The table below shows the number of Richie households in each county in the Primary Valuation property survey of 1848-64. Click on a county name for a breakdown of the number of households by parish (paying). Antrim 4 Armagh 3 Cavan 1 Derry 7 Donegal 3 Down 10 Dublin city 1 Fermanagh 1 Louth 1 Mayo 3 Meath 1 Monaghan 2 Tyrone 4 The table below shows the number of Richey households in each county in the Primary Valuation property survey of 1848-64. Click on a county name for a breakdown of the number of households by parish (paying). Antrim 14 Armagh 1 Belfast city 3 Cavan 7 Cork city 1 Derry 32 Donegal 16 Down 13 Monaghan 9 Tyrone 17 The table below shows the number of Hanna households in each county in the Primary Valuation property survey of 1848-64. Click on a county name for a breakdown of the number of households by parish (paying). Antrim 125 Armagh 43 Belfast city 35 Cavan 7 Derry 23 Donegal 18 Down 313 Dublin 2 Dublin city 2 Fermanagh 11 Galway 3 Limerick 4 Mayo 9 Monaghan 32 Offaly 1 Sligo 1 Tyrone 25 Wexford 2 The table below shows the number of Hannah households in each county in the Primary Valuation property survey of 1848-64. Click on a county name for a breakdown of the number of households by parish (paying). Antrim 3 Belfast city 5 Cavan 1 Cork 1 Donegal 1 Down 2 Dublin 3 Mayo 2 Tyrone 1 Waterford 1 The table below shows the number of Ritchie households in each county in the Primary Valuation property survey of 1848-64. Click on a county name for a breakdown of the number of households by parish (paying). Antrim 33 Armagh 8 Belfast city 41 Derry 9 Down 40 Dublin 1 Dublin city 1 Leitrim 2 Louth 1 Monaghan 3 Tyrone 2 Hi Betty - Please check out the surname search engine and other data at www.ireland.com/ancestor/ Ireland's Primary Valuation (Griffith's) 1848-64 revealed these and other variations in spelling for your interesting surnames -HANNAH and RITCHIE - and found in several Irish counties. Concentrating chiefly on Co. Donegal: There was only one recorded HANNAH household in Co. Donegal. HANNA was the most frequent spelling by far in Ireland, and there were 18 HANNA households in Co. Donegal.. RITCHIE was the spelling found most often, compared to its variations, but there were no RITCHIE households in Co. Donegal. There were both HANNAH and RITCHIE households in the same parish, but they were apparently located in Co. Antrim, Belfast city, and Co. Down. Working with the different spellings, on the "second surname" search at that website, in the event that they lived and met in a particular parish in Co. Donegal: There are HANNA and RICHEY households in the same parish in Co. Donegal. Also HANNA and RICHIE households in the same parish in Co. Donegal. For a fee, you can learn more about these particular parishes. Please recheck my notes. Often there is truth to family lore, so you can probably assume for now that your Donegal location is correct. Families may have lived for generations in one particular location, in which case individuals most often met and married someone in their own parish. Researchers looking for well-educated families (often Protestant) with known middle names, have a distinct advantage. A son's unusual first or middle name may be mother's maiden ("nee") surname in disguise. Christian names appeared in earlier and later generations. Apparently there were only about 100 different Catholic given names used, so that makes it more difficult. Spelling of names on records may be skewed due to illiteracy and be spelled phonetically. There wasn't an emphasis on correct spelling. Add to that the fact that Ireland was often in turmoil. An estimated 15% of events may not have been recorded. Generally speaking, the further back in time one goes the harder it is to locate your particular line. You can't just assume that someone is "yours" because they have the name you are researching. Comparison of the birth records for children in one family often reveals variations in surname spelling and perhaps a living child was given the name of a child who had died. In many cases an event was not recorded for days, weeks, even months. Spelling may have been changed accidentally (or deliberately) during the emigration process. Obtain as many documents as possible from the known places they lived for more clues. Sometimes we have to settle for knowing that our families came from Ireland or a particular county in Ireland. Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Betty" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 5:36 AM Subject: [IRELAND] HANNAH / RITCHIE couple born 1820's, 1830's > Hello, > > My gr-gr-grandparents were born in "Donegal, Ireland." And, over the > last few months, it has dawned on me that I don't know which part of > "County > Donegal" they were from. I just got too used to saying they were born > in > "Donegal." > > So, I'd like to ask if there is any way to find out more details about > their > births: > > William HANNAH, born Dec. 25, 1828 > > Eliza RITCHIE, born June 21, 1837 > > > FYI: I have their parents as: > > William HANNAH and Mary Ann (?) > > Andrew RITCHIE and Isabella (?) > > > William and Eliza were married in Glasgow, Scotland, and I'm told by > researchers that the families probably moved back and forth between the > two > areas looking for work. > > > Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA)