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 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 MoreTwo Unusual Irish Emigration Records
Irish Emigration Records represent a real challenge for those searching for evidence of the departure of their family from Ireland. Passenger lists were usually deposted a the port of arrival and many of the surviving records can now be found online at Ancestry. Arrivals in America can also be found at Ellis Island and Castlegarden. There are,
Read MoreBetham’s Genealogical Abstracts
Sir William Betham (1779-1853) was appointed deputy Ulster King of Arms in 1807 and Ulster King of Arms in 1820. Betham spent a lifetime collating indexes and abstracts of the manuscripts held in the Record Tower of Dublin Castle. Although Betham was a polymath, it is his work in the Records Tower for which Irish genealogists and family historians
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