 Irish Genealogy Interest Group Provides Help by Mary Lohr Staring any longer at the brick wall on the Irish ancestors I had been researching was not going to bring any results. So when Martha Rasmussen suggested we attend the Irish Genealogy Interest Group at the Iowa Genealogical Society, it was the perfect antidote. Theresa Liewer gave a presentation at the September meeting on the 1911 Irish census, now available online through the Irish Family History Foundation. (http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie) The digitization of the census is a cooperative effort between the National Archives of Ireland and Canada. The 1901 and 1911 censuses are the only surviving full censuses of Ireland open to the public. All 32 counties of Ireland are included. The 1911 census is free to search and it is anticipated the 1901 census will be available online in the near future. The records include the original household return and three statistical returns dealing with religious denominations, classification of buildings, and out-offices and farm steadings, filled out by the the Enumerator for that townland/street. The census can be browsed by place, thus giving a list of neighbors. By using the search feature, results can be filtered by person, location, or age.  Unfortunately, the ancestors I'm researching left Ireland in 1865 so they would not be included in either the 1901 or 1911 censuses. At this point I felt like banging my hand on the proverbial brick wall. © 2009 Story County Genealogical Society. |  Maybe the luck of the Irish is with me! But, wait, this next resource may have something. Another tool Theresa demonstrated was searching other databases that are available through the Irish Family History Foundation (http://ifhf.brsgenealogy.com). Records included are parish registers, Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838), Griffith's Valuation, gravestone inscriptions, census records, and civil registrations. Irish Civil registration did not begin officially until 1864, but searching through the Irish Family History Foundation provides access to the earlier records as well as later ones. The Irish Family History Foundation is part of the Irish Genealogical Online Record Search System. It is described as "the co-coordinating body for a network of government approved genealogical research centers in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland." The indexes can be searched for free, although registration is required. By paying five Euros, you can view an abstract of a record. The amount is charged to a credit card made through a secure online transaction. Time to take the plunge and invest a few Euors (seems appropriate when searching for European ancestors!). On about the fifth record viewed, I was able to get to the abstracted record of the elusive ancestors' marriage. Time to do the genealogy happy dance! Even through the parents of the bride and groom were not listed, the towns for the bride and groom were on the record, thus giving me some additional places to search. Hopefully the mortar has been loosened a bit on this brick wall! The moral for me: seek assistance from other persons and genealogy groups. They may just be able to help you chisel at that wall.  |