This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 16 The Encumbered Estates Acts, 1848 & 1849, allowed the sale of Irish estates which had been mortgaged and whose owners, because of the Great Famine, were unable to meet their obligations. It was hoped that English investors would be attracted to buy Irish estates and thereby transorm Irish agriculture. Under the 1849 Act an Encumbered Estates Court was established with authority to sell estates on the application of the owner or encumberer (one who had a claim on the estate). After the sale the court distributed the money among the creditors and granted clear title to the new owners. The existing tenants on the estates were unprotected by legislation. Estates were generally bought by speculators. Between 1849 and 1857, there were 3,000 estates totalling 5,000,000 acres, disposed of under the Acts. The functions of the court were assumed by the Landed Estates Court in 1853. The most spectacular sale at the encumbered estates court was the property of the 3rd Marquis of Donegall, which had been in financial difficulties since the late 18th century. When he succeeded to the title in 1848 the new Marquis inherited debts of nearly £400,000 - fourteen times the annual rental. He had no choice but to let the encumbered estates court arrange the sale of the thirty thousand acres which remained. The Irish Encumbered Estates Rentals are in bound volumes and are available for the whole of Ireland. They are divided into counties, townlands or house or tenements, the names of the parties involved and the date. Included are rentals, maps of the estate giving tenants` names and on occasion surveys of the estate. They are an under used source for genealogists interested in the names of tenants of various estates throughout Ireland in the mid 19th century. Ref D.1201. An Index to the Encumbered Estates Court Sales is also available Ref. MIC.80/2 Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

We finally got word from Rootsweb that they are in the final test stages of implementing the new filters at Rootsweb. From Tim Pierce: "Just to let you know, we're in the final stages of testing a SmartList hack that blocks file attachments (including VCARDS), HTML messages and enriched text postings. This note is to let you know how it works. When a poster sends something to a mailing list written in HTML, or with an attached file, the list server will send the poster's message back to them, with a note at the bottom explaining the plain-text requirement at RootsWeb." Here is the address of the site that will give you instructions for turning the html or styled text off in various email programs. Please do not wait until this is implemented to change your programs. http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/listowners/html-off.htm Also PLEASE do not forward this on to other lists! Let the listowners notify their own lists, in their own way and in their own time. Thanks for your cooperation.

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 13 Poor Law records are the archives of the Board of Guardians who administered the poor law in Ireland from 1839-1948. The original aim of the poor law system was to provide indoor relief to the destitute poor in workhouses. However, as a result of the Great Famine, outdoor relief was granted in the form of money or goods to the able-bodied poor, and this ensured that by the turn of the century, the workhouses in Ireland hd become a refuge for the old, sick and children under the ages of 15. In 1838, Ireland was divided into one hundred and thirty seven unions, based on market towns where a workhouse or union house was built with an infirmary and fever hospital attached. At the time it was thought that an area with a radius of about ten miles was the most suitable for administrative purposes. This system was financed by a rate collected under the Poor Law Valuation. There are comprehensive sets of records covering the 27 poor law unions which were established in the counties of Northern Ireland. The extent to which the records survive for each of these varies from place to place. The minute books, the admission and discharge registers, the registers of births and deaths and the outdoor relief registers are all a valuable material for anyone interested in tracing their family tree. Minute Books There are complete sets of books for almost all the unions, and even those unions with imperfect sets lack only an occasional volume. These volumes are of less interest to genealogists as they contain minutes of the meetings of the various committees and a great deal of purely statistical information. However, they also contain the names of those individuals whom the Board of Guardians assisted to emigrate. Admission and Discharge Registers The admission and discharge registers list those entering and leaving the workhouse. There are also registers of births and deaths and of those receiving outdoor relief. All of these records provide lists of names which could prove useful to the genealogical researcher, particularly for the poorer classes who are unlikely to be recorded