RootsChat.Com

I would echo the suggestion on the newspaper archives - fascinating snippets right back to the 19th century on all kinds of family members. I was also interested to trace back both paternal and maternal lines at every stage, and also trace back down at least to the cousins for every level ancestor. That's a lot to keep busy with, and many areas to pick at later.

I can suggest it may be worth researching topics as well, or locations relevant to an ancestor. That will give more flavour to their experiences, if not throwing up little bits for that ancestor unexpectedly.

Also get hold of relevant books for that, it was already mentioned about offline records but even pulling out others research that's not online can be useful.

The Internet Archive has older (out of copyright) books - I've found letters by my ancestor John O'Hart, teacher and genealogist, who I am researching, published in old family histories etc. Appreciate that's not the usual experience but even so there's a lot of topics/local history there.

Hi Catherine,

I've found the Catholic Parish baptisms, marriages at NLI.ie invaluable for events prior to 1865. From 1865 there are the civil records at irishgenealogy.ie.

For more colour, I've found the newspapers at findmypast.ie crucial. Fortunately there's plenty there about John O'Hart's social calendar even! And involvement with the Irish Teachers (later INTO) - "John Harte" back then. As well as his son's "O'Hart, Cunningham & Co." endeavour with my great-great-grandfather John Cunningham. And the sadder events too, deaths chronicled etc.

Findagrave is really useful, either to provide a starting point to look for corresponding records, or conversely if you have records/newspaper dates, actually get details of the grave, maybe even photographs. Glasnevin Cemetery where some of the family are buried has a pay-per-view site. Again if you have other records already, it helps.

I'd absolutely like to find out more about John O'Hart's immediate relations back then - he writes of some of course in his Irish Pedigrees (available in hard copy or online at the "Internet Archive"). The Last Princes of Tara is a key publication actually on his family. I would hope eventually to pull enough together to expand my current research into a short biography.

As an example I haven't found records relating to his brother Anthony Hart who was a priest around Ballina.

Absolutely fascinating to hear of a connection a generation further back from you, Catherine. I think I may have a photograph of your great-great grandfather Anthony's half-brother, Thomas Hart of Dekalb, Illinois (emigrated 1855, living there in 1880).

Hi Keri,

Regarding McKee, I have been researching the McKees of Creevytenant. Here's an interesting starting point I came across:

 Prof. James Y. McKee of Philadelphia, USA, compiled a volume published in 1892, “A History of the Descendents of David McKee of Anahilt, With a General Sketch of the Early McKees”. This suggests that four McKee brothers who fought with William of Orange’s army settled in Ulster after 1690, including one possibly named Hugh, whose son James, of Tullywest, had a son in turn named Hugh who took up a farm in Creevytenant, according to the account written.

Another son of James McKee, of Tullywest, was Hugh, who got a farm in the townland of Crevytenant, about a mile from his father's towards Ballynahinch, where his great grandson Hugh McKee, who had married a Miss Gill, died childless about the year 1880, and the farm passed out of the family name.

Of course I don't know if these are related to your McKee origins (or indeed the original poster wacha). One of my ancestral families, 4x great-grandmother Agnes died in 1881.

She left a will. In her will of 1878, Agnes left the farm to her sons Hugh and Samuel McKee, subject to payment of legacies of 2/6 (if required) to each of Robert and Alexander McKee, Eliza Douglas and Agnes Smyth, and £10 to be paid in four equal instalments annually to her daughter Mary Gillespie (the first payment to be a year after Agnes’ death). Hugh McKee (junior) and Samuel Law, both of Creevytenant, were appointed as executors. Letters of administration were granted to Samuel McKee on 14th April 1882. I've traced all the named children except no information on Robert McKee (maybe he went to Scotland or USA?)

Hi Leon,

Sometimes it works better dropping "what we know". I searched for Dorothea in 1901 in Antrim as it's not the most common name, and found the family.

They aren't living at 7 Killarney St. (at the time of the census that year) but rather Dagmar St and the family name recorded as McWilson (hindering your search).

Link here to John McGowan Wilson on the new census site.

Entirely possible for the family to have been at 7 Killarney St. either side of the actual census date.

Good idea about the local studies. For a similar vintage of memoirs (early 20th C memories set down to paper in 1990s), wondering if anyone has done this but left out some of the more personal family commentary? (children/grandchildren of those discussed still about!)

I did transcribe and send on to family members for their reading and records (maybe should have printed out copies!)