Research Sites

[Katy]

Hello and Welcome to all members on the Family History Trail, please find listed below a number of sites that may be of help, many are 'FREE'.........regards Katy:)


www.rootschat.com/forum (http://www.rootschat.com/forum)......... www.bbc.co.uk/history/family (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/family)


www.irishchat.eu (http://www.irishchat.eu)


www.familytreecircles.com (http://www.familytreecircles.com)......... www.findmypast.com (http://www.findmypast.com)



www.ancestryaid.co.uk/boards (http://www.ancestryaid.co.uk/boards)



www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk (http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) ..........www.londoncensus.co.uk (http://www.londoncensus.co.uk)



www.manchester-forum.co.uk (http://www.manchester-forum.co.uk) ..............www.belfastforum.co.uk (http://www.belfastforum.co.uk)


www.aboutbritain.com/forums (http://www.aboutbritain.com/forums)


Maybe you have a word or place name, try out 'Google' or 'Ask.com'

[Katy]

Research sites.....

www.mayoroots.com (http://www.mayoroots.com) www.collectionscanada.ca/ (http://www.collectionscanada.ca/)


Northumberland and Durham Family History Society. www.ndfhs.org.uk (http://www.ndfhs.org.uk)

North of Ireland Family History Society. www.nifhs.org (http://www.nifhs.org)

If during your research you find any other links please do post on site....regards Katy

[Katy]

Katy found another website that may help with research. If any of the other links posted have been a help, please post a message.....cheers......:)

www.titanic.com (http://www.titanic.com)




I often wonder how many members on site have started doing their Family Tree......just dont wait too long....as some of my friends doing research, regret not asking questions from Parents and Grandparents......Katy

[Katy]

If any members into Family Research or Genealogy, need help or advice.....please do post a message below......while I am also searching my Irish Roots, I may be able to help if you get stuck on an issue via, the great contacts I have made.......cheers Katy:)

[fullastern]

Hi Katy - I did some research on my family roots a few years ago. It was very interesting but I didn't have the patience to stick with it. You need to spend lots of time poring over old documents and be prepared to travel. I went to the records office in Dublin twice and found out stuff about my great-great grandfather

I got a lot of help from the parish where my fathers ancestors lived - the South Parish in Cork City - lucky for me one of the voluntary admin people in there is into genealogy himself and has computerised the whole births, deaths and marriages info for the parish going back to when records began in 1809. I also had a lucky break when I found a very distant relative through the internet since my surname isn't all that common in Cork or Ireland. Didn't get back so far with my mother's family - only to about 1840 with very limited info there.

[Katy]

Hi Katy - I did some research on my family roots a few years ago. It was very interesting but I didn't have the patience to stick with it. You need to spend lots of time poring over old documents and be prepared to travel. I went to the records office in Dublin twice and found out stuff about my great-great grandfather

I got a lot of help from the parish where my fathers ancestors lived - the South Parish in Cork City - lucky for me one of the voluntary admin people in there is into genealogy himself and has computerised the whole births, deaths and marriages info for the parish going back to when records began in 1809. I also had a lucky break when I found a very distant relative through the internet since my surname isn't all that common in Cork or Ireland. Didn't get back so far with my mother's family - only to about 1840 with very limited info there.


Hi Fullastern

The fact that you started your family research is great....no need for it to take over your life, its hard work but ever so rewarding when data comes in your email box or by snail mail....
Take a look at the sites I have listed they are all tried and tested by yourstruly, and are FREE, all you do is register...then explore the sites lol..you may even find long lost cousins.
The way I look at Family Research is that its a legacy gift I can pass on to the next generation, that to with photographs, maps of the places our descendants lived.....and if you are a techno wizz put it all on DVDs....
Thats what I hope to learn at classes over the winter months.....cheers Katy:)

[Katy]

Genealogy, Family History, Researching your Ancestors, need not be a pain, truly it can be very rewarding. Just set yourself a time say every other week or even once a month.
If info is slow or even stops for a good while, then use that time to find Maps and background on the Towns/Village that involved your great-grandparents lives.
Research a bit about the early Industry...was your Ancestors Farmers, or worked in Shipbuilding....each bit of information is valuable.....cheers Katy:)

[Katy]

I often wonder how many 'Family Researchers', visitors to Cobh, call in at the Scots Museum, its amazing what information they have on hand.