elsewhere. Occsionally, lists of inmates of the infirmaries and fever hospitals attached to the workhouse have survived and these ought to be searched. The printed Valuation Books for 1860 (which are available on the shelves of the Public Search Room), are organised on the basis of Poor Law Unions. From these you can discover which Board of Guardian records to search for the townland or parish in which you are interested. Each Poor Law Union was named after a chief town in the area and often extended across county boundaries. The 27 Poor Law Unions in the counties of Northern Ireland are listed below. For details of the records which have survived for each Union, researchers should consult the grey calendars, which are available on the shelves of the Public Search Room. BG1 Antrim, Co Antrim BG2 Armagh, Co Amragh BG3 Ballycastle, Co Antrim BG4 Ballymena, Co Antrim BG5 Ballymoney, Co Antrim BG6 Banbridge, Co Down BG7 Belfast, Cos Antrim and Down BG8 Castlederg, Co Tyrone BG9 Clogher, Co Tyrone BG10 Coleraine, Co Londonderry BG11 Cookstown, Co Tyrone BG12 Downpatrick, Co Down BG13 Dungannon, Co Tyrone BG14 Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh BG15 Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh BG16 Kilkeel, Co Down BG17 Larne, Co Antrim BG18 (Newtown) Limavady, Co Londonderry BG19 Lisburn, Co Antrim BG20 Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh BG21 Londonderry, Co Londonderry BG22 Lurgan, Co Armagh BG23 Magherafelt, Co Londonderry BG24 Newry, Co Down BG25 Newtownards, Co Down BG26 Omagh, Co Tyrone BG27 Strabane, Co Tyrone BG28 Gortin, Co Tyrone (united to Omagh c 1870) IMPORTANT - most of these records are closed for 100 years from the latest date in each volume Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 12 The `undertakers` granted land in the Plantation of Ulster were required to occasionally muster their Protestant tenants for inspection by the Government-appointed Muster Master General who recorded the names, the ages and types of arms born by the tenants. All Protestant males between the ages of 16 and 60 were liable to service in the Milita. Only copies of the militia records survive: they list the undertakers, and sometimes divide the lists of tenants by parish or by barony. Faced by the possbile rebellion in the late 18th century, the Government raised a mainly Protestant force, the yeomanry, which it paid for and equipped. The yeomanry were expected to drill two days a week, and could be called out to supress public disorders and to assist the regular army in the event of invasion or insurrection. There are in addition Muster Rolls of Regular Army Units raised in Ireland. The most generally useful are listed below: Co Antrim D.1759/3C/3 Muster Roll 1630-31 T.3726/2 Muster Roll 1642 T.808/15235 Militia Officers 1761 T.1115/1A & 1B Militia Pay Lists and Muster Rolls 1799-1800 Co Armagh T.934 Muster Rolls 1631 T.808/15235 Militia Officers 1761 D.1928/Y/1 Militia Lists by parish in the barony of O`Neilland West 1793-95 T.561 List of Officers of Armagh Militia 1808 T.2701 Crowhill Yeomanry pay list c 1820 D.296 Address Yeomanry Book c 1796 D.321/1 Churchill Yeomanry Book c 1796 Co Down D.1759/3C/1 Muster Roll 1630-31 T.563/1 Muster Roll 1642-43 T.3726/1 Muster Roll, Donaghadee 1642 T.808/15235 Militia Officers 1761 T.1023/153 Oath and List of Names of Ballycutler Supplementary Corps 1798 D.303 Killyleagh Yeomanry List 1798 T.991 Mourne Yeomanry Lists 1824 Co Fermanagh T.510/2 Muster Roll 1630 T.934 Muster Roll 1631 T.808/15235 Militia Officers 1761 T.1115/5A-C Militia Pay Lists and Muster Rolls 1794-99 T.808/15244 Yeomanry Muster Rolls 1797-1804 Co Londonderry T.510/1 Muster Roll 1620-22 D.1759/3C/2 Muster Roll 1630-31 T.808/15235 Militia Officers 1761 T.1021/3 Yeomanry Muster Rolls 1797-1804 Co Tyrone T.808/2 Muster Roll 1630 T.934 Muster Roll 1631 T.808/15235 Militia Officers 1761 D.1927 Pay Roll of the Aghnahoe Infantry 1829-1832 General T.808/15196 Extracts of the Regular Army Muster Rolls 1741-80 Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

For those of you searching for info on the ships your ancestors emigrated on, you might want to check out TheShipsList Email List. TheShipsList is for anyone interested in the ships our ancestors migrated on. Subjects include emigration/immigration, port of entries, ports of departure, ship descriptions and history, passenger lists and any other related information. There are over 1800 subscribers and many folks who have a great deal of knowledge and expertise in the area of emigration, ships, passengers list, etc. They are ready and willing to assist and guide you on your search. You MUST subscribe in order to post to the list and receive the mail and/or digest. You will receive a confirmation after subscribing, with the CORRECT address to send your posts to and then you can post to the list. Please read the Welcome Message BEFORE poting to the list - it contains important info about the list and also some important links to webpages pertaining to emigration. TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE REGULAR LIST click on the link below: mailto:TheShipsList-L-request@rootsweb.com Leave Subject Line Blank - PUT ONLY ONE WORD IN MESSAGE: SUBSCRIBE (No names, no signature file, no messages - just that one word) TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE DIGEST MODE click on the link below: mailto:TheShipsList-D-request@rootsweb.com Leave Subject Line Blank - PUT ONLY ONE WORD IN MESSAGE: SUBSCRIBE (No names, no signature file, no messages - just that one word) -- ************************* Sharon Todtenbier Co-owner TheShipsList© mailto:todt@castles.com *************************

