland.

The first Scotland census entry I can find for this family is 1881, no sign of Mary Ann, who would have been about 24yrs, and I have been unable to locate her birth on SP, I suspect the submission is in error. It would seem the move from Ireland to Scotland occured between 1871 & 1880.

My big brick wall, with all of my searches in Scotland, is that I eventually find all of my leads end up "born in Ireland", but, where do I start searching in Ireland?

Kathy

[tishgibbons]

Kathy,

searching in Ireland is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack! Records are not on-line and searching can really only be done in Ireland itself. You would really need to know which parish or at least which county they came from. I realise that's not possible if 'Ireland' is all you have to go on. The name McNeill would I think be more common in Northern Ireland that down South so UK records should be of some help there. Alternatively make your way to the Glibert Library in Lombard St in Dublin and look up their index. If you find what you want you can then go around the corner to the REgistrar and buy (about a tenner, I think) the relevant certificate. If you see a copy of John Grenham's 'Researching your Irish Ancestors' in the local library have a look through it. It's a mine of information. A new edition with on-line information is due by Christmas. Hope this is of some use.

Regards

Tish

[Kathy]

Hi Trish,

Home is in Australia, so research is totally on the internet. I had 10 days in Ireland during August this year, during that time I spent a few days in Cavan doing research, then on to the beautiful area of Connemara, the last couple of days I intended to do research in Dublin, unfortunately, when we arrived in Dublin, it was weekend and all research venues were closed.

Kathy

[tishgibbons]

Hi Kathy,

Sorry about your failed attempts at researching. Is there any way I can help? Did your McNeills come from Cavan? If so there is a family history society based there who might help. But be warned, such societies here are commercial enterprises who charge for their services. That said I paid £60 to the Laois/Offaly one 8 years ago and it provided me with invaluable information on my Wright ancestors. It would have taken me years of trips to Portarlington and Dublin to get even half of it. There is just no system like the scottish one when it comes to family history.

By the way, where are your Mitchells from? I ask this all the time as mine are an elusive bunch! I have one Helen Mitchell born Strathdon, Aberdeenshire in 1846. She had a son Charles Mitchell born 1868 asnd my last sighting of her in is 1871 census working as a Cook in Tullnessle. She was said to have gone to Australia but with such little information I have been unable to track her down. Any suggestions?

Tish

[Kathy]

Hi Trish

When I first arrived in Cavan, I did visit the research centre, and was quite shocked to find I was unable to do my own research, this being the real fun part of genealogy, so I declined to pay for their services, the names for Cavan are: Thornton & Flood, Lynch & Sexton, districts, Cootehill, Tullyvin, Pullamore & Cavan. During my time in Cavan I was able to pick up several leads doing my own research at the Cootehill library, at least when I give in and admit I am stumped, I will be able to pay & apply for further research knowing I have the correct County.

On the Mitchell's I have another "Ireland" brick wall, on this line I have

John Mitchell b abt 1781, spouse Martha McArthur abt 1791 Ireland.
Marriage 1816 Port Glasgow Renfrewshire Scotland
their children:
William Mitchell b 1819 Port Glasgow (my line)
Susan Mitchell b 1821 Port Glasgow
Esther Mitchell b 24.10.1924 Port Glasgow
Martha Mitchell b 1825 Port Glasgow

As I am a first generation Aussie, I have very limited research experience doing Australian research, each state holds their own BMD records, I would guess the first place to start would be the National Library at http://www.nla.gov.au/oz/genelist.html this site will give you useful links to Aussie research.

Kathy

[tishgibbons]

Thanks for that site address Kathy. I have started wading! Your Mitchells don't look connected to mine at least not from the Irish end. My g.ggrandfather came here between 1871 and 1877 and married an Irish girl. Those of his family that I can find were in Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire and Glasgow but I'm still finding them. I can't go back as far as you either.

As to Cavan yes I think it's a good idea to search yourself first as much as you can from there! I normally go to Dublin once a month and could try some lookups but not for a while yet. I missed my last trip up and being sick this week it looks like I'll miss the next one as well and I've made promises to others.

Keep in touch and we'll see what comes of it. In case I decide to look for professional assistance on the Australian end would you recommend a professional genealogist there?

Regards,

Tish