Tips and Advice - searching for your Irish roots

Write down all you know about the immediate family, even down to detail you think is not important or you may not need - you can guarantee it will become useful for confirming a vital fact at a later date.

Look at the bigger picture do not focus totally on the immediate ancestor you are trying to find. Concentrate on the surname and the history surrounding the surname. So often the surname and the history are ignored and months and probably years later that information will end up being very relevant.

Establish the origin of the surname and establish where that surname came from. Remember, surnames have been anglicized. Le Burn is Browne, Godbert the Flemming and de la Roch is Roche. In addition, surnames were also spelt differently, for example Sinnott -spelt Synnott, Sinott, Synot, Rossiter has at least 30 different spellings! Does the surname have its origins as Native Irish, Norman Irish, Rhenish Palentine, Scottish or English?
Norman Irish surnames would be Browne, Roche, Esmond, Rossiter, Codd, Keating etc. Native Irish surnames would be Kavanagh, O'Rielly, Byrne, Rafferty, O'Byrne, O'Sullivan, Mc Louglin etc. Rhenish Palentine surnames would be Boucher, Busher, Boggan, Nevill, Rath etc., This race was introduced into Ireland in around 1709. Origins before this date generally go back to Europe. Norman Irish origin - it is likely all the surviving Normans who came over to Ireland in the Norman Invasions would have been given grants of land in Ireland. They would have become prosperous in the early years and would have generally been quite prominent people in society. For example, Sheriffs of their areas, Sirs, Lords, Magistrates, Land, castle builders and owners etc.

It was common at this time for, particularly, the Norman Irish to register their family pedigrees; this was done on a regular basis. In addition, when the head of the household died an inquisition on their lands would have taken place and would have been recorded. There are many sources of information on the surnames. Some helpful books would be on Peerage, Gentry, Burke's Landed Gentry, Surnames, Family History, Irish History. Castles and Houses.

Here you will be able to find out:
" The original and subsequent spelling of the surname
" When the grants of land were given and where
" The peerage line of their families, both in the early years and in the later years, whether they had issue, the date they died and where and names of places they lived
" References such as whether they were Sirs, Lords etc
" Who they married - from which 'house' Etc, etc,

Having established the surname history use this information and work forward to your more current ancestors, with the hope of meeting in the middle!
For the native Irish, Norman Irish, Scottish and the English surnames be constantly aware of the history of Ireland and the implications. For example, taxes put on registering catholic births caused registrations to decrease. Start looking at the Cromwellian period in Ireland, such as details on the confiscation certificates, references and notes from that period. From there you can find out who went from where and where they were transported to. They may well have settled down in the area they had been transported to.

Check out the details of the large estate holders (English landlords) and who rented properties on their lands. Look at the Griffiths Valuations and the Civil Surveys as well as the Tithe Applotment books to see where those with the same surname ended up in the early to mid 1800s.
When looking for Christian names particularly in the early years, look at the culture and the systems used. In many cases the general rule was for the father to call the first son after his own father (the grandfather), and more often than not the name of the father of the mother would be given to the second born male. Sometimes the second male would be given the name of the father.
Naming systems also applied for females. In some cases the first daughter was named after the mother (grandmother) of the father or of the mother of the mother (grand mother). Obviously these naming systems do not always apply but it is a start!

In respect to burials, be aware that in some old traditional Irish families the burial place of the wife would not always be with the husband but with the family of the wife and the husband with his family !

If a wife or husband was not of the same religion but converted they too might be buried in the graveyard of their own religion and not in the burial ground of the religion they had converted to.

Click here to check out the listed names.

Join the Facebook group and meet others from all over the World.

Go to www.Facebook.Com and search for a group called Irishancestors4u

For details of our FACEBOOK GROUP;

If you can't find the group on Facebook, just email enquiries@irishancetors4u.com or Click here to comtact us directly.

Purchase your Research links CD Click here