Dear List Members, Thank you all for your help last month. I have been going through records on and off line, and trying to access where to next. I have an Irish ancestor that has been difficult to trace but maybe I am doing it wrong. I know William McMahon died 1911, where, and where buried.I know the cemetary well. His wife Mary Browne McMahon died Feb 20 1909. Same place, same cemetary. I know when they came to Saskatchewan from Ontario. I know they were in Port Hope, Peterborough, Ontario 1860-1890's. I know the names, birthdates, spouses, and children of all seven of William and Mary's children. John McMahon (apparently named after his Mother's father) William James(apparently named after his father; and father's father) Ellen Jane (no idea) Edward McMahon (Possibly after his mother's brother) Charles Wesley McMahon (Maybe a mother's brother and being Methodist) Mary Addeline (Apparently named after his mother and maybe a grandma?) Albert McMahon (no Idea but in 1865 maybe for Victoria's Albert) I know approximately when they came to Canada. The Oldest son John was born in Ireland in 1849. The next child born in July 1850 was born in Ontario. I know from an extracted marriage record that on October 23, 1846, that a marriage was solemnized at Trinity Church in the Parish of Kinawley in the County of Fermanagh between William McMahon, 19,Bachelor, Farmer, Residence - Aughalurcher son of James McMahon, farmer and Mary Browne, 19, Spinister, ,Residence - Dr---b--- daughter of John Browne, farmer Married in the Trinity Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the United Church of England and Ireland, by License by me, Archibald Crawford Witnesses were Edward Browne Samuel Somerville(last name hard to read looks like) Hoping maybe Somerville was a relation and not just a friend. I know William McMahon was born in Montreal in 1827. William's mother died shortly after childbirth. William was sent back to Ireland to live with his Grandparents. (Paternal I hope. An Aunt took him back to Ireland.) I have no first or last name for William's mother. I know the year Mary Browne was born 1827 and her father's name. I have not been able to find James McMahon on a passenger list in the mid 1820's from Ireland. But maybe there are Passenger lists from Montreal to Ireland for 1827/28? Only I don't know if they would list a baby's name. What would you recommend? I have been told James stayed in Quebec, remarried and had a large family. But they lost contact and by the time William McMahon married and emmigrated to Canada there was no contact with James. Should I try to find a Birth record for Montreal William McMahon with a father James McMahon First? Should I try to find a Marriage record in Montreal, or in Fermanagh? I don't know the wifes name, or James' parents names. (I did look on the Lavoiselle Marriage Indexes and came up empty.) I was hoping that William might be named after his father's father. But I could only find one William on the Griffith Evaluation in Fermanagh. (But if William was born in 1827, his Grandpa would be at least be 40 years older, and therefore he would have been born 1787. William's Grandpa would therefore be abt. 75 in 1862 with the GriffithEvaluation was done in Fermanagh.) I did find several McMahon in Aughalurcher on the Griffith Evaluation, but I'm not sure as the evaluation was done abt 1862 and that is 16 years after William left. Would I look for a possible marriage record in Ireland for James McMahon in Fermanagh hoping he married before going to America? Would I be better off trying to find a death record for James McMahon's first wife? Would a death record be by her married name? If so I could try to find a death in 1827 for a woman with the last name McMahon survived by a spouse James. I hope you don't mind my asking. At present I have three other Irish lines Ross in Fermanagh, Rogers in Monaghan, and Mary Browne's line. William married a Mary Browne and her father was John but the residence is illegible. It starts with DR something something and then it looks like a 'b' followed by 3 or 4 letters. The McMahon/Browne line for now is a challenge. I found this today so I am hoping it is her father. Browne, John County : Fermanagh Parish : Aghavea Location : Drumlone I don't know why if William was from Aughalurcher, and Mary from Aghavea that they would marry in Kinawley Parish. I would appreciate any suggestion, helpful comments, or recommendations. Some of you may know from experience if the avenues I am about to undertake are more successful than others. Thank you. Sincerely, Joy Irene.

