"This volume provides an authoritative survey of the material held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland...[It] provides invaluable information on how to explore Northern Ireland's public and private records, and the material held about its churches, schools, law courts, businesses and individuals. It also explains step by step how to research records of births, marriages, and deaths, as well as directing the reader to other less well-known sources containing valuable genealogical information." --Back cover.

* Fully revised and updated second edition of highly illustrated handbook for anyone researching Northern Irish history and ancestry * Detailed, authoritative exploration of the collections held at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland * Guide to other essential sources including church, land and valuation records and school registers * I

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.

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 second edition of Tracing Your Northern Irish Ancestors is an expert introduction for the family historian to the wealth of material available to researchers in archives throughout Northern Ireland. Many records, like the early twentieth-century census returns and school registers, will be familiar to researchers, but others are often overlooked by all but the most experienced of genealogists. An easy-to-use, informative guide to the comprehensive collections available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is a key feature of Ian Maxwells handbook. He also takes the reader through the records held in many libraries, museums and heritage centres across the province, and he provides detailed coverage of records that are available online. Unlike the rest of the British Isles, which has very extensive civil and census records, Irish ancestral research is hampered by the destruction of many of the major collections. Yet Ian Maxwell shows how family historians can make good use of church records, school registers and land and valuation records to trace their roots to the beginning of the nineteenth century and beyond.

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.

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.