  This week’s prompt for 52 Ancestors is Challenge. I'd say that's the definition of Irish research! Have you heard that you can’t research your Irish ancestors because all the records burned? (I put that in the same category as your ancestor’s name was changed at Ellis Island). It is true, that the fire at the Public Records Office (PRO) in 1922 was devastating…we lost 800 to 1,000 years of Irish history. But not everything burned. Civil Registration records were not at the PRO; neither were the land records. The 1821-1851 censuses were mostly lost, but the 1861-1891 had already been destroyed by the Government.
  When I began my research in the early 1990s most of my research was at the Family History Library either in Salt Lake City, or at one of the Family History Centers working off microfilm. When I started researching in Ireland I was able to use the original 1901 and 1911 census records. At the National Archives they would bring up a folder with all of the original sheets for a townland. In case you didn’t know, in Ireland there was one sheet for every family (like our 1890 census which was also lost). You could also work at the General Register Office with the index books for Civil Registration (so much easier than cranking the microfilm…although this was one location which charged a fee). And, almost all of the Roman Catholic Church records were on microfilm at the National Library.
  As an Irish researcher you quickly learned to use substitute records to fill in some of the gaps. As an Irish researcher you would use anything...Dog Licenses? Although no complete census records survived for the 19th century, there was Griffith’s Valuation which was called a census substitute (it’s actually a tax list) which covered the time period 1846-1864. When the Old Age Pension started in 1908, individuals had to prove they were 70 years old. That would take them back to before civil registration, but one way a person could prove their age was to send a form to the Public Records Office asking for a search in the 1841 or 1851 census (it was before they were destroyed). Those search documents were saved and can be viewed at the National Archives where they are now online. I found a brother of my great grandmother using those records. The request was for a search of the 1851 census, but no record was found…not surprising since he wasn’t born until 1867! I knew it was the correct person since he named his parents and their townland in Leitrim. Although he wasn’t found in the Census, I discovered he was living in Belfast and the name of his wife, who completed the paperwork...just after Henry died. Since many Church of Ireland records were destroyed in the Fire, there was a similar process to obtain a baptismal record.
  For today’s Irish researcher, life is very different. Almost all of the Irish records listed above are available online, most are free. But before you attempt to Jump the Pond, you need to do your research at home. You must know the place in Ireland and the timeframe to be successful. I frequently hear from people who are looking for Michael Daly or Patrick Murphy in Ireland. That’s not enough information. When questions such as when were they born, when and where did they marry, when did they emigrate, where did they live in the new country, did they have any siblings have no answers you need to start with yourself and work back. Ask questions of relatives. Start in 1950 and find your parents in the Census records (they are available from 1950 back to 1790, every 10 years with the exception of 1890). The census will tell you where they were born (usually just Ireland) and their age in the census (from which you can determine an approximate birth date). Move back 10 years…were your parents living with their parents? When and where were your grandparents born. Keep moving back every 10 years until you identify the immigrant. Depending on the year, the census record will tell you how long they have lived in the United States and whether they are naturalized (Na - naturalized; Pa- filed first papers; Al - alien). If they immigrated after 1892, the ship’s manifest will tell you where they were born and who their closest relative was in the old country. It will also tell you their contact in the United States. Check out my blogs on Finding a locality in Ireland for some other ideas.
  In the group of blogs on Finding a locality in Ireland, you’ll see a number of blogs on Jurisdictions and Localities. These can be confusing as a placename could refer to any of the jurisdictions. As you begin to identify a locality, keep track of all of the placenames found in your research. Your ancestors might have referred to the closest large town to where they lived, the Registration District or the Civil Parish. If you're lucky you may find their townland, but since there are over 60,000 townlands in Ireland, the chances are there are multiple places with the same name. You'll need some additional information to identify the correct location. Ann Jane Martin was from Carrickmacross according to the family. Carrickmacross is a Town (not a Townland) in the Parish of Magheross in Monaghan and contains a large number of Martins. When I found Ann’s birth record on 31 December 1889, she was from the Townland of Doagh in the Parish of Magheracloone a short distance away. Carrickmacross was the name of the closest large town, but also the name of the Poor Law Union, or Registration District and covered parts of five Civil Parishes. Had I found Ann Martin in the Town of Carrickmacross, it would have been the wrong person. Ann’s mother, Catherine Martin died the day after Ann’s birth on 1 January 1890, another corroborating detail to insure I had the correct person.
  Researching your Irish ancestors can definitely be a challenge, but for most it's not impossible. Once you know the locality you can plan a visit to the place of your ancestor's birth and maybe find cousins you didn't know you had.
Happy Hunting
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