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 11 The most obvious source for researchers who are descendents of emigrants from Northern Ireland are the emigration records deposited in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Unfortunately emigration is not, as a general rule, particularly well documented. Most passenger lists, for example, appear to have been deposited at the port of arrival rather than departure due to the fact that the authorities were more concerned with recording those entering a country than those leaving. Letters written from emigrants to their relatives in Ulster form the most substantial part of our emigration records. This sort of material can be found in many of the private collections deposited at PRONI. The easiest way to locate these records is to use the computerised Subject Index which is located in the Reception Room (a print-out is available on the shelves of the Public Search Room). Under the subject heading `Emigration`, researchers will find a brief reference number. Reearchers should also consult the Place Names Card-Index in the Public Search Room which contains numerous references to emigrant letters from settlers in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc. Pasenger Lists are another valuable source of Emigration Records. Of particular interest to researchers are: T.711/1 List of passengers from Warrenpoint and Newry to Philadelphia and New York, 1791-2 MIC.333/1 Passenger Lists - Philadelphia 1800-82 MIC.333/2 Passenger Lists - Baltimore 1890-92 MIC.333/3 Passenger Lists - Boston 1871-91 MIC.333/4 Passenger Lists - New York 1826-27, 1840-42 and 1850-52 T.1011 Passengers from various origins arriving mainly in New York 1802-14 T.3262 Passenger Lists from Belfast, Cork, Limerick,Londonderry, Newry, Sligo,Warrenpoint to USA 1803-1806 T.521/1 Passenger Lists from Ireland to America 1804-06 (index available in Deputy Keeper`s Report 1929) D.2892/1/1-14 Pasenger Books of J & J Cooke, Shipping Agents, Sailings from Londonderry to Philadelphia, Quebec, St John`s, New Brunswick 1847-71 (see also MIC.13) A number of lists of emigrants are also available on the shelves of the Public Search Room. These include: The Famine Immigrants: Lists of Irish Immigrants Arriving at the Port of New York 1846-51, (seven volumes, published in 1983) which contains data from the original ship manifest schedules, deposited in the National Immigrants Archives in the Blach Institute in Philadelphia Irish Passenger Lists 1847-1871, contains lists of passengers sailing from Londonderry to America on ships of the J & J Cooke Line and the McCorkell Line. Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving in New York 1820-1821 Immigrants to New England 1700-1775, contains an alphabetical list compiled by Ethel Stanwood Bolton. List of Emigrants to America 1635-1776, contains list of passengers, including emigrants, who departed from English ports. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 10 Voters, Poll and Freeholders Records are lists of people entitled to vote, or of people actually voting at elections. They are arranged on a county basis. Poll Books are the books in which are recorded the votes cast at parliamentary elections. They contain the name and address of the voter and often the address of the `Freehold` which entitled the voter to his vote. Voters lists and Freehold Registers give similar information to the Poll Books but do not record how people voted at a particular election. >From 1727 to 1793 only Protestants with a freehold worth at least 40 shillings per year had a vote. Between 1793 & 1829 both Protestants and Catholics with 40 shillings freeholds had votes. In 1829 all 40 shillings Freeholders lost the vote. The most generally useful Poll Books and Freeholders Registers are; Co Antrim D.1364/1 `Deputy Court Cheque Book` Poll Book 1776 Co Armagh T.808/14936 Poll Book 1753 T.808/14949 Objection to Voters 1753 ARM.5/2/1-17 Freeholders Lists 1813-1832 T.808/14934 Freeholders Registers 1830-1839 T.808/14961 Freeholders List 1839 T.808/14927 Voters List 1851 D.1928/F/1-103 Freeholders Registers, early 18th century to 1830 Co Down DOW.5/3/1&2 Register of Freeholders 1777;1780-95 D.654/A3/1B `Deputy Court Cheque Book` Freeholders Register 1789 T.393/1 Freeholders List (Lecale Barony only) c 1790 D.654/A3/1 Freeholders Registers 1813-1821; 1824 T.761/19&20 Freeholders Lists c 1830 D.671/2/5-6 Poll Book, Co Down (Part of) 1852 D.671/2/7-8 Poll Book, Co Down (Part of) 1857 Co Fermanagh T.808/15063 Poll Book 1747-63 T.1385 Poll Book 1788 T.543 Poll Book 1788 T.808/15075 Poll Book 1788 D.1096/90 Freeholders Registers 1796-1802 Co Londonderry T.2123 Freeholders Registers (names A to L only) c 1813 T.1048/1-4 City of Londonderry Voters List 1832 D.1935/6 City of Londonderry Voters List 1868 D.834/1 Freeholders Registers, City & County of Londonderry c 1840 Co Tyrone TYR5/3/1 Freeholders List, (Dungannon Barony only) 1795-98 Belfast D.2472 Poll Book for Belfast 1832 to 1837 BELF5/1/1/1-2 Register of Electors, Belfast 1855 & 1876 After 1880 Voters Lists are to be found in the Crown and Peace Records for the counties. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 7 Wills are an extremely important source of genealogical information on the property owning class in Ireland. They contain, not only the name, address and occupation of the testator, but also details of the larger family network, such as cousins, nephews etc. Many wills also include the addresses and occupations of the beneficaries, witnesses and executors. The Public Record Office of NI has in its custody all probated Wills for Northern Ireland, 1900 - 1994. After 1900 the original and their associated papers are available filed in a separate envelope for each testator. If the person did not make a Will there may be letters of Administration which as well as containing the name, address etc of the person appointed to administer the personal estate of the deceased, will give the name, residence and occupation of the deceased. There are bound annual indexes to the Wills, covering the years, 1858 - 1984, on the shelves of the Waiting Area. In using these you should note that the date of the Will is not the date when it was made or the date when the person died. The official date of a Will is the `date of probate`, that is, the