Accessing Irish Records

[Ticker]

Very useful advice can be found at http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,3996.msg9503.html#msg9503 as kindly posted by moscan

See also http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,3996.msg62738.html#msg62738 on the same thread.

[Patk]

Dear Ticker

I went to the family history centre today, only a hundred k's away! and I was told some pretty exciting news, that the Latter Day Saints, may have secured an agreement from the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland allowing them to scan their registers. I could not find out if they will eventually be available on line or through their Centres, but I know that when are they are there will be a lot of happy people that are currently grasping at straws for knowledge of their ancestors, especially those that came before the potato famine.
I had to let you know because I know how hard you and Mobo have worked for people like myself.
Perhaps you already know about this, and will let the forum know when some more definite news comes to hand. I will certainly be watching for more news of these plans.
Kind regards,
Pat

[Ticker]

That's great news Pat - thanks for letting us know. 

Best wishes

Ticker

[Subaru]

I hope that does happen.  I have so many branches of the family ending in Ireland - then a full stop.  I would be over the moon.

It's about time we had some of Ireland's records available to view, after all, it's such an important part of most of our family history.  I bet there aren't many people who don't have an Irish ancestor.

Rosemary

[teap78]

Well said Rosemary 



Colette

[Rab]

Hi List

A free search is now available of Griffiths Valuation years 1858-1864 for the 9 Counties of Ulster

This database contains 333,000 thousand names and can be accessed at www.ulsterancestry.com

Just click on the banner!

best of luck
Rab

[Patk]

Dear All,
I should make it clear that when I was told about the LDS plans it was in relation to the Roman Catholic Regsters and there are not a lot of these currently available for people to research prior to 1820.

I went looking on the LDS site, media section, but I could find nothing to verify what I was told.

However, on the Legacy archives there was a news item as follows:

Unlocking the Vault: Conversion to Digital Records is Progressing
Members may not have to wonder what lies behind the 14-ton vault door at the Church's Granite Mountain Vault Records (GMVR) facility for much longer. In as little as 10 years, much of its genealogical collection may be at their fingertips.

The billions of names preserved on microfilmed records at the vault are being converted to digital images that can eventually be viewed on line at FamilySearch.org and ultimately searched in and linked to an on line index. The process of digitizing the microfilm is now faster than ever through a “bleeding edge” technology system called FamilySearch™ Scanning.
I do have the full article, please advise if you want this posted as it a lengthy article.

The article however does not confirm what I was told about the RC Church in Ireland, so next time I go I will check what was said to me, just in case there has been a misconception of the LDS plans.

Even unlocking the vault records, providing they are put on line earlier than 10 years!, and done in batches as they are completed would give a wider and easier search than we have at present, particularly for the Ireland records.
Regards and best wishes,
Pat

[Patk]

I have not yet been able to get to the LDS centre as It is a considerable distance from my home, however there does appear to be some movement in th LDS lab. regarding new technology.
Although it does not specifically refer to Irish Records, I just thought I would post this in case anyone is interested in looking at a sample pedigree or entering their own, it is just at the experimental stage yet. I found this on Legacy news. If you have not got the Adobe Flash this can be downloaded.

Super Duper Zim Zam Zoom Pedigree Viewer
If you want a preview of some of genealogy technology's future, take a look at FamilySearch (TM) Labs' new Pedigree Viewer. Using Flash technology, you can view your own pedigree or simply view their sample.

Dan Lawyer, Product Manager in the Family History Department of the LDS Church said, "we know there is a long way to go to really make this viewer a useable tool but we hope that you'll have fun experimenting with it and share your thoughts on how we can improve it by sending feedback to feedback@familysearchlabs.org. We'd love to hear from you!

Visit the new Pedigree Viewer at http://www.familysearchlabs.org/
Pat

[Patk]

I went to the LDS Centre today and asked for some clarification of what I was told earlier.

Second time around it had changed to pretty much the same as described above but that it will include all filmed records. A huge job and will take many years to complete because of the millions of records involved.

I was told that it will be searched by Country, By County, by Parish etc, and the viewing will be direct from the films, frame by frame, pretty much like a census can be viewed. Work has already begun. He was unsure if names would be indexed first so that you can search only the pages that contain your ancestors names.

That is all for now, but I am sure even when only partially completed any help to Irish researchers will be a great improvement to what we have now.

With that I will end my news, and hope it will not be too long before we have something more definitive from the LDS that will give us some hope?

Regards,
Pat