The staff are great, and if they cant help with answers they may help with some links for you.

If you have a favourite research book or handy hint, that may help others, please post the details below. Cheers Katy

[Ned Kelly]

I was looking for some info on my family history a while back and i was told that a certain priest was the person to contact in cobh, after numerous emails sent from me with a lot of detail I had which were fairly extensive! Guess what??? I never even got an acknowledgement that they were received!
But then again maybe they knew me LOL!!!!

[Katy]

Hi Ned, I had a similar issue a good few years ago, I wrote to Durham, London, Scotland....then after years of the Parish Priest saying they had nothing....I found out via one source in Southampton, that the local Church did indeed have the info......problem was if they (PP) would let you have access in my case no....so it has taken me longer to find out data.

The thing that upsets me is when you write to places/people regarding possible research info, and they cant send even a basic letter/note back and this is after you have included a SAE.....So dont take it personally, I gather this happens often.

Who ever said doing 'Family History' was an easy task was telling more than a few fibs. The best bit is when after trying for ages to find missing links....the post comes or you get an email, with good news.
So please do not give up....its the one legacy that we can pass on to next generation. cheers Katy

PS, Have you posted any 'Help Research Requests' on any sites?

[fullastern]

I posted a message in one of those sites Katy and within about three days I was contacted by a woman from the USA who was researching my extended family's roots in Cork and had been to Cork several times. She turned out to be a fourth cousin whose grandfather had left Ireland over 100 years ago. Luckily for me she had done years of research and we were able to piece together much of my father's family tree going back to around 1808.

I think it helps if your surname is not a very common one. That's the case in my dad's family, only about a dozen families of that name in Ireland and they break down to three separate branches that are not (so far as I know) related to one another. But if your name is McCarthy or O'Driscoll and you come from West Cork you have a problem because you have thousands of namesakes out there!

[Katy]

Hi Fulla, truly what a brilliant post, I bet the family were over the moon, to get all that info........aahh!! thats the best kind of research days.....wishing you many more......cheers Katy:)

[fullastern]

Thanks Katy. It's been a different story on my mums side of the family because there's a lot of them around West Cork while there are relations scattered all over the place. Wish you luck in your quest Katy.

[Katy]

Hi Fulla, I understand what you say, but still write down info, and ask lots of questions regarding your Mums side of the family.
Even going over old photos with the family.....I did with my parents bless them , what a laugh we had....as each photo became a mini story.....some things never to be told...lol.....others you got the life history of those in the photo. I am so glad I asked when they were alive.
I have one pic of my Nans two brothers, one in uniform ....so when I got info a few years ago regarding one brother.....aahh!! I cried....as I then found out his birthdate, colour of eyes, height etc.....magic.
at the moment I am researching what farming was like on the borders when family came from Ireland to Northumberland.....hard work, but it is rewarding.....cheers Katy:)

[fullastern]

Very true Katy. You also find out some fascinating things that your parents probably never knew either. My father always thought his own father had only one brother and no sisters. It actually turned out that there were four boys in the family, one of whom died aged 9 and the other seems to have disappeared from the face of the Earth. The number of female relatives in the 19th century who died in childbirth, my great-grandmother aged 36 included, was also remarkable. She left four children including my grandfather, then aged 3 years, to be brought up by their father with the help of some aunts. They were hard times Katy.

[Katy]

Your right Fulla, hard times indeed.....
For years my Mum spoke about family members who had died young.....it was last year I had a photo enlarged, and it was a photo of my Nan as a Widow (first granda) and on the photo was four of her children two who had died.....truly I cried in the shop when I saw the photo....looking at faces from long ago......aahh!!
My Nan remarried, with four children only to be widowed a second time years later to my Moms, dad.......

[Katy]

Hope the short book list below helps your research, each one is a good read. If you have a book title that has helped you please do post the details below.....cheers Katy

Tracing Your Irish Roots by Christine Kinealy

The Emergency Years in Cork 1939 - 1945 - A Memoir by Paddy McCarthy.


Irish Family Names by Ida Grehan (this pocket size book is brilliant)


The Great Famine in Skibbereen by Peter Foynes (lots of great info and historical gems)

Looking Under Stones by Joe O'Toole (Roots, Family- and a Dingle Childhood)

Michael Collins and the Women who Spied for Ireland by Meda Ryan
(great read with lots of information, also includes photos etc)