date when it was officially proved in the Probate Registry of the High Court. This date of probate is normally a few months after a person died, but can be up to ten years later. When ordering out an original Will (1900 - 1984) on a Single Docket Request Form, the name of the deceased, and the date and place of probate should be written down as the reference. Generally speaking all original Wills prior to 1900 were destroyed in Dublin in 1922. However, before the original Wills had been sent to Dublin, each local registry had copied each Will into books which have since been put on microfilm PRONI Ref. MIC/15C. In addition, bound, printed and manuscript indexes to pre-1858 Wills, Administrations and Administration Bonds exist and are available in the Public Search Room. They are useful for genealogical searching; for although the Will cannot now be produced, the index sometimes contains some information about persons and that their Will was proved at a certain date. These indexes relate to a diocese and not to a county. This is because, prior to 1858, Wills were probated by the Diocesan Bishops of the Established Church. The following dioceses cover the Northern Ireland Counties; Diocese of Armagh (Most of Armagh, south Co Londonderry and part of Co Tyrone) Diocese of Clogher (South Co Tyrone, most of Co Fermanagh,part of Co Donegal and part of Co Louth) Diocese of Connor (Most of Co Antrim and part of Cos Down and Londonderry) Diocese of Derry and Raphoe (Central and north Co Londonderry and part of Cos Donegal, Antrim and Tyrone) Diocese of Down (Eastern Co Down and part of Co Antrim) Diocese of Dromore (Western Co Down and part of Cos Antrim and Armagh) It is important to note that although the Wills prior to 1858 were destroyed in 1922, some copies of them are often found in other records. These can be traced in the pre 1858 Will Cards Index, located in the Subject Index Section of the Public Search Room. In addition, small `family trees` compiled from almost all pre 1858 prerogative Wills are to be found in the Burke Collection, PRONI Ref. T/559, to which there is a typescript catalogue index. Probate Wills cannto take effect until after the death of a person and after they have been proved in a court of probate. The grant of probate authenticates the will and confers on the executors the power to administer the estate. Probate can take weeks,months or even years. When the will did not specify any executors, or the executors were unable to act or renounced their intention to act, or had died, a grant of letters of administration with will annexed was granted, usually to the residuary legatees (who may be next of kin). For further information see PRONI`s `Guide to Probate Records`, also available in the Public Search Room. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. --------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 8 During the 18th century and 19th centuries the majority of the Irish population lived on large estates. The administration of these estates produced a large quantity of records, including maps, rentals, account books etc. Landed estate records, particularly the rent rolls which list the tenants on the estate, are a useful source of genealogical information. Although they do not often include information on the smallest of tenants, due to the fact that most of these had no right of tenure, the records of the landed estates are of great importance as a result of the destruction of the 19th century census returns. If you do not know the name of the local landlord in a particular area you can normally find it by looking at the printed Valuation Books for 1860, which are available on the shelves of the Public Search Room, where the landlord`s name normally appears in the column headed `lessor` When the name of the landlord has been identified the references to any records held in the Public Search Room can be located by; 1. Consulting the Guide to Landed Estate Records which is available on the Search Room shelves. Estate names are arranged alphabetically within county, with a description of the records together with the relevant reference number. 2. Checking the Personal Names Index in the Public Search Room under the landlord`s name. The rent rolls are the earliest estate records to use, but they are not the only type of record in landed archives which are useful for genealogical purposes. Leases, wages and account books and often maps, contain names of tenants occupying land on an estate or of people working on or connected with the estate in some way. In general the besy order in which to consult the different types of estate records for genealogical searching is; 1. rent rolls; which normally lists the tenants, townland by townland 2. leases; which give the tenants name and probaly those of his children with their ages 3. rent ledgers; showing how much and when each tenant paid his rent 4. maps; which are usually on a large scale of about 6" to 1 mile and plot tenant`s holdings 5. wages books; in which will be found the names of estate labourers and household servants and gardeners who may not appear as tenants 6. land agents` note-books; where sometimes a page is devoted to a tenant and his family 7. Militia, Yeomanry and Muster Records can often be found in landed estate archives. They consist of lists of men liable for service in local defense forces. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 9 There are a number of printed sources available on the shelves of the Public Search Room which can be of use to anyone interested in tracing their family tree. Of particular value to genealogists are the Ulster Street Directories, which contain a great deal of information on the gentry, the professional classes, merchants etc. These directories include information on even the smallest of market towns and ports in Ireland. Beginning with a description of the town and surrounding countryside, the names and addresses of the local butchers, pawnbrokers, blacksmiths and coach builders are given, as well as the various places of worship, with the names of the local ministers etc..and the location of local schools. The names and addresses of the local Member of Parliament, magistrates, poor law guardians and town commissioners are also included in many street directories. In fact the only classes which are excluded from