Dear List Members, Any suggestions or advice on how to trace my grandfather William Moore would be greatly appreciated. He was born in Craigantlet near Belfast 1846 and died in 1915. Family legend has it that he was on stage with Sir Harry Lauder the famous Scottish tenor. Although I get the impression that Sir Harry was not so famous at the time and had not yet received his knighthood. I read Sir Harry’s biography and learned that he was born in 1869 and twenty three years younger than my grandfather. I have no idea where to start on researching theatre records. Many thanks in anticipation. Jean McCarthy nee Moore

Hello Jean, There are no national Theatre records to speak of. Local newspaper advertisments and reviews of shows are probably the best you can hope for. The trouble is, your grandfather may have had a stage name and if he was a music hall artist, he would have travelled widely. Did he stay in Ireland or move to England? If the latter, have you found him in the 1881 census? If so, what did he name as his profession? The Theatre Museum, Covent Garden, London, which is actually a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum has an archive but they have no name catalogues or finding aids. all the best, Nettie Edwards