> Mike and Lynn Reid <[email protected]> wrote: > > I am looking for information about my great grandfather and his family > from Dublin, Ireland. James Christopher Reid was born about 1870 in > Dublin......He was a member of the Irish Guards. He married Lillian Atkinson and > had nine children, one being mygrandfather, Joseph Stephen Reid (b. 1908, > Dublin) It should not be too difficult to find out more information about this family. Start by locating a marriage certificate for James and Lillian. This will give the names and occupations of both of their fathers. You will be able to consult the indexes of Irish marriages at your local Mormon Family History Centre (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). If they do not have the relevant microfilm in stock, they can order it in. When you locate the entry in the index you can obtain a copy of the certificate from the General Register Office in Dublin. If they were married in a Roman Catholic Church the register almost certainly survives and may well include the names of their mothers. You will be able to obtain this information by writing to the parish priest as soon as you know the place of the marriage. Also, you can consult the Irish births index at the Family History Centre and you may be able to locate a birth record for James circa 1870. However you cannot be certain that this will be the correct record without the information from the marriage certificate. After all of that, you may find that you are related to me! My great grandmother was Annie Reid born in Dublin in 1857. Her mother was Jane Stephens and there were several Joseph Stephens in that family. So the fact that your grandfather was called Joseph Stephen might be relevant. Please let me know how you get on. You should also be able to obtain James Christopher Reid's military record from the British archives. Regards Niall Foley Dublin, Ireland.