I am afraid it is pretty true. Much of my Irish research has been from before 1843, and with the exception of local church records, convict transportation lists, the Tithe List, the Rebellion Papers, some Wills, and the grave transcriptions in the county genealogy centers, there is little else unless you happen to be descended from nobility. I guess with the exception of births and marriages, you had to interact with the government in some way to get documented, and with a large percentage who couldn't read or write, that didn't happen unless they were arrested. Also part of the reason is that mostly only the nobility owned land, and only land owners could vote; the Guilds controlled the trades, at least in the large cities, and unless you lived in large city there was little need for a directory. It makes for very interesting detective work, though...and I've also learned a lot about why the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights say what they do, and why we have specific rights granted that our forefathers did not enjoy. Cheers, Kevin Kerwin ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathy Jost-Shouse" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 3:04 PM Subject: [Irl-Kildare] Research in County Kildare pre-1849 > I am researching the Holton and Welsh families and have been told that it > is very hard to find anything pre-1849, when my Holton's immigrated. I was > just wondering if others on the list had been able to research back further > or if that's true. > > > > Kathy > Florida > http://terri9.home.mindspring.com/Jost/Jostindex.htm > Researching: Jost, Petry, Peter, Freunscht, Koob, Moller, Schroeder, Urban > Holton, Welsh, Springsteel, Stinson, Hard, Whelan > Graham, White/Whyte, Robertson, Earston > Johnson, Stevens, Glen, Mabie/Mabee, Peek, Sanders, Van Dyke, Van Eps, Van > Patten, Van Slyke, Van Vorst, Wendel > Davis, Folts, Lott, Sutphin, Lapdon > > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > >