Hi Sande, You don't mention where in Antrim, you think your ancestors are from, if you know it already, so the best place would be of course to visit there. - If you're unsure, its best to start at the Public Records Office (PRONI) in Belfast. (www.proni.gov.uk) Its free to use. Remember to take ID, notepad & pencil (no pens in reading room). There are microfiche records of church registers, griffiths land valuation of tenants and householders (from 1860s), [Free index search for Ballymoney parish in Antrim at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/4592/grifbmp.html, which includes DOUGLAS] and census information from 1901 & surviving fragments of the 1851 census for County Antrim (which are also free on-line at http://1851.4t.com/) - If your ancestors are recent, you can pay to search the databases at the GRONI (General Records Office Northern Ireland), www.groni.gov.uk. Some records may however be held in Dublin, for registration pre-1922. There are computerised indexes of birth, marriage & death certificates for the whole of Northern Ireland. You then need to go to the local town hall/parish or church to see the actual certificates. You will pay again for another search and a look at a certificate. This should cost about approx 10-15 pounds sterling. For example, if your ancestor is from Ballymoney, there will be a listing on the index at GRONI in Belfast, but to see the actual certificate, you will need to go to the town hall in Ballymoney, or to the church in Ballymoney where the event was registered. If you want to use this facility, its good to book it in advance, as there are only a very limited number of places in the search room. - Linenhall library, www.linenhall.com, is a beautiful old library in the centre of Belfast with lots of books on history, general family records, trade directories, passenger emigration lists, etc. - Once you know the towns and/or villages where your ancestors were born, married or died, its a good idea to visit the local churches or cemeteries. You can find lists of these in books about Ireland at PRONI (e.g. there is a Veritas Catholic directory of Catholic churches in Ireland) or sometimes via links on genealogical websites, such as www.genuki.org.uk. I've found many priests and clergymen in Northern Ireland very friendly, and you can go to look for free in their old parish registers. Of course, often registers are missing, and sometimes a baptismal register may be held by a church and the marriage register held in the local council offices or vice versa. For deaths (especially in the twentieth century), I went to look at inscriptions on gravestones for more clues. - If your ancestors were from the Ballymoney area, there is a great website called www.ballymoneyancestry.com, where you can search various records for free. It has been set up by the town council, who are creating a museum about Ballymoney. - I would definitely recommend a visit to the Ulster American Folk Park outside Omagh [www.folkpark.com], which has exhibitions about emigration to North America & the history. There is also a genealogy centre with an emigration database, see links on the site. - Northern Ireland tourist office is online at www.visitnorthernireland.com, with info about accommodation, sight-seeing, etc. Good luck. Michelle NIR-ANTRIM-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:39:08 -0500 From: "Sande" <sanmike@tds.net> To: NIR-ANTRIM-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Visit in May to do research Hello list We will be visiting County Antrim in May to go through some Church records and County records. Where is the best place to do this? My family names are Dryden, Dooley and Douglass. Does anyone have a recommendation on a nice B&B or reasonably priced hotel which would be convenient. Thank you, Sande , --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 250MB free storage. Do more. Manage less.