First, get the civil birth and marriage record of each and every person you named. Civil registration of births, deaths and marriages in Ireland names the townland which is the address in rural Ireland. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons, has copies of almost all of the General Register Office indices and some registers, making direct access to both registers and indices possible through the local Family History Centers. You can do-it-yourself at the local Family History Centers because the FHL has acquired Irish civil registration records that can be viewed at Family History Centers scattered throughout the world, located in the LDS meeting-houses. The FHCs are generally listed in the local phonebook under Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with its own phone number or go to familysearch.org. In some communities, Family Search is in the local public library. No charge is made for using the resources at the local FHC except for a rental fee for microfilm from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Birth certificates include the date and place of birth; the name; the sex; the name, surname and residence of the father; the name, surname, maiden surname of the mother; the rank, profession or occupation of the father; and the name and qualifications of the informant, usually a family member. A given name was not obligatory, so some entries are Kelly, Male or Clarke, Female. The FHLC holds microfilm copies of the Birth Index 1864-1955; Records 1864-1881 and 1900-1955 (note the gaps 1882-1899 and 1913-1930 in the FHLC). Some pages are missing from 1869: p. 49-50 (gap between Carroll, John, of Dungannon and Carvill, James Richard, of Limerick; and all pages following Thompson, Elenor Jane, of Belfast. If you search the Index and can identify your target, note the name, district, volume and page. Then, determine the appropriate FHLC microfilm number. You may then complete the "Request to Photocopy" following the instructions to the letter and mail it with a check for $2.00. In addition, some parts of the early years of birth registrations appear to be included in the International Genealogical Index. A certain proportion of all three categories, births, marriages and deaths, simply went unregistered. It is impossible to be sure how much is not there, since the thoroughness of local registration depended very much on local conditions and on the individuals responsible, but experience in crosschecking from other sources such as parish and census records suggests that as much as 10 to 15 per cent of marriages and births simply do not appear in the registers. Foreign applications: Fees are payable in Irish pound currency, Draft I.E.P. or Euro checks or bank drafts drawn on an Irish Bank, made payable to the Registrar General. Sterling checks, Postal Orders, US$ checks are accepted. The minimum amount for a check drawn on a non-Irish bank is 12.70 Euro. I bundle my requests so that I meet the minimum fee. Births, Death and Roman Catholic marriages certificates are available from General Registrar Office 8-11 Lombard Street East Dublin 2 Ireland Before 1864 you must use other sources to find/verify information, see http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlwat/instruct.htm Marriage certificates include the date and place of marriage; groom's name, age, marital status, occupation or title, and residence; bride's name, marital status, age, occupation or title, and residence. The names of the fathers of both parties and their occupations or titles are given which makes them particularly relevant to genealogy. The church and the names of two witnesses are also listed. Witnesses to the marriage are commonly family members and may add clues to family linkages. Full age indicates that the person was at least 21 years old. A photocopy of an entry will contain the same details as a certificate but is not suitable for administrative matters. However, it is ideal for genealogical purposes. Photocopy (including search fee) is Irpunts 3.0 and Certificate (including search fee) is Irpunts 5.50. http://eurotrip.com/exchangerates.html or http://quote.yahoo.com/m3?u or http://www3.travelocity.com/converter/ to get the currency exchange rate for the day as it is changing weekly. Certificates (B, M, D) IR5.50 US$6.00 Photocopy of an entry in Register 3.00 3.30 When index reference is Supplied 1.50 1.65 Short Birth Certificate 3.50 3.85 Authentication of a certificate 1.50 1.55 Postage: United Kingdom & Ireland IRL .50 (E).63 All other countries: 1.00 1.27 Ellen Copyright Ó 2000 Ellen Naliboff All rights reserved Bill Maytum wrote: > > Are there records available covering 1860-75 where I might be able to > find families living in close proximity to each other? > I am seeking the birthplace in Cork of my grandmother Mary Agnes > SHEEHAN (b. 1872-4) daughter of James SHEEHAN and Ellen CONNOLLY. > Ellen had a brother John Patrick CONNOLLY, Sr. who was married to Mary > TAGAN. The Connolly/Tagan family, living somewhere in Cork, included > at least two children, John Patrick,Jr. (b. 27 May 1862) and Margaret > (b. 1868-9). > I am looking for some record for the 1860-1875 period which might show > families named Sheehan (James) and Connolly (John Patrick, Sr.) living > in close proximity and thus give me a clue to the location in Cork > where my grandmother was born. > I welcome any help or suggestions. > Bill Maytum of New England > E-mail: wjmcem@gte.net > > ==== SHAMROCK Mailing List ==== > ** SHAMROCK ROOTS homepage http://community.webtv.net/shamrockroots/SHAMROCKROOTS