Straddling parts of Counties Antrim and Down, the city of Belfast has seen its fair share of history across the centuries. From its humble beginnings as a ford based settlement between two tributaries of the River Lagan, it grew following its grant of a charter in 1613 to become a corporation town, and expanded dramatically when later made a city in 1888. Along the way it has experienced the darkest of times, including the Belfast Blitz and the recent Troubles, to some of the most enlightened developments across Ireland and the UK. In Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, genealogist and best-selling author Chris Paton returns home to provide a research gateway for those wishing to trace their ancestors from the Northern Irish capital. With a concise summary of the city's history, a tour of some of the city's most amazing archives, libraries and museums, and a detailed overview of the records generated by those who came before, he expertly steers the reader towards centuries of ancestral exploration, both through online resources and within the city of Belfast itself – and with a wee bit of craic along the way!

The history of Ireland is one that was long dominated by the question of land ownership, with complex and often distressing tales over the centuries of dispossession and colonisation, religious tensions, absentee landlordism, subsistence farming, and considerably more to sadden the heart. Yet with the destruction of much of Ireland's historic record during the Irish Civil War, and with the discriminatory Penal Laws in place in earlier times, it is often within land records that we can find evidence of our ancestors' existence, in some cases the only evidence, where the relevant vital records for an area may never have been kept or may not have survived. In Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, genealogist and best-selling author Chris Paton explores how the surviving records can help with our ancestral research, but also tell the stories of the communities from within which our ancestors emerged. He explores the often controversial history of ownership of land across the island, the rights granted to those who held estates and the plights of the dispossessed, and identifies the various surviving records which can help to tease out the stories of many of Ireland's forgotten generations. Along the way Chris Paton identifies the various ways to access the records, whether in Ireland's many archives, local and national, and increasingly through a variety of online platforms.

Discover your Irish roots! Trace your Irish ancestors from American shores back to the Emerald Isle. This in-depth guide from Irish genealogy expert Claire Santry will take you step-by-step through the exciting--and challenging--journey of discovering your Irish roots. You'll learn how to identify immigrant ancestor, find your family's county and townland of origin, and locate key genealogical resources that will breathe life into your family tree. With historical timelines, sample records, resource lists, and detailed information about where and how to find your ancestors online, this guide has everything you need to uncover your Irish heritage. In this book, you'll find: • The best online resources for Irish genealogy • Detailed guidance for finding records in the old country, from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland • Helpful background on Irish history, geography, administrative divisions, and naming patterns • Case studies that apply concepts and strategies to real-life research problems Whether your ancestors hail from the bustling streets of Dublin or a small town in County Cork, The Family Tree Irish Genealogy Guide will give you the tools you need to track down your ancestors in Ireland.

The ultimate guide to tracing your ancestors from Donegal, Ireland.

From search engines and databases to DNA platforms, discover how to easily learn more about your Scottish ancestry online with this helpful guide. Scotland is a land with a proud and centuries long history that far predates its membership of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Today in the 21st century it is also a land that has done much to make its historical records accessible, to help those with Caledonian ancestry trace their roots back to earlier times and a world long past. In Tracing Scottish Family History on the Internet, Chris Paton expertly guides the family historian through the many Scottish records offerings available, but also cautions the reader that not every record is online, providing detailed advice on how to use web based finding aids to locate further material across the country and beyond. He also examines social networking and the many DNA platforms that are currently further revolutionizing online Scottish research. From the Scottish Government websites offering access to our most important national records, to the holdings of local archives, libraries, family history societies, and online vendors, Chris Paton takes the reader across Scotland, from the Highlands and Islands, through the Central Belt and the Lowlands, and across the diaspora, to explore the various flavors of Scottishness that have bound us together as a nation for so long.

A genealogist’s practical guide to researching family history online while avoiding inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information. The internet has revolutionized family history research—every day new records and resources are placed online and new methods of sharing research and communicating become available. Never before has it been so easy to research family history and to gain a better understanding of who we are and where we came from. But, as British genealogist Chris Paton demonstrates in this straightforward, practical guide, while the internet is an enormous asset, it is also something to be wary of. Researchers need to take a cautious approach to the information they acquire on the web. Where did the original material come from? Has it been accurately reproduced? Why was it put online? What has been left out and what is still to come? As he leads researchers through the multitude of resources that are now accessible online with an emphasis on UK and Ireland sites, Chris Paton helps to answer these questions. He shows what the internet can and cannot do—and he warns against the various traps researchers can fall into along the way.

One of the greatest frustrations for generations of genealogical researchers has been that reliable guidance on sources for perhaps the most critical period in the establishment of their family's links with Ulster, the period up to 1800, has proved to be so elusive. Not any more. This book can claim to be the first comprehensive guide for family historians searching for ancestors in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Ulster. Whether their ancestors are of English, Scottish, or Gaelic Irish origin, it will be of enormous value to anyone wishing to conduct research in Ulster prior to 1800. A comprehensive range of sources from the period 1600-1800 are identified and explained in very clear terms. Information on the whereabouts of these records and how they may be accessed is also provided. Equally important, there is guidance on how effectively they might be used. The appendices to the book include a full listing of pre-1800 church records for Ulster; a detailed description of nearly 250 collections of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century estate papers; and a summary breakdown of the sources available from this period for each parish in Ulster.

Of all the nine counties of Ulster, none can claim a more cosmopolitan and fascinating history than Down. In ancient times it formed part of the ancient kingdom of the Ulaid; the Dal Fiatach, the most important of the groupings of tribes of Ulaid, came to dominate the east of the county with their capital at Downpatrick. Vikings came to raid and then settled along the coast. Later the Normans seized control of the Dal Fiatach kingdom constructing castles, monasteries and abbeys before becoming 'hibernicised'. In the seventeenth century, thousands of Scottish and English settlers poured into Down, establishing themselves in the north and east of the county. Meanwhile the native Irish were able to preserve their way of life in south Down where their close-knit communities were sufficiently well organised under their traditional leaders to co-exist with the newcomers. The distribution of surnames in the couty provides lasting evidence of its complex history. The purpose of this book is to provide a practical guide for the family historian searching for ancestors in County Down. It is true that many records have been lost, including those in the destruction of the Public Record Office in Dublin in 1922. However, much has survived to aid the dedicated family or local historian. Moreover, it has become increasingly accessible in the detailed catalogues and user-friendly searching aids in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Because of the breadth of the material covered, this book will appeal both to the experienced researcher and to the novice. Of particular value are the detailed listings of the records of landed estates, churches and schools, as well as the appendices listing townlands and unofficial place-names for the county.

Whether you're eager to hold on to EU citizenship post-Brexit or simply interested in exploring your family's past, learn how to research and document your Irish ancestry with this essential guide, newly updated to include the latest genealogy tools. The purpose of this book is to highlight the most important documentary evidence available to the family historian wishing to research their Irish ancestry. It is aimed primarily at researchers whose time in Irish repositories is limited, and who want to know what is available locally and online. It covers more than eighteen individual sources of information, making it simpler to organise your search and easier to carry it out both locally and on the ground. This books covers: - Where to begin - Researching online - Civil registration - Making sense of census returns, wills, election records - Migration, emigration - Local government and church records