Hi all,
I am just back from the National Archives in Dublin and had a most successful day.
There is a wonderful archive in the NAI on microfilm (MFGS 55/1-5 & MFGS 56/1).
The 6 microfilms contain 13 volumes of extracts/abstracts from Church of Ireland registers (made before the fire of 1922) mainly of searches for baptisms (and some marriages) for claimants looking for proof of age to claim an Old Age Pension. Listed alphabetically, it seems that almost every parish in Ireland is covered including many from county Derry.
My area of interest has been Balteagh parish near Limavady where our Forrest family were residing from at least the 1831 census (in the townland of Terrydremmond). The family were Episcopalian but the Balteagh registers were destroyed in the explosion in the Four Courts in 1922 ( 2 registers containing Baptisms 1808-1895, Marriages 1819-1852 and Burials 1833-1895). So tracing my direct family to the period before civil registration has been difficult & it would have been so much easier if the parish records had survived (I have been researching our family roots for about 10 years).
Balteagh abstracts are to be found on Microfilm reference MFGS 55/2
and there were approx 25 claimants looking for baptismal details from
the parish registers, which were held in the Public record Office in Dublin.
The claimant paid a small fee for a positive result (but not all searches were successful but each claim form has a fair amount of family history in itself).
One of the 25 was a relation - a 2nd great grand-aunt, Margaret Eliza Forrest (address given as Waterside, Derry (new info!)), who applied for a search of the Balteagh parish registers held in the Public Record Office in Dublin on 8 January 1917, (probably as proof of age to claim a pension), as she gave her date of birth as 1846. She gave her parents as George and Anne Forrest.
The clerk searched the Balteagh registers, and also the
Carrick parish register and Bovevagh Church of Ireland registers but did
not find the baptism of Margaret Eliza Forrest (all 3 of these registers were
destroyed in 1922!).
However, the clerk did add further details about the family at the bottom of the claim page as he added 2 Forrest baptisms found in one of the the registers (presumably Balteagh):
1839 - George Forest (sic) of Ballyquin (in Balteagh parish)
1842 - Robert Forrest of Terrydram'd (Terrydremmond, Balteagh)
The clerk also searched the 1841 census returns for Ballyquin to see if
he could find the family but stated townland not found in the Bovevagh parish returns (should have looked in Balteagh!! Another missed opportunity!!).
George Forrest baptised 1839 is my great, great grandfather so I got
confirmation of his approx date of birth and where he was born.
And I had no record of Robert Forrest born 1842 so I discovered
a new g,g, grand-uncle & my namesake!
It also confirmed that my great, great, great grand-parents were George Forrest (senior) and his wife Ann (unfortunately no maiden name given).
George Forrest junior married Ann Jane Mullan in Drumachose Church of
Ireland in Limavady in 1866 (I had few details re. Ann Jane Mullan other than an OAP claim form in PRONI that she was born in Ballyrashane and her parents were Michael & Sarah McMullen). Unfortunately, the early parish records for Ballyrashane were also destroyed in 1922.
So I had a look at the Ballyrashane abstracts on MFGS 55/1 more in hope that anticipation but low & behold!!
Applying for a search in 1916 under her maiden name, Ann Jane McMullan (address - Limavady), she stated that her parents were Michael McMullan and Sarah Elliot of Ballindreen townland and asked for a search of the parish registers of Ballyrashane, claiming that she was born c. 1846. The clerk made a search of the Ballyrashane register and confirmed that all of the details were correct and he found her baptism in 1846. I had confirmation of another pair of great, great, great grandparents!
So if your ancestors belonged to the Church of Ireland there is a chance
that they may have asked for a search of the registers before they were
destroyed. Not all parishes have a lot of claimants e.g for Aghanloo parish only 3 returns are listed in the abstracts.
It would be great if PRONI could get a copy of these microfilms,
as they are a great resource.
Bobby Forrest
PS - there is a list of the parishes covered on the NAI website
(PDF document called - Church of Ireland Parish registers - Surrogates).
Moderator's Note: link to this thread now under CHURCH RECORDS:
www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=369044.msg2438979#msg2438979
