RootsChat.Com
Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Antrim => Topic started by: slothbear on Monday 27 July 09 12:34 BST (UK)
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hello
my friend has asked me to do some reasearch on his family,they were from belfast.
i have herd that alot of records were lost or destroyed is this right
and what records are there left.ie are all the census years still available
thank you
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The main problem is lack of census records, I'm afraid! Only 1901 and 1911 are available in full, but the good news is 1911 is online and free at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
1901 is only available on microfilm at the moment but is currently being digitised and indexed on the same site and is due online by the end of 2009.
For the 1850-60 period a useful census substitute is Griffith Valuation which lists the head of each household (but not family members). It is online and searchable for free at
http://griffiths.askaboutireland.ie/gv4/gv_family_search_form.php
All civil registrations survive and the index is online (and free to access) up to 1922
http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=collectionDetails;t=searchable;c=1408347
and certificates can be ordered using the index information at
http://www.groni.gov.uk/index/order_certificates.htm
For the Co Down side of Belfast see the Ros Davies site, to look for particular surnames and church information.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rosdavies/SURNAMES/Afrontpage.htm
The Ulster Historical foundation have civil and some church records on a pay-per-view database at
http://www.ancestryireland.com/database.php?filename=db_QUIS
If you join the Foundation (£30 per year), you can view certificate transcripts for £2 each (£4 for non members) and also access various other databases, including lots of gravestone inscriptions, for free.
Wills from 1858 are also indexed online at http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/will_calendars/wills_search.htm
Many pre 1858 wills were also destroyed, but indexes survive both on the above site under "Name Search" and in the members only section of the Ulster Historical Foundation website.
The other great site (subscription required) for Northern Ireland records is EmeraldAncestors.com which has NI civil marriages from 1845-1921 and births 1864-75 as well as miscellaneous other records (church records/ census fragments/etc).
Always remember that Belfast is partly in Co Down and partly in Co Antrim when searching, so check both.
Best of all - ask on Rootschat and some of us will do our best to help :)
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thank you so much akanex,the info you have gave will be very helpfull im sure
i have recently done my welsh family tree using the census's so researching familys in northern ireland is going to be so much different,and i expect rather harder to do than my welsh family tree.
im sure i will be in touch,
thank you very much again
ian
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hello
i have try ed for a few days to find info on the mcclelland family i think they were from Belfast
there was thomas mcclelland
Susan mcclelland ( Murphy)
there children thomas born 26/09/1906
patrick born 23/05/1911
john Joseph born 05/06/1915
also a Margaret either born in 1909 or 1916
I'm sure the children were born in Belfast but not sure where yet ,I'm trying to find out
i cant seem to find any of them on the 1911 census
or on any northern ireland searches for marrages or births
if someone could just find a little information to get me started i would be very grateful
thank you
Ian
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Ian,
I have found a Thomas McClelland who married Susan Murphy in Bryansford R.C. Church, Kilkeel, Co. Down on 29 Nov. 1902. This date is too late for my resources to list children.
Regards
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hi ian,
it's not easy,is it? :)
you have exact dates for the children,how did you get those? it's possible the surname was mis-transcribed on the census or they are in another county.
there is a birth registration for a john joseph mclelland, april-june 1915 in kilkeel district,county down,(only one C in the surname) which would fit in with the possible marriage of thomas and susan in kilkeel.
tony
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wow thats great,tony and kingskerwell
which search engine did you find them on?
my friend asked me to do his mcclelland family tree,and after a few days i couldnt come up with anything,
tony i will ask my friend how he came by the dates of birth.
so what do you advise for my next step,do i get the marriage cert?
i would love to find the mcclellands on the census ,i have tryed different spellings but i get no returns.
if i can find them on the census me and my friend plan to visit the area
thanks for everyones help,just need more of a hand and advice
kind regards
ian
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Ian,
Go to www.census.nationalarchives.ie and enter Thomas McCelland (note spelling) and Co.Down.
If I have got the link right your friend will be pleased.
