I battled this same problem for years Jim, working with just vague "maybe" info I got from a couple of elderly relatives who really didn't know. It wasn't until I finally began chasing down all the known siblings of my Irish Great-grandfather, those that had also come to America, that I finally found the clue I needed. In a brother's obituary, I found info regarding where he was born (near Lough Allen in County Roscommon) that gave me something I could chase. He was survived by his wife who was also from there so I felt very confident that she certainly knew his origins. From there I mined the parish BMD registers and found my Great-grandfather's baptism, as well as almost all of his siblings baptisms, their parents marriage and other relatives (that register was a gold mine!) and went from there. I also wrote to the parish priest who forwarded my note, name and contact info and in 2003, after well over 100 years, I reconnected with my remaining McGuire relatives that still live there (they still have the old house too). Ironically, I missed my oldest cousin, John, by just 2 weeks (who, btw, was born in the Bronx so there is a NYC connection here). According to his wife, John died always wondering whatever happened to his McGuire relatives that went to America and then disappeared over time. You've probably already tried chasing down the siblings of your ancestor but if not, give that a try. if nothing else, maybe this story will help give someone else some ideas too...cast a wide net and it's amazing what you might catch! Best of luck! -Charles At 12:00 AM 12/8/2010, you wrote: >Message: 1 >Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:12:53 -0500 >From: Jim Garrity <jimgarrity@earthlink.net> >Subject: Re: [NYC-ROOTS] Listowner Post Re: Cathedral With a Past; > Basilica With a Future >To: nyc-roots@rootsweb.com > >Maybe so, Liz - but if that's the case, why haven't my own Irish >ancestors guided me into finding out where in Ireland that they came >from!? Maybe old Peter Cassidy's spirit can encourage them to send me a >message or something!? ;-D > >Jim