Where to Start in Ireland

[donnellysearch]

Hi, With a little help (well loads really) from people on here we have managed to trace our family back to Ireland but have very little information to go on from there.

we know we are looking for Arthur Donnelly likely to have been married around 1830-38 to Catherine nee looks like murray. We know for sure that they had a son they named James while in Ireland between 1836-1839 and possibly a son called peter.

Assuming that the main way to travel from Ireland to Scotland was by cattle boat the only information we have to go on is the names. We can also only be sure that James travelled across as his parents don't appear to have been recorded in Glasgow for deaths.

Arthur is recorded to have been a farmer.

Any suggestions how to move on from here appreciated

thankyou Jenny

[LH]

Hi

The name Donnelly is very common in the Sandyford, South Dublin area and that would be where I'd begin, as you have nothing definite to work from.
Many family members were/are farmers, whilst others worked as stone masons in the local quarries.
 
The church in Sandyford is St. Mary's, although it is also referred to as Sandyford R.C.  in www.dublinheritage.ie

09-01-1831 - Donnelly James baptised at St Mary's Church.
06-05-1838 - Donnelly Petrus (Peter?) Sandyford R.C.
20-09-1840 - Donnelly Catharina (Catherine) Sandyford R.C.
also
22-06-1845 - Donnelly Arthur baptised at St Mary's Church.

I would suggest checking the Parish Registers for Sandyford/St Mary's and see if any of these are your folks, or just to eliminate them.

Cheers

[aghadowey]

Sorry LH but I disagree. The surname Donnelly is very common is many parts of Ireland and it would be foolish to start searching in any area without a better idea of where the family might have lived in Ireland.
No records were (or are kept) of travel between Ireland/Scotland/England & Wales. Civil registration began too late to find births and marriages for this family so once you find out where they lived (parish if not townland not just county or 'Ireland') you need to see if the church records still exist and look for the family there. 

[donnellysearch]

Thanks to both of you, It seems that once you reach Ireland at that time it all gets very tricky. I checked out the suggestions but unfortunately the dates don't run to match who I'm looking for.

You have confirmed for me that without more information our search will be a long one.
Maybe with time Ireland will collate it's information for web access like scotlandspeople have but for now journeys to Ireland to scoure the libraries and church records one by one or pay £15 odd for each possible match seems the way to do it and thats just not practical for us.

Whoever decides to collate and scan all these old images for web use would make a goldmine for the country.

Thanks for your help

Jenny   

[donnellysearch]

We knocked a brick out the wall Arthur was from Derry.

Griffiths valuation from here thanks for your advice so far

Jenny 

[vito321]

here is a will index for an arthur donnelly from derry might be worth checking out if you know his approximate date of death

Title:     
Forename:  Arthur   
Surname:  Donnelly   
Alt Surname:     
    Date Of Death:  22/12/1885   
Date Of Grant:  16/05/1891   
Effects:  Effects £81   
Registry:  Londonderry   
 
 
Full Abstract:
The Will of Arthur Donnelly late of Leitrim County Londonderry Farmer who died 22 December 1885 at same place was proved at Londonderry by Robert Cushely of Tammaran in said County Farmer one of the Executors. 


(you can request a copy of the will from proni cost about 5 pounds)

vito

[donnellysearch]

Where did you find that vito?
I find the Irish part of my search a little confusing. The dates are roughly what we'd expect as his sons married in Glasgow around 1855 and he wasn't present so we assume he was still in Ireland but even the churches I've looked at won't search as far back as we'd expect him to have been married around 1835.

I'm a little confused by the Griffiths valuation If anybody can advise me here was it only done on landowners? Being a farmer does that mean he was likely to have owned the land or could he have just worked on somebody else's farm or would that make him a farm laborer.

were there no records at this time that took down the names of spouses or children?

I will defiantly try to find that vito but a link would be great to the site you used.

Many thanks
Jenny

[aghadowey]

In the 1800s very few people in Ireland owned 'their' land- most were tenants. Griffith's Valuation (the full, printed version) will give names of both the tenant and the landlord (immediate lessor). For County Londonderry Griffith's Valuation was c1859.

PRONI has just recently put the Will index information on their website (www.proni.gov.uk).

Census details were collected every 10 years just like England but unfortunately most of the early ones were destroyed by fire or deliberately pulped once population statistics for each townland were noted. First complete census for all of Ireland is 1901. 1911 and 1901 census are being put online (just started last month with 1911 Dublin)- see here for details: www.census.nationalarchives.ie
However, 1831 census for part of County Londonderry did survive (Barony of Coleraine, City of Londonderry, Barony of Loughlinsholin, Barony of Tirkeeran) but it was more a religious census listing townland, head of household, number of males and females in household, and how many were E.C. (Established Church i.e. Church of Ireland), Presbyterian, R.C., other.

The main source of family information in 1800s would be church records. In order to find them (of they survived) you need to know religion and where the family lived (parish if not actual townland not just the county).

[donnellysearch]

Is it possible that once I get an address I could work out the Parish does it work by radius of the church itself ?

 I know they were RC and I have seen the lists you mentioned but it says that in all of Derry Londonderry there was only one Donnelly family with 8 family members given how common the name was one name search came back with a total of 657 Donnelly's residing in Derry at the time so i thought for sure that the list couldn't be complete.

 Also on the Griffiths valuation it mentions two Donnelly's one in Ballyscullion the other in Maghera. So including the death above and searching every free record I can find for this time I still only have 4 Donnelly's to go at.

I think it may be better odds to win the lottery Saturday.

I'm not giving up i just question the entirety of the documents.