Genealogy research

Hi.
Heading to Ireland as well.
Just saw your post and wanted to let you know about a video on YouTube about a guy that did this himself.
I don't think it would be much help. But since no one has seen your post yet, I figured this might be a start.
You have received a YouTube video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIIWE3MAc6o
Good luck!

I did some research a couple years ago at the National Library in Dublin. I met with a researcher, and I had to wait because there were a few people in line before me. Make sure that you've done as much research as you can on your own before you go. I was disappointed that I didn't find any new information, but it was an interesting experience.

No experience w/ that office. But, what do you know so far, other than that you have Irish heritage? Any idea re: when your family would have come to the USA (assuming you are from the US)? If during the Ellis Island days, likely you have checked those records. Do you know in which county/town in Ireland they lived? If you do, see if there is a local library or church that has old records, and then also check census reports for that area (on-line). If you are not sure of exact dates, just randomly check every census report you can find.

I agree with the other poster that the more you know in advance the better.

Church records are an excellent place to look, too (many are on line now), and old census listings are also incredibly helpful.

The amazing way I found a cousin, which ultimately lead to my meeting her/her husband, and then her taking us to see the stone cottage (which is still standing but rather deteriorated now under different ownership) in which my grandmother was raised, the house of my great-grandparents, family church, school, graves (it was actually amazing) was the result of my emailing an owner of a bed and breakfast in the town where I knew family members lived, and sharing the old family name, etc. It was absolutely unbelievable to actually visit and have my photo taken in front of the little cottage that appeared in an old black and white photo that I've had since childhood. It was fascinating listening to the cousin (who is much older than me) tell about growing up in Ireland and how very little little they had (there were 13 children in that tiny cottage).

Let us know what you know (without sharing the personal details on the internet), and many of us may be able to point you in helpful directions. I helped a friend who was searching for her Irish roots, and it was determined (best guess), her relatives came from one of the Aran Islands. A friend in Ireland helped to connect her with someone of the same last name, who then took all of them to see graves, etc. The gentleman also offered a lock of his hair (so she could get a DNA test done on both of them to see if there was a family match....she has not yet had that done).

The Irish are very friendly and helpful. If you have your original family last name(s), you could also Google people who live in the same towns today to see if they might know of your relatives (if you have any additional clues/dates/names/occupations, etc.) It's amazing how the puzzle really can be solved with information from the most interesting sources. And, do consider that spellings of last names may have morphed a bit over generations (a letter dropped or added), and some census reports may show nicknames for children or spellings may be off (if the writer did not know how to spell certain names).

And, it was somewhat humorous, because my cousin referred to us as "the immigrants." She mentioned how her church prays for the immigrants. It made me realize (again) just how young our nation is compared to the long histories in Europe.

The Mormon church also has amazing genealogy records at its center in Salt Lake City. My sister visited them after I had already found the cousin, but she was able to find in one place much of what we had found in multiple places previously, and she was mostly looking for the other side of the family (since we still have a mystery about a great-grandmother who came over in steerage from Germany).

If you haven't done this already, start with the Irish census for any relatives circa 1901 and 1911 before you go. It will make things easier when you get to Ireland.

We researched my husband's family using Ancestry and the Statue of Liberty -Ellis Island records. I'm sure what you can find in Ireland is much more detailed and extensive, but the above are good places to start if you haven't already.

Thanks for all the comments. I have three sets of great grandparents that emigrated from Ireland to Canada. One of those families was from Kilkenny. I have wife's maiden name, birth year, year of immigration and children's birth years. They left Ireland around 1840 and I have been told that Baptism records before that year are not available. So far I have hit dead ends but it has been interesting. Does anyone know what the Canadian equivalent of Ellis Island is and how to contact them?

Peggy,
Do you know if any of the great grandparents had any siblings? Have you tried Googling the last name and Kilkenny in one search, just to see what comes up? You might have some generations-later cousins still there.

Also, if you haven't already, Google "Kilkenny cemetery" and several cemeteries (and churches) will pop up. You could search on-line if those cemeteries have their grave records on-line, or email the associated churches to see if there is plot with your particular family name(s).

I also just did a Google search "Irish immigrated to Canada 1840" and all sorts of various links/genealogy sites came up. I will leave it to you to determine which you might trust enough to click on, and perhaps one of the Canadian posters on this site will see this and recommend one of the more reliable of the sites listed. At least one, I noticed, has ship records. If you find a first name that way, then you can search old property records from that time period.

