I will take you on my adventure to find my Irish ancestors: I was lucky enough to have my Irish immigrants buried in a nice Catholic Cemetery in Cincinnati where they kept wonderful records. Everyone had to have the approval of the priest for burial and he kept the list. He recorded who their parents were and where in Ireland they were born. Our local Family History center had these records on microfilm. My great grandfather was Daniel Carroll whose parents were Thomas Carroll and Ann Meara from Tipperary County. I next turned to the Index to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland. I looked for a Parish in Tipperary where I could find both a Carroll and a Meara. It really wasn't quite that easy because there were more than one of each family recorded. I contacted the Tipperary North Family History Foundation and they sent me my great great grandparent's marriage information and the baptismals of their children: Thomas Carroll married Ann Meara 28 Feb. 1832 in a Townland called Kilregane in Lorrha Parish, Diocese of Killaloe. No witnesses were listed but they made it clear that they were married in the Roman Catholic Church. They had the following children: Bpt. Date Name Sponsors 16 Dec 1833 Margaret William and Mary Meara 10 Mar 1836 Mary Peter and Ellen Meara 19 Apr 1838 Patrick John and Honora Carroll 30 Jan 1840 Daniel Not Named 10 May 1846 Anne Bridget Carroll and Edward Hogan 10 Jun 1848 Thomas James and Catherine Carroll 29 Sep 1850 Michael Patrick and Bridget Carroll My next step was a stroke of luck. I reached out to a very distant relative who happened to have letters and documents concerning the family. She was not interested in genealogy and gave me everything including pictures of Thomas and Ann and two of their sons as well as a wonderful picture of my great grandfather, Daniel. From those papers I learned the parents had two more children in New York.I was also able to indentify the Cemetery where the children and most likely the parents were buried. It was St Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. Unfortunately they did not keep good records for the earlier burials but I was able to visit the graves of John and William who were born in New York. I now knew the cast of characters and turned to the New York census records. I also knew from the 1900 census that they had immigrated in 1855. The ages on the census records were pretty messy for the Irish born children but the birthdates of John and William were quite consistent and helped identify the family when otherwise there might have been some doubt. I have since learned that the Irish really weren't too big on accurate birthdates. In the 1860 census there were the following in the family: Thomas (43) laborer; Ann (40), Margaret (21); Patrick (20); Daniel (18); Ann (12); Thomas (10); John (3); William (5/12) All born in Ireland except for John and William who were born in NY. By 1870 Patrick and Daniel were no longer with the family. Daniel had moved to Cincinnati. A letter from NY to Cincinnati indicates that Thomas "went west" and was never heard from again. I have no way of knowing if Michael was with the family when they immigated or if he left them before the 1860 census. By 1880 Thomas had died and I was able to obtain his death certificate but there was no parental information on the report. In an attempt to go back even further I obtained the 1824 Applotment Records for Lorrha Parish. I found that a Patrick Carroll was living in Annagh, Lorhha Parish (as was Thomas on the Griffith's Evaluation) renting land from a William Clark. A Dan Meara claimed land in both Lorrha and Annagh renting his Annagh property from William Clark. That is circumstantial evidence but it is good, strong evidence. Then there is the naming pattern that is so touted by American researchers. It appeared to work in this family. Finally I went to Ireland and read the Lorrah parish records at the National Library. They were hard to read and my eyes gave out before I had accomplished my mission. I would like to go back and take another crack at it. While I was in Ireland I was able to visit the grave of Daniel Meara and his wife who turned out to be Margaret Kennedy. I have left out many arduous steps but this short essay will show you that perseverance pays off. There are also some very good books for researching in Ireland that were invaluable. If you don't see anybody here that you know, good luck to you. if you do, let me hear from you.