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Guion Miller Rolls

13 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Guion Miller Roll accepted applications to determine membership in the Eastern Cherokee Nation. This source documents families not removed to Indian Territory in 1838. It is an excellent resource for mixed-blood families. As with all my blogs about the Cherokee, this by default usually also means Scots-Irish ancestry.

Between 1906 and 1909, some 45,940 applications were submitted from throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Guion Miller Rolls lists an estimated 90,000 individual applicants each of whom had to trace lineage to someone in the 1835 Henderson Roll, prior to the removal. Most applications were rejected based on a lack of evidence. Unless clearly fraudulent, the rejected applications still preserve the genealogy back to the 1835 time period. They also provide insight into mixed-blood families long separated from the tribe.

Indexes to the Guion Miller Rolls can be found on the National Archives website: www.archives.gov/research/arc/native-americans-guion-miller.html ; “Access Genealogy”: www.accessgenealogy.com/native/guion.php ; and on “Fold3”: http://www.fold3.com/title_81/guion_miller_roll/ The applications are widely available on microfilm.

The Guion Miller Rolls is as a guide posts as to who may have considered themselves Cherokee. Remember, even if the government didn’t consider a claim valid, DNA may prove otherwise! Then again, there were fraudulent claims of people who were only seeking government money.

Two mistakes people make when using these rolls is: 1.) They are only for Cherokee families. This is incorrect as many mixed-bloods applied, who were not Cherokee. Other, then unorganized native groups applied because there was no place else for them to apply; 2.) If an ancestor was part of a denied claim that there is no native heritage. This is also incorrect as the denied claims not only include fraudulent claims, but also ones which could not be sufficiently documented. That was the reason for rejection, not fraud.

Concerning those who were fraudulent, an excellent blog on “Thoughts from Polly’s Granddaughter” provide some thought provoking insights on the Guion Miller Roll: www.pollysgranddaughter.com/2011/06/fortune-hunters-guion-miller-roll-and.html I would also like to direct you to my two part blogs “What Does Cherokee Mean?” which appeared on 27-28 August 2012.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: American Frontier, Cherokee Indians, Databases, Ethnic Connections, Indexes, Native Americans, Scots-Irish

IGSI Estate Records Index

29 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI): http://irishgenealogical.org is the major Irish genealogical society in the USA. One of their projects to make records more accessible is the “Estate Records Index” project.

Estate records are the landlord business papers of the estate and may include lease agreements and rent ledgers. These may document the average tenant farmer, and are an important, although underutilized resource. Prior to the advent of parish registers, the estate records are about the only record available to document the common family.

The difficulty with these types of records is they are scattered at different archives, no index, and often of little genealogically valuable; as not all estate records lists tenants. To find records, you have to know the townland or parish your ancestor lived in, and the landlord’s name. This is where the IGSI “Estate Records Index” is a major contribution.

IGSI has funded a prominent Irish genealogist to go through the estate records housed at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin, and inventory the valuable ones. Most of the volumes are by county and then by civil parish and by landlord/estate. Counties include: Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Leitrim, Limerick, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow. Individual estates include: “Lismore – Cork (Bandon Area), Tipperary; and the Inchiquin Peninsula – Clare, Limerick, Tipperary.” The prices are reasonable at between $7-$25 USD. They can be ordered from the IGSI Bookstore link on the website.

I personally use these inventories. Once I have found an estate of interest, then I contact an agent working out of the National Library of Ireland: http://www.nli.ie

The “Estate Records Index” series is worth investing in for your particular county research needs. For any library with an Irish collection, the entire series is worth purchasing.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Collections, Estate Records, Indexes, Land Records, Libraries and Archives

Clogher Historical Society

22 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Clogher Historical Society (CHS): www.clogherhistory.ie is a quality organization with a focus on research, history and preservation for counties Fermangh, Monaghan, South Tyrone, parts of South Donegal and West Louth. Keep in mind this geographic area crosses the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. County Fermanagh and South Tyrone are today in Northern Ireland.

The CHS boundaries are the Roman Catholic diocese of Clogher. Their core membership is from counties Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone. However, they have an international membership also. They not only promote the history of the Clogher Diocese, but also worldwide immigration links from this region. The diocese boundaries actually cover County Monaghan, most of Fermanagh, parts of south and west Tyrone, south Donegal with small parts of counties Cavan and Louth.