Thomastown also came up a lot when searching Kilkenny. Here's a link that talks a bit about the history of that town:

http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/T/Thomastown-Gowran-Kilkenny.php

By just going down different "rabbit holes" in searches (some that might be interesting, and some that might be total dead-ends), all you need to find is someone with the same last name, then do further searches for that time period with that name. It is amazing what you might find (or might not).

Good luck. It can become addicting..............good thing I don't know the family name, or I'd be doing this all night :) :o I'll leave that fun to you. Let us know if you find a fruitful track.

If nothing else, email a few B&Bs or churches in the area and ask if they know anyone who might be related to a (fill in the last name) who left for Canada around 1840. The Irish seem to all know each other's history (as well as if any of their long-time-ago relatives immigrated). If there is someone in Ireland related to you, they would probably be so very thrilled to know about you, too. (My cousin was thrilled and told us we were the first immigrants to visit her in Ireland.)

Likely you've seen this already, but it provides a summary of the different church parishes (if you wanted to reach out to them to ask questions about your family name and what records they might have). Might also be fun to click on the famous people link to see if you recognize the last name (wouldn't that be fun..one guy designed the White House in DC).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Kilkenny

https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Canada_Emigration_and_Immigration might be helpful, especially as it relates to Canadian immigration searches.

Interesting reading, which also includes primary cities into which most Irish immigrated and also the most common ports from which they departed...might be helpful in combing ship records.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Canadian

Okay, come to Tennessee and sit with me for hours and hours and hours behind the computer........just kidding.....I'm going to b a c k away from the computer now. It can get addicting and I don't even know the name I'm looking for....LOL!

Okay, I think I have now officially exceeded the number of posts one is able to do on a question according to Forum rules.

But, I Googled: census information thomastown county kilkenny ireland, 1840

And, along with lots of other stuff, the following two books (which show some excerpts on line, listing people who came to Canada from Ireland and a bit of their history. It's this kind of stuff that can (maybe) help you locate the needle in the haystack. It's the little bits of info that add up to a better clue. Just keep in mind how really neat it would be to find family graves to visit while in Ireland, to walk the actual land your ancestors lived on, and the (remote, but entirely possible) opportunity to meet current-day relatives in Ireland. THAT is what will keep you on the computer, make you send emails/letters/calls (whatever) to churches, cities, libraries, whatever in Ireland...and when you find the info you want, I just can't even describe how wonderful it feels, topped only by seeing bits of your family roots in person or meeting relatives, etc.

https://books.google.com/books?id=XbRqsv_F4vUC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=census+information+thomastown+county+kilkenny+ireland,+1840&source=bl&ots=sUYYNi03nn&sig=ZYzeFWcm5zkoywRtL89RrczdXoU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-44Kgv_nOAhXFJCYKHS_eAUsQ6AEIVzAJ#v=onepage&q=census%20information%20thomastown%20county%20kilkenny%20ireland%2C%201840&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=qG7ZfjizfQQC&pg=PA139&lpg=PA139&dq=census+information+thomastown+county+kilkenny+ireland,+1840&source=bl&ots=JjzYrqA20_&sig=TAdBwBOnavKQFVX3L2xQBuW1Dpc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-44Kgv_nOAhXFJCYKHS_eAUsQ6AEIUzAI#v=onepage&q=census%20information%20thomastown%20county%20kilkenny%20ireland%2C%201840&f=false

Margaret, I've enjoyed reading your posts on genealogy in Ireland! I have a branch of my family (Bergin) from Cork, Ireland but I have no idea where in Cork. Bergin seems to be a very common name there so I have no idea how to proceed.

What I do know is that he was born in 1808 and immigrated to the US via Port of NY in Ellis Island in 1831. Moved to TX in 1837 or so. Unable to find any evidence of him on ship manifests.

Any ideas on how to proceed? I'm planning a trip to Ireland next year and was hoping to spend a little time (but not a ton of time - since traveling with a friend) trying to find more info on the Bergins.

Any advice would be SO appreciated!!

Thank you :-)

Gina

Gina, I'll send you a private message so as to not add on to the original poster's thread.

Archimedes, your link for the "Irish census" takes me to an Amazon page for Merrell hiking shoes. Might want to check that.