Just before the Index of Irish Wills 1484-1858 was published I was working with the editorial team. One of my tasks was to search through the original database for possible errors in the transcription of names. If you order all of the entries alphabetically it is easy to see where anomalous names turn up. In this instance, it was not anomalous, but
Read MoreSurprises in the Tithe Applotment Books
The Tithe Applotment Books are a nationwide survey of property undertaken between 1823 and 1838 for the purpose of assessing the rate of the Tithe, a religious tax that was levied for the upkeep of the established church, the Church of Ireland. The Tithe was levied on certain types of agricultural land and as such the survey is certainly not as comprehensive
Read MoreDEDs and the Valuation Office
If you have the chance to visit the Valuation Office in Dublin to consult the Valuation Office Revision Books you will have discovered that a large part of their collection has now been digitised and can be accessed using the computer terminals in the public research room. Original copies of the books that have been digitised will not now be produced
Read MoreOld Irish Family Letters
Detective work can sometimes be one of the most appealing aspects of Irish genealogy. If you are lucky enough to find old family letters sent from Ireland to emigrant siblings, children, cousins or neighbours, it might be time to put your detective hat on. Old family letters can contain all sorts of clues that could identify your family origins in Ireland.
Read MoreThe 1916 Children: Death of O’Toole
The team at Timeline carried out some of the research for the Joe Duffy documentary, Children of the Revolution, which aired on RTE on Easter Sunday 2016. The documentary looks at the circumstances in which children were killed during the 1916 Rising. One child who died during the Rising was a young man named O’Toole (no first name given). On
Read MoreA Will Proved a Century Ago: What Can be Done Online?
As an exercise in what can be achieved in online research I recently randomly opened-up a copy of the Calendar of Wills & Administrations for a century ago and read the following calendar entry: HOPKINS, Miles Richard. 10th January 1912. Probate of Will of Miles Richard Hopkins late of 1 Lower Sackville Street, Dublin and 1 Brighton Terrace,
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