If there is one book any genealogist or family historian researching Irish families should have on their bookshelf, this is it.
Tracing Your Ancestors, by one of Ireland’s leading genealogists, John Grenham is now in its third edition, the first having been published sixteen years ago. Even if you own previous editions it is worth purchasing for the new materials alone. As Grenham himself explains in the introduction, ‘The aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive guide for any person wishing to trace his or her Irish ancestors.’
The book is divided into three sections. Section 1 includes information on the general register office records of birth marriage and deaths, the census records, church records and property and valuation records. Section 2 covers wills, Genealogical Office records, information on emigration and the Irish abroad, the Registry of Deeds, newspapers, directories, the internet and occupational records. Section 3 provides information on counties – lists of sources by county and details on the Roman Catholic Parishes that exist for each county. Finally research services and repository details are given at the end of the book.
Tracing Your Ancestors is the kind of book that you can start using as an amateur genealogist but that even the most experienced family historian will continue to use as a reference guide. Although it introduces some of the more straightforward records that most family historians will be familiar with, such as birth marriage and death records, and the two fully extant census returns for Ireland – 1901 and 1911 census, it also discusses other sources such as wills, deeds and the records of the Genealogical Office.
The addition of a new section ‘Emigration and the Irish Abroad’ is welcome since, with the Irish diaspora being as large as it is, many researchers of Irish family history are not located in Ireland and have to use emigration records as the starting point for their research. There is a section outlining relevant records in the National Archives of Ireland and there follows lists of books and articles relating to the Irish across every continent. The section on North America is broken down into American states and Canadian provinces, while most of the other areas are arranged by country.
There is also a new chapter relating to internet sources; just eight pages long it covers some of the major sites, although of course many more exist than those that are shown. Nevertheless those that Grenham has selected are a good starting point for the novice.
The information included in the county source lists can vary depending on what sources are available, but they are organised the same way for each county, listing census returns and substitutes by date, relevant websites, local history publications and journals, directories, gravestone inscriptions and estate records. While the lists are not exhaustive they are comprehensive and should be extremely helpful to any researcher.
Finally, for those researching Roman Catholic Ancestors, the Roman Catholic parish registers are a must. Organised by county, each section commences with a map of the county showing the parish register divisions. Below this each of the parishes is listed and for each, the dates for which birth, marriage and death records exist are provided along with their location and reference numbers.
In short, if you don’t have this book already and you are serious about researching your Irish family history, get it now! Buy Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide
from Amazon.co.uk (delivers to Ireland also) or from Amazon.com
or Amazon.ca.