The CHS publishes the reputable Clogher Record which can be found in many libraries worldwide. The CHS website has a link to an article index to the Clogher Record: www.clogherhistory.ie/Clogher-Record-Index

As a professional genealogist, I have used the Clogher Record for many years. Also, recently I was in need of some estate papers for a local landlord. I contacted the CHS and they found exactly what I needed and where these papers had been deposited. I was very pleased. I referred my question to them because I knew if they didn’t know the answer, they would know who would know the answer. Their help revolutionized this case I was working on!

I would recommend support of the CHS. It has been in operation since 1952, and has had time to research and publish some incredible findings.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Genealogy, Indexes, Libraries and Archives, Societies

FindMyPast Australasia

15 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

FindMyPast Australasia website: www.findmypast.com.au  which includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, is a subscription or “pay as you go” website as are the other FindMyPast sites. Included in the Australasia website are searchable databases for: cemetery records, death records, probate, land, court records, migration records, directories, criminal reports, electoral rolls, electoral rolls, almanacs, military records and government gazettes. At this writing there is an impressive collection documenting millions of individuals.

When using the website be aware FindMyPast are constantly adding new databases, so it’s important to always search the “Full List of Records” under the “Help & Advice” button at the top of the page. At that point you can select a specific database by category. You can also search all the databases with one search. If you have too many results in your earches, you can filter the search to a more specifically. There is no cost to search the index, but there is a cost in obtaining the full record. Credit cards are accepted as payment.

Each database has an accompanying description, and shows how many entries are part of that particular collection. Do not ignore these introductions, as they can provide excellent advice and helps in getting the most out of your search. 

If you are new to the FindMyPast websites, then it is always wise to check what is actually on the website. Is it what you need? If not, then you may need to wait until what you need is added to the collections. I have personally used FindMyPast Australasia and I did find what I was looking for in an Australian case. The website did not have everything I needed, but for the key was a newspaper article. It was well worth my time and funds!

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Australasia, Australia, Databases, Indexes, New Zealand

The Trouble with Indexes

6 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

Every researcher finds that indexes are sometimes not straightforward. Sometimes you feel like you need an index to the index. This blog will share some of the situations I come across in my daily research for clients. Even with an index in front of you, there are still some major questions you must ask which have direct Irish implications.

The Indexing of “O” and “Mc” Names: Sometimes surnames such as O’Brien and McCurry have their own indexes. There’s no hard rules on this one. Assume that in a typical index, whether published or manuscript, you will have some “O” and “Mc” names. If you don’t see them, then look for a separate index within the index. Also, is Brien/Brian indexed with O’Brien or MacCurry/Curry indexed with McCurry?

Sorted Letters in the Surname: Some indexes, especially manuscript ones, are sorted by the first and third letter of the surname. Others are sorted by first letter after a “key letter.” This can be  maddening, but once you figure out the system, then you have to figure out how they sorted the given names!

Is Every Name Indexed?: You need to always question to what degree the author has indexed a source in a published work. For example, on deeds is everybody mentioned in the deeds (buyer, seller, neighbors, witnesses) indexed, or just the buyer and seller? If you have questions, pick some random names from the witness list or from the neighbors and check it against the index. You already know the page these names are on, so it’s easy to tell if they are indexed or not. Manuscript sources, such as the microfilm of the original deed books will usually only list the buyer(s) and seller(s).

These are but a few of the tricks I use in my research. They do work, even if they are tedious. In order to do a thorough job on your genealogy, develop your own tricks of the trade to assure that you have covered all your bases.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Indexes, Research, Strategies

Why Would You Look at the ItalianGen/Germangenealogy Databases?

24 Sep By Dwight Leave a Comment

The massive amounts of people who came to what are now the five boroughs of New York City (NYC) are staggering. Many stayed for generations, others stayed for a little while only to move somewhere else. In either case, this makes the records of NYC of the utmost importance to your research.

For anybody who has tried to plow through the records of The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, you know it can be time consuming and frustrating. There is now assistance. This comes in the form of two websites which you will probably miss if you are not told about them.

The Italian Genealogical Group: www.italiangen.org and the German Genealogy Group: www.germangenealogygroup.com have mirror database indexes to NYC vitals, naturalizations, naturalizations, some military records. These are incredible indexes which can shave off hours of research time looking through the microfilm. In regards to the Irish, these databases indexed EVERYBODY in the original indexes, not just Italians or Germans.

If you know the borough your ancestors lived, then you can narrow the search by that locality. Sometimes it is wise to do a general search to just make sure your ancestors hadn’t moved to another borough for a period of time.