all the directories are the small tenant farmers, landless labourers and servants. The principal coutry-wide directories which can be found on the shelves of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland are; Slater`s Directory of Ireland: Arranged by province, trade lists for each town and village within the province are included. There are lists of nobility, gentry and clergy, however, the principal farmers are not included. The main cities - Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Limerick have alphabetical indexes to their lists of traders, nobility etc. Pigot`s Commercial Directory of Ireland: The towns of Ireland are listed alphabetically, supplying the names of the nobility etc., and dividing the traders of each town according to their trade. Thom`s Official Directory of Great Britain & Ireland: Divided into a county directory, borough directory and directory of the municipal towns in Ireland, an alphabetical list of the nobility, gentry, merchants and traders is included. A series of provinical directories is also included on the shelves of the Public Search Room. During the 19th century, a great many local directories were produced particularly for important commercial centres such as Belfast, Derry and Newry, although the quality of these vary considerably from locality to locality. Of particular interest to anyone interested in tracing their family tree. Martin`s Belfast Directory: 1839 and 1841-42, which includes an alphabetical list of gentry, merchants and traders living in Belfast and also a street-by-street listing of the principal streets. Matier`s Belfast Directory: 1835-36 and c 1860, which includes an alphabetical list of gentry, merchants and traders residing in Belfast and its neighbourhood. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 4 Valuation Books are lists of people occupying lands and houses and are available from 1830 onwards. The valuation of 1830 is not likely to be much use to anyone interested in tracing their family trees because only a few householders names are given. The 1830 valuation was primarily a valuation of land with the valuation of houses being normally only a few pages at the end. PRONI Reference Number VAL 1A. By contrast the 1848 - 1864 valuation gives a complete list of occupiers of land, tenements and houses. The Primary Valuation of Ireland, better known as Griffith`s Valuation, is arranged by counties and within counties by Poor Law Union Divisions and within unions by parishes. It includes the following: townland address; householders name; name of the person from whom the property was leased; description of the property; acreage; valuation. The Griffith`s Valuation is of particular interest to anyone wishing to trace their family tree due to the fact that only fragments of the 1851 census has survived. It is available in manuscript form, PRONI Reference Number VAL 2B, however, bound and printed additions are available on the shelves of the Public Search Room. The Householders Index (which is also available on the Search Room shelves) can be used as a guide to the surnames listed in the Griffith`s Valuation. The maps which accompany this valuation are also available, PRONI Reference Number VAL 2A. The First General Valuation was completed by 1863 - 64. Thereafter, properties were valued annually from 1864 until the early 1930`s. The annual revision lists are available in volumes, PRONI Reference Number VAL 12B. There is an extensive catalogue list of series on the shelves of th Public Search Room. The First General Revision was undertaken in 1935, PRONI Reference Number VAL 3B. The maps which accompany this valuation are also available, on the scale 6 inches to one mile, PRONI Reference Number VAL 3A. The names of every townland in the valuation records are available on the computerized Geographical Index, which is situated in the Reception/ Waiting Area. Any researcher interested in locating the valuation records for a particular area, has only to type in the relevant townland in order to get the appropriate reference number. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 5 The first properly organised census in Ireland commenced in 1821, and, thereafter, with some exceptions, a census was taken every ten years. Unfortunately, most of the 1841 - 1891 returns were pulped into waste paper during the First World War or were destroyed later during the Irish Civil War. However, returns for a small number of parishes have survived; 1821 This census was organised by townland, civil parish, barony and county and took place on 28 May 1821. Almost all the original returns were destroyed in 1922, with only a few volumes surviving for Co Fermanagh PRONI Reference Number MIC 5A and MIC 15A. 1831 Once again this census was organised by townland, civil parish, barony and county. It also includes the name, age, occupation and religion of the occupants. Very little of this census survives, with most remaining fragments relating to Co Londonderry: MIC 5A/6 Barony of Coleraine; MIC 5A/6 & 7 City of Londonderry; MIC 5A/8 Barony of Loughlinsholin; MIC 5A/9 Barony of Tirkeeran. 1841 The government census, taken on 6 June 1841, followed the same general pattern as that of 1831, however, the returns were compiled by the householders themselves rather than government enumerators. Unfortunately, no part, of the census for Northern Ireland has survived. However, the 1841 census was the earliest to be of use when the Old Age Pensions were introduced in the early twentieth century, and copies of the household returns from 1851 were sometimes used as proof of age. The forms detailing the results of the searches have survived and are available PRONI Reference Number T.550. There are some individual returns in MIC 15A. 1851 Taken on 30 March 1851, this government census added a column for religious affiliation. Most of the surviving returns relate to Co Antrim. The comments above on transcripts of the 1841 census above also apply to 1851. PRONI Reference Number MIC 5A/11-26. There are also individual census returns for various parts of the Province in MIC 15A. 1861, 1871, 1881 & 1891 The census records for 1861 to 1891 were destroyed by order of the government during the First World War. Nothing survives for the Northern Ireland area. See Your Family Tree 6 : Census Substitutes. