For JohnMassey55: Irish civil registration of births began in 1867. If you look on the Family Search (LDS) pilot site, you can look for him. Here's the link. There are several William and William J Masseys but this might be a good start, especially if you have any census records that record his place of birth. http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#givenName=william%20j;birthYear=1876;searchId=73682828491805500000;searchType=fuzzy;surname=massey;birthPlace=Ireland%2C%20Ireland;birthPlaceId=2559150;p=recordResults