This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: chlang99 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.ireland.lex.general/2678.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The Catholic records would be church parish records for the location in County Laois (formerly Queens County) where the event, i.e. birth (baptism) or marriage took place. The dates you have pre-date the beginning of civil registration/vital records in Ireland in 1864 (Protestant marriages in 1845). Therefore the Ireland General Register Office which holds civil registration records http://www.groireland.ie would not have records for your family's time period. There's a list of the names of the towns and townlands in County Laois in the Ireland Townland Database http://www.seanruad.com and select Queens County from the drop down menu. Here's a link to a map of the Roman Catholic parishes in County Laois. Click on each parish to find out where the records can be searched as well as the dates covered in the records, you'll note that many of the parish records don't go back far enough for the dates you need: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/laoisrc.htm Since you don't as yet have a birthplace or marriage location in County Laois for your ancestors and since many of the Roman Catholic parish records don't go back far enough to include the dates you need, you may have all the Roman Catholic parish records searched and if your ancestors were born or married in a parish whose records don't survive for the dates you need you'll never find them. it would be best for you to do additional research in your emigrant ancesstor's civil and church records and their children's wherever they emigrated to find out specifically where in County Laois they were born, i.e. the town or townland. Then you can determine if the church parish records survive for the dates you need for that location and have those parish records searched. Otherwise you'd have no necessity to have them searched if they don't survive for the dates you need. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.