Regards
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thanks kingskerswell
i have been looking through the census for a few ,using various spelling,but i had no luck
then my friend said he thinks they lived in newcastle and not Belfast
so after a few pages searching i found them
thomas mcclelland age 30,lived at number 53 in kings street ,newcastle county down.
along with his wife Susan also 30 and 3 children,Mary ,thomas and Margaret,it did name 4 children born ,there were only 3 in the house .
when i have researched my family in wales,i just went back through the census,but i cant do that with the Irish census can i,as they were destroyed i believe.
where do i go from here ,any advice would be very welcome
kind regards
Ian
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hi
i have found thomas mcclelland,on the 1911 census,
i think i then found his birth on the search engine
so i proceded to try and get the certificate,so i could go back futher with the mcclelland tree
i got half way then it told me to enter the fathers name and the mothers maiden name
how is this possable i haven't got a clue,that is why i want the cert to see who they are
is there any way round this please help
kind regards
Ian
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You just fill in the details you have - parents details not required if you have the district, year/quarter, volume and page numbers.
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ah thank you very much
ian
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thomas mcclelland age 30,lived at number 53 in kings street ,newcastle county down.
along with his wife Susan also 30 and 3 children,Mary ,thomas and Margaret,it
53 is the number on the census form not the street number- see page 2 on census page.
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THANK YOU AGHADOWEY
the 1901 northern ireland census is only available on micro film is it,so how would i go about finding where thomas mcclelland was living on that census,would i have to order the whole county down census?
kind regards
ian
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1901 census is not indexed yet but will be added to National Archives (later this year?) after 1911 census is complete. Until then it's availale in a few places like PRONI in Belfast. LDS also have it on microfilm but you need to know which film to order. See online catalogue at www.familysearch.org and search by name of parish.
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hello aghadowey
thank you so much for your kind advice
i dont want to waste your time as you must be very busy but i cant seem to do a search by the name of the parish by the site you gave me ,i can only manage it by putting a name in ,cant see where to put the parish in?
sorry if im being a bit stupid
kind regards
ian
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Just takes a bit of practice to get the hang of searching the site. Go to this page-
www.familysearch.org/eng/Library/FHLC/frameset_fhlc.asp
Then click 'place search' and insert the name of the parish into 'place' box and then click 'search' button.
When the results come up click on the name then click on 1901 census.
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hello
i have try ed for a few days to find info on the mcclelland family i think they were from Belfast
there was thomas mcclelland
Susan mcclelland ( Murphy)
there children thomas born 26/09/1906
patrick born 23/05/1911
john Joseph born 05/06/1915
also a Margaret either born in 1909 or 1916
I'm sure the children were born in Belfast but not sure where yet ,I'm trying to find out
i cant seem to find any of them on the 1911 census
or on any northern ireland searches for marrages or births
if someone could just find a little information to get me started i would be very grateful
thank you
Ian
Hi Slothbear - I don't know if this is helpful or not. My father and his family were from Toome, Co. Antrim. They had neighbors up there called McClelland. My mother particularly liked one of the women - Virginia McClelland. Also, I think the man's name was Dan McClelland. Again - maybe someone out there can elaborate. This is just from my memory.
BTW - that would have been possibly in the late 40's and early 50's.
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Hi
I have just joined Rootschat.com and seen your query on the McClelland Family (Thomas McClelland & Susan McClelland nee Murphy).
From what I can make out from your query, this sounds like my Grandad/Grandmother. I can confirm that my father was called John Joseph born in 1915 and you do say that they had a child John Joseph. They were from Newcastle Co.Down and lived in King Street.
I am also trying to trace back my family history and would be grateful for any other information that you have.
Regards
Tom F
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Ian
Thank you for coming back so quick. I have only started researching so have very little information myself.
Are you able to tell me Mark's Grandmother's first name? I was born and reared in Newcastle and only live a short distance from Newcastle in a village called Annalong.
I hope you or Mark and give me a little bit more information.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Tom F
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My mother is Virginia McClelland. now aged 94.
My late father Dan died in 1993
Donovan McClelland
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Virginia Mc Clelland is my mother-aged 94
my father Dan died in 1993