During a recent search for a Maher family I once again stumbled into the mire of difficulty created by the spelling of Irish surnames in 19th century records. This is an obstacle that many Irish family history researchers will encounter during the course of their research. Mass digitization of Irish records has made the issue of the spelling of
Read MoreIrish Wills
I recently found a transcript of an Irish will in the District Registry Wills Books in the National Archives of Ireland. These are an often forgotten source for testamentary records because the assumption is that all Irish wills and letters of administration were destroyed in 1922, but this is not the case. District Registry Will Books Will books survive
Read MoreEndowed Schools and Estate Papers
While searching for records for Midleton School, an Endowed School in Cork in the National Library of Ireland, I stumbled across the papers of Dr. Michael Quane, which included potentially useful 19th century estate rentals, valuations and a mini census of the protestant families of Maryborough from 1891. Michael Quane was born on 7th April 1889 in
Read MoreAssisted Emigration from Ireland
Two fascinating accounts of assisted emigration from Ireland have recently been inspected; State Aided Emigration Schemes from the Crown Estates in Ireland and Assistance to Emigrate from the Castlecomer Board of Guardians. The first of these, without provenance, relates to the Castlecomer Poor Law Union (Kilkenny) for the periods 1847-1853. This
Read MoreGriffith’s Valuation House Books
Griffith’s Valuation House Books are the notebooks that were used by valuators to record information on the majority of the buildings of Ireland, be it dwelling house, out-office or even lavatory in order to place a rateable value on the building and these records formed part of the information-gathering process required for the completion of the
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