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Ever wondered about your Irish ancestors? Curious about where your family came from and why they emigrated? Or do you simply want to trace your Irish family tree and discover how you ended up being where you are today?
Even though our little country is small (about 6 million people!), up to 60 million people all over the world now claim Irish ancestry. More and more people are turning to Genealogy in Ireland to find their Irish ancestors.
Irish Ancestry
Genealogy is the study of a family’s lineage. People might use genealogy to trace out their family trees, or simply to find a specific person in a family’s past and connect him or her to other members of that family. Genealogy is interested solely in who is in a family and who they are related to, as opposed to the more general study of family history, which might also track dates of birth and death, occupations held by family members, and other important facts about their lives and deaths. While some people, on occasion, refer to this larger field as genealogy, genealogy is better viewed as a subset of a the greater discipline of family history
Historically, genealogy was a very important field, because family connections between nobility were crucial to the idea of inheritance and the passing down of titles and rulership. In many societies, for example, if a king had no direct heir, the next closest heir would have to be found. Detailed genealogical records ensured that the passing down of titles would never have to rely on incomplete facts. Despite this, many differing genealogies would often crop up, allowing multiple people to lay claim to a title of rulership or inheritance.
Historical Significance
Irish Geographical Terms Townlands DEDs Poor Law Unions Villages Towns Parishes Baronies Provinces Cities
Tuath Shiring Baile Hundreds Triocha Cet Kingdoms Carucates
Unique to Ireland http://www.seanruad.com/ Ranging in size Known by a multiplicity of names until
anglicisation Ranging from 200 acres to 17000 acres. Unit upon which the census is based in
1901 & 1911
The Townland
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular populationThe term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses include agriculture, business, and traffic censuses. In the latter cases the elements of the 'population' are farms, businesses, and so forth, rather than people. The United Nations defines the essential features of population and housing censuses as "individual enumeration, universality within a defined territory, simultaneity and defined periodicity", and recommends that population censuses be taken at least every 10 years. The term itself comes from Latin; during the Roman Republic, the census was a list that kept track of all adult males fit for military service.
The Census
The household returns and ancillary records for the censuses of Ireland of 1901 and 1911, which are in the custody of the National Archives of Ireland, represent an extremely valuable part of the Irish national heritage, and a resource for genealogists, local historians and other scholars which has not as yet been developed to its fullest potential. The Irish diaspora is estimated to amount to 70 million people in all parts of the globe, and many of these have an interest in their family and local history. The digitisation of the equivalent records for England, Wales and Scotland has proved hugely popular with users, as has the digitisation of Canadian and United States census records.
1901 & 1911 Census
The returns for 1901 and 1911 are arranged by townland (the smallest division of land) or, in urban areas, by street. The 1901 census lists, for every member of each household; name, age, sex, relationship to head of the household, religion, occupation, marital status and county or country of birth. The census also records an individual’s ability to read or write and ability to speak the Irish language. All of this information is given on Form A of the census, which was filled in and signed by the head of each household. Where the head of the household could not write, his or her mark, usually an X, was recorded and witnessed by the enumerator.
1901
The same information was recorded in the 1911 census, with one significant addition: married women were required to state the number of years they had been married, the number of their children born alive and the number still living.
In addition to returns for every household in the country, both censuses contain returns for police and military barracks, public and private asylums, prisons, hospitals, workhouses, colleges, boarding schools and industrial schools among other institutions.
1911 Census
Sources for Family History
1. The Census
Vast amounts of information about virtually every man, woman & child
1813-14 – Earliest Official Census in Ireland
William Shaw Mason, a statistical account on parochial survey of Ireland (3 vols, Dublin, 1814-9)
What do we get from a Census?
