Thanks to everyone who replied to my post about resources in Europe. They will definately come in handy during my research. I just have a couple of questions that I was hoping someone could help me with. First, I was wondering how I would go about finding the place in Ireland or Scotland that my ancestors came from. My ancestors came to the United States in the 1850's. Valentine McLaughlin and his wife Sarah were the immigrants. US Census records say that he was born in Ireland and she was born in Scotland. I have naturalization papers for Valentine from 1860. They state that he arrived in the Port of Philadelphia in September of 1852. Were there records of emmigration kept in Europe that would have the towns they were from? What is the best way for me to procede? My second question is a more general historical one. I do not know much about the Scotch-Irish and the history of the region around the time my ancestors left for the US (the 1850's). I am very new to genealogy, but until I uncovered this branch of my family my research was limited to Poland and Germany. Was it common for people born in Ireland to marry people born in Scotland? Would Valentine have likely moved to Scotland or would Sarah likely have moved to Ireland? Was there a particular event at that time that would have made them leave and come to the US? I'm basically looking for any pieces of information that can help me understand the time periods, especially as it relates to genealogical research. My Dad has always said that the people on that side of our family were strict Presbyterians, if that helps narrow the history down. Sorry for such a long post! ~Michael Messinger~

Re your question about Irish & Scots marrying - quite possible. During the 16th to the 19th century, Donaghadee, Co. Down to Portpatrick, was the most popular route to Scotland as it was only 21 miles. Nori