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 6 1708 In 1708 James McGuire made a survey of the town of Downpatrick, Co Down. He desribed each premise by name, giving its size, its principal tenant and the half yearly rent due. A manuscript copy of this survey, made by the Rev. David Stewart in 1927, is available PRONI Ref. D.1759/2A/8. 1740 In 1740 a list of Protestant householders was compiled in parts of Cos Antrim, Armagh, Down, Donegal, Londonderry and Tyrone. It is arranged by county, barony and parish and gives the name only. A typescript copy of the 1740 return of Protestant householders is available on the Search Room shelves. 1766 In March and April 1766, Church of Ireland Rectors were instructed by the government to compile complete returns of all householders in their resepctive parishes, showing their religion, as between Church of Ireland (Episcopalian), Roman Catholic (termed `Papists` in the returns) and Presbyterians (or Dissenters), and giving an account of any Roman Catholic clergy active in their area. Some of the more diligent rectors listed every townland and every household, but many drew up only numerical totals of the population. All of the original returns were destroyed in the Four Courts in 1922, but extensive transcripts survive and are available on the Search Room shelves. Copies are also available PRONI Ref. T.808/15264-15267 1770 In 1770 a census was carried out for the town of Armagh giving individual names and occupations, size of family and religion and is arranged street by street. PRONI Ref. T.808/14398 & T.808/14977 1796 As part of the governments initiative to encourage the linen trade, free spinning wheels or looms were granted to individuals planting a certain area of land with flax. The lists of those entitled to the awards, covering almost 60,000 individuals, were published in 1796. A typescript copy is available on the Search Room shelves. A microfilm is also available PRONI Ref. T.3419 1824 - 1838 The Composition Act of 1823 specified the tithes due to the Established Church, which had been payable in kind, should now be paid in money. As a result it was necessary to carry out a valuation of the entire county, parish by parish, in order to determine how much would be payable by each landowner. The Tithe Applotment Books list the occupier of titheable land and are not a list of householders as is the case in a census. Therefore, labourers, weavers etc were all omitted, in addition to all purely urban dwellers. The Householders Index, available on the shelves of the Public Search Room, can be used as a guide to the surnames listed in the Tithe Applotment Books. PRONI Ref. FIN 5A 1831 - National school registers, which record the age of the pupil, religion, father`s address and occupation, are a valuable source of information for anyone interested in tracing their family tree. PRONI has in its custody over 1,500 registers for schools in the Northern Ireland area and the Guide to Educational Records, available on the Search Room shelves, includes an alphabetical index to these records. 1848 - 1864 Popularly known as Griffith`s Valuation, the Primary Valuation of Ireland lists every householder and occupier of land in Ireland. It is arranged by barony, poor law union, civil parish and townland. A printed addition of the Griffith`s Valuation is available on the Search Room shelves. See also Your Family Tree 4 : Valuation Records 1876 The `Landowners in Ireland; Return of Owners of land of one acre and upwards...` records more than 32,000 owners of land in Ireland in 1876, identifying them by province and county. A copy of this publication is available on the shelves of the Public Search Room. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

How do I go from List mode to digest mode?

List members - I realize this probably doesn't belong on the list but I am desperate! My ISP has just announced they are going out of business the in June and I need to find a new subscriber. Don't they have any idea of how many places on the web I have my email address??? (just kidding). Since I am about to leave the country, I need to find a new ISP immediately. What suggestions do any of you have for a reliable ISP, one that you can get online with (no busy signals)? Guess I'm just back to square one with all the lists I'm on. Assistance please - my current e-mail address is fine for reply - don't want to bother this list with a bunch of replies. THANKS!!! Corky corcoran@kaiwan.com

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 1 Before beginning your search at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, you should try to discover as much as possible through your parents, grandparents etc. Check family gravestone inscriptions for names, dates etc. Find out if old photographs exist of your family. They often show, on the reverse side, names and dates. Family bibles are also a useful source as they often contain details of births, deaths and marriages. This sort of information will help to flesh out the picture which emerges from the documents. What you will uncover, here at PRONI, will depend on the quality of the documents which have survived for the area. In order to use the records to their best advantage three kinds of information are essential; names, dates and places. Dates of marriages, births, deaths and emigration; the names of grandparents etc; townland names, parishes and counties. The easiest way to begin a genealogical search is to use the Personal Names Card-Index in the Public Search Room. This card-index will give you references to the vast range of records which are in the custody of PRONI. When you have got such references you should then search the typescript Catalogues of the collections on the shelves in the Public Search Room. These will give you brief desriptions of the documents. If you have no idea where your ancestors came from in Northern Ireland, you can discover the distribution of any surname by looking in the Householders Index which is a guide to the names listed in the Tithe Applotment Books c. 1830 and the Griffiths Valuation c. 1860. From this index you can discover the localities where the name was the most common between 1830 and 1860. The letter G shown in the index, means that the name appears in the Griffith`s Valuation. The number following eg G2 means the number of times that