We get the following;- Name- Relationship to head of household- Religion- Age, Literacy, Occupation- Marital Status- County of Birth- Ability to Speak English or Irish- Detail on dwelling conditions- Married women required to divulge number of
years married, number of children born alive & still living (1911 only)
Census Enumerator’s Book- Books compiled by the census enumerator
consisting of transcripts of census forms left with & completed by each individual householder
- Much depended on literacy levels of the householder/s; sometimes enumerator’s had to fill the form in the absence of good literacy within house
Uses of the Census;
1. Age2. Location3. Cross-checking4. Marriages5. Living relatives
2. Land and Estate Papers
Most extensive collections;
National Library of Ireland
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
Trinity College, Dublin
Local Studies Libraries
Typical Estate Paper Collections contain
- Mortgages and Deeds- Lease Agreements- Marriage Settlement Documents- Bills & Life Assurance Policies- Memoranda- Financial Accounts- Personal Letters- Rent Books- Share Certificates & Rent Rolls- Legal Documents & Diaries- Threatening Letters- Receipts & Valuations- Photographs- Newspaper Reports- Legal Opinions- Maps & Surveys- Valuation Office Maps & Land Commission Maps- Building Plans
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml
This was a survey of property occupiers in Ireland made between 1848 and 1864 and it's importance lies in the fact that it lists almost every head of household for each county.http://merrimanresearch.blogspot.com/2011/03/genealogy-tithe-applotment-books-and.html
Griffith’s Valuation
3. Griffith’s Valuation
Census Substitute
Uniform Valuation of All Property in Ireland Published 1848-1864
Material Gathered Falls into 2 Sections1. Valuation Manuscripts – housebooks, name
of occupier, description of house, Basis of Land Tenure, Year of Occupation, General Observations
2. Printed Valuation – based upon information collated from these notebooks; covers whole country
www.irishorigins.com or at NLI
http://merrimanresearch.blogspot.com/2011/03/civil-records-explanation-from-ireland.html
Civil Records
4. Civil Records
Registration of BirthsFour People Required1. Parent/s2. Occupier of House of Birth3. Nurse Present4. Any Other Person Present
Birth Register SupplyDate & Place of BirthNameSexName, Surname & Address of FatherName, Surname, & Address of MotherRank, Profession or Occupation of Father
Registration of DeathsAny one of the following can register a death;(i) Person present at time of death(ii) Person present during deceased’s illness(iii) Occupier of house where death occurred(iv) A person residing in house at time(v) A person with knowledge of circumstances
Death Registers Record;(i) Date & Place (ii) Name & Surname (iii) Gender (iv) Marital Status (v) Age (vi) Rank
or profession (vii) cause
Registration of Marriages
Information on Registers Includes;1. Date2. Names & Surnames3. Ages4. Marital Status (eg. Bachelor, Spinster,
Widow, Widower)5. Rank, Profession or Occupation6. Addresses at time of Marriage7. Names & Surnames of Fathers8. Rank, Profession or Occupation of Fathers9. Venue of Marriage
5. Parish Registers
Often earliest direct source of family information
National Library of Ireland – microfilm copies of registers of most Irish Roman Catholic parishes
Earliest = circa. 1740s
Cut-Off point = 1880
Post-1880 – Generally in custody of Parish Priest
Locating SourcesThe Key Repositories
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELANDKILDARE STREET
DUBLIN 2
One of the central repositories for Irish Historians and Genealogy Researchers
Services and Holdings include; Parish Registers Genealogy Room Estate Papers (Manuscript Dept) Extensive Newspaper Collection
National Archives of IrelandBishop Street
Dublin 8
Services and Holdings Include; Census Responsible For Census Digitisation Professional Genealogy Consultation Archivist Available Full-Time Griffith’s Valuation Wills and Testamentary Records
Further Reading
John Grenham, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors
Some Useful Websiteswww.nli.iewww.nationalarchives.iewww.census-online.com/links/irelandwww.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/genealog.htmwww.ancestryireland.comwww.apgi.ie (Association of Professional Genealogists)www.irishorigins.comwww.irish-roots.net/www.valoff.ie (Valuation Office)www.groireland.ie (General Register Office)www.ellisislandrecords.org
