Getting to the Roots of Your Family - RootsWeb - Ancestry.com

o Very little on microfilm - some published and donated transcripts, e.g. Dublin, Limerick – check
FHLC with Place/Keyword search for desired parish
o Check indexes to Marriage License Bonds – check FHLC > Place search “Ireland” > ‘Church
Records—Indexes’ (NOTE: Only indexes survive, not the actual licenses)
• Church of Ireland records not at the FHL:
o Representative Church Body Library (www.ireland.anglican.org/library) - has originals
o PRONI (www.proni.gov.uk) - holds many copies for Northern Ireland
o Many have been indexed by Heritage Centres (see section below)
o For local custodial information – Same as above for Catholic records
Presbyterian
Presbyterian records were not destroyed in the 1922 fire
• Most parishes did not keep registers until 19th century with exceptions for urban areas
• Presbyterian records at FHL:
o Few copies/transcripts; check FHLC with Keyword search > name of congregation
• Presbyterian records not at the FHL:
o PRONI (www.proni.gov.uk) - extensive collection - see bibliography
o Many have been indexed by Heritage Centres (see section below)
o For local custodial information – Same as above for Catholic records
• Kirk Session Minutes – consider these for a congregation
o Often contain notices of intention to marry, some baptism/marriage entries, information about
migration (Certificates of Transference if they survive)
Things to Remember
• Always check Church of Ireland records in area of your ancestors
• Check indexes to Marriage License Bonds of Church or Ireland – FHLC > Place search “Ireland” > ‘Church
Records—Indexes’ (Only indexes survive - not actual licenses)
Heritage Centres - Will research on commission
• Typically indexed at least Roman Catholic records for their area & many have indexed the extant Church of
Ireland & some Presbyterian records
• Valuable resource if you know county and some dates & relationships but that’s all. More valuable in
counties where FHL has no Catholic records - see for complete listing. Over half the centres have records
online pay-per-view with free indexes
Methodists, Quakers etc.
• FHL has almost all Quaker records but few for other denominations – see bibliography
CENSUS RECORDS
A statistical count of the population of the country, the census records are one of best ways to locate ancestors
at a given place and time.
• Only 1901 and 1911 survive in their entirety; both online at www.nationalarchives.ie (indexes & images)
• Check FHLC > parish/county/country > topics like Census, Land and Property, Taxation
• Check Google (or other search engines) - use key words “name of county/parish and census”
• Check for extant records in county
OTHER RECORDS – CENSUS SUBSTITUTES
Use www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse for a listing of county-by-county census substitutes
Type of
record
Tithe
Applotment
Years Description Where to Find Them
1823-1837 Tax record. Contains heads of
households only - both those who
leased land & those who owned land;
few records for cities/large towns
(contains 40% of heads of households)
Northern Ireland (only those 6
counties) on www.ancestry.com
Griffith’s 1848-1864 Tax record. Contains heads of www.askaboutireland.ie,