surname is recorded in a particular barony. The letter T means that s surname appeared in the Tithe Applotment Books PRONI Reference Number FIN5A. If you know the area from wich your ancestors came you can search the records relating to that particular district. Ireland and its counties are sub-divided in a unique way; counties into baronies, baronies into parishes, and parishes into townlands. The computerised Geographical Index available in the reception area, is a handy way to begin your search. It lists the records available for the vast majority of the townlands in Northern Ireland. The townland is a unique feature of the Irish landscape and is one of the most ancient divisions in the country. They originally consisted of a number of sub-divisions such as gneeves and ploughlands but are now recognised as the smallest administrative division in the country. The easiest way to find the name of your parish, townland etc is to consult the Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland. These indexes were compiled during the 19th and 20th centuries after each census and lists all the baronies, parishes, towns, villages and townlands that existed at that time. They are available on the Search Room shelves. If you want to commission a genealogical search on a fee-paying basis, please ask the Search Room staff for a copy of our lsit of genealogists operating in Northern Ireland. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. ---------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 2 The best way to carry out research is to start from what you have been able to discover from your parents, grandparents etc., and use that to find out more. It is often easier to start with your own birth and work your way back through the records. If you know the location of a family at the turn of the century, the 1901 census returns can be a invaluable source. On 31 March 1901, a census was taken of the whole island of Ireland and records the following: name; relationship to the head of the household; religion; literacy; occupation; age; marital status; county of birth; ability to speak English or Irish. Those members of the family who were not present when the census was taken are not included. However, the importance of the 1901 census as a source of useful information should not be ignored, as it contains the names etc., of individuals who were born during the reign of George III. The 1901 census returns are arranged by Poor Law Union, electoral division, county, barony, parish, townland and street if in a town or city. Before consulting the green calendars for the 1901 census, which are available on the Search Room shelves, you will need to know the name of the relevant county and townland. The census records themselves are available on microfilm; PRONI Reference Number MIC 354 Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

This was posted to another list and I thought it might be of interest. --------------Original Message--------------- Taken from PRONI : Your Family Tree 3 One of the most important collections held in the Public Record Office is of church records. Of particular interest to anyone tracing their family tree are the registers of baptisms, marriages and burials. Many of these for the nine counties of Ulster have been copied by PRONI,or have been deposited with us. In order to identify which records exist in a particular area researchers should consult the Guide to Church Records. This guide lists alphabetically, churches of the main denominations who have records deposited at PRONI, and is available on the search room shelves. The Public Record Office does not hold records for all churches in Ulster and, in some cases, these may still be in local custody. The guide to Church Records is also an invaluable method of discovering the name of the Parish to which a particular church belongs. The parish was originally an ecclesiastical administrative unit which became the basis geographical unit in early census records, land surveys and tax records. Anyone interested in finding out the name of the townland to which a particular church belongs should consult the Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland, which is also available on the Search Room shelves. The quality of the records themselves will vary from denomination to denomination, and in some cases from church to church. For example, Catholic baptismal records usually include the following information: date; child`s name; father`s name; mother`s maiden name; name of godparents; residence of parents. Church of Ireland baptismal records, however, usually supply only the following information: child`s name; father`s name; the mother`s christian name; the name of the officiating clergyman. It is also important to note that the majority of Church of Ireland clergymen recorded burials as well as baptisms and marriages, unlike their Catholic counterparts. These burial registers include the name, age and townland of the deceased and often include local families of different denomination. Alex Hughes >from Ayrshire, Scotland Searching for Duncan,Bruce,Kilpatrick,Campbell,Fairley,Milne,McKechan, Jamphray,Strathern,Kelso,Smith & Auld in Scotland Searching for Hughes, Graham, McCutcheon, Donaghy, Irvine, Dorian, Kelley & Black in Ireland ----------End of Original Message----------

I've been looking, but to no avail....maybe the Fianna crew can help! -----Original Message----- From: Donna McGowan <dmcgowan@ktc.com> To: Joe & Laura Schmidt <schmidtm@3-cities.com> Date: Sunday, April 26, 1998 5:27 AM Subject: Re: Is this for other than Northern Ireland? >Great!!! Would you have any way to locate an address & phone # for me, for >cousins that I found in Virginia, Lurgan. Co. Cavan in 1994? Have lost it. > Their name is Farrelly, & they raise greyhounds to sell, if that helps. >My name when meeting them was Donna Reilley Smith, if you need that--now >the Smith has changed to McGowan. Would appreciate any help? Thanks so >much, DonnaAt 05:40 PM 4/25/98 -0700, you wrote: >>We are all of Ireland! What you need to know? >>-----Original Message----- >>From: Donna McGowan <dmcgowan@ktc.com> >>To: FIANNA-L@rootsweb.com <FIANNA-L@rootsweb.com> >>Date: Saturday, April 25, 1998 4:44 PM >>Subject: Is this for other than Northern Ireland? >> >> >>>i'm looking for Co. Cavan. >>> >> >> >> >