Hi I was fortunate to find my g-grandfather's family in the 1851 Census Abstracts. It struck me that this is a little used source of reference, probably because there are so few records. The 1841 abstracts that I could find amount only to about 60 families in County Donegal, totalling about four hundred names. I've posted them at http://www.movillerecords.com/census_extracts_home.html There are about 270 families in the 1851 abstracts, and I'll try and get these online before Christmas. They have been preserved due to the introduction of the Old Age Pension Act in 1908. This provided pensions for everyone aged 70 and above, but as compulsory registration of births was not introduced in Ireland until 1864 many people were unable to prove their age. To verify the claimant's age, details were checked initially against the 1841 and 1851 cencii. This information was recorded, and fortunately survived the 1922 fire which destroyed the original census records. The abstracts cover the families of pension applicants only, and were copied from the originals about 1908. The 1841 abstracts may (but not always) include: names from the 1841 Census the relationship between the individuals age (mainly children - including those born between 1841 and 1851) a cross reference to the 1851 Census, noting discrepancies in names and ages the comments of the investigating Officer maiden (or married) name of women recent deaths and those between 1841 and 1851 the Barony, Parish and Townland in which the family lived the pension claimant I hope you'll be as lucky as I have been .. ! Ben http://www.benpalmer.co.uk/movillerecords.htm http://www.movillerecords.com