These are computerized indexes of the paper indexes. They are not the actual records themselves. For those you either have to write or use the Family History Library microfilm: www.familysearch.orgEither way, you are armed with the exact reference, making obtaining a certificate easy.

If you are using the ItalianGen website in a public library, be aware the site is keyed to Italian music. It helps to know where the mute button is on the computer before you start!

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Databases, Indexes, Research, Strategies

Using the Index of a Book as a Research Tool

8 Sep By Dwight Leave a Comment

Most often we don’t think of the index to a book as a research tool in itself. Yet it is. It all depends on how thorough an index is and what exactly a so-called thorough index is indexing.

Have you ever looked at a 500 page book only to have a gut feeling only a fraction of the names in the book are in the index? I do all the time. One test I use to check the accuracy and thoroughness of an index is to pick some random names out of a book, and then see if they are actually mentioned in the indexed. Perhaps this is a little simplistic, but it works!

How you view an index depends on what the book is about and of course the geographic locality it is covering. For example, a top-notch index to some county deed books in Virginia will not only have the names of the: 1.) buyers and sellers, 2.) a section for slaves; 3.) a section for geography and watercourses; and 4.) include the neighbors mentioned in a transaction. Now this is a good index. Virginia does not have the township, section and range system, so we often rely on a mountain or watercourse and neighbors to sort through families with the same last name.

Now contrast this with the various land systems where you have township, section, range, or lot and concession or some other exact measurement. These are more straightforward. The need to list a watercourse is less since you can go straight to a map and plot the exact parcel of ground. So the research needs in the index would be different than in Virginia.

Going back to my Virginia example, I often use the geographical features and watercourse index to learn more about the neighborhood the ancestors lived. Remember, the earlier you go back in history, especially on the frontier, the more need there was for people to stick together. They immigrated together and then they settled among each other. Using this strategy, you may actually identify an entire community from the same place in Ireland. To find out where a few of them were from in Ireland would be to identify where your ancestor came from. Often this strategy works. Sometimes it doesn’t. However, you still need to try.

In using the surname portion of the index; take note of people with the same surname as your ancestors. It works a little better with uncommon surnames, but you can still work with the common ones like Smith and Jones. With the common ones, you would then take a map and sort them by watercourse or geographical feature. Those Smith families from opposite ends of the county are less likely to be related than are those from the same or nearby watercourse.

Don’t hesitate to utilize a well-developed index as part of your research strategy. I do this all the time, especially with published land and tax records. I get more positive results than I do negative. Your imagination is the limit!

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Indexes, Research, Strategies

What is GLORECORDS?

31 Aug By Dwight Leave a Comment

The General Land Office (GLO) – Eastern States Office houses the Secretary of the Interior’s copies of over 9 million GLO records. To preserve and make these records available to the public, the “General Land Office Automated Records Project” is scanning and indexing originals on a free database as part of the Bureau of Land Management: www.glorecords.blm.gov Currently, these include Patents, Survey Plats, Field Notes and Land Status Records. The database provides access to people receiving lands under many federal programs, not just the Homestead Act of 1862. Records can relate to the survey plats and field notes back to 1810 with land title records between 1820 and the present.

The database only covers states termed “Federal Land States” which were set up on the township, section and range system. This includes: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio (part), Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The other states are known as “State Land States” and they alone with parts of Ohio are measured in metes and bounds.

The BLM website has a handy glossary of terms you will find in the records.  There is also a handy explanation to the Rectangular Survey System (Township/Range, Section Number, Aliquot Parts). Basically, a section contains 640 acres, half section 320 acres, a quarter section 160 acres, half of a quarter 80 acres, and a quarter of a quarter 40 acres.

Land can be searched by state, county, name of the person, or by coordinates (land description). If using the coordinates you will be able to view your ancestor’s neighbors. They may be friends are family members from Ireland.

If you find a record of your ancestor receiving land, then the next step is to contact the National Archives to obtain the Land Entry Case Files: www.archives.gov/research/land/index.html  They cover the pre-1908 period, and are the records of most interest to genealogists. Sometimes these provide more intimate details such as birth places!

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: American Frontier, Databases, Geography, Indexes, Land Records

Tithe Defaulters (1831)

30 Aug By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Tithe Applotment (1823-37) is a standard resource in Irish genealogical research. However, what about those who refused to pay the tithe? Remember, the Tithe went for the support and upkeep of the state religion which was the Protestant Church of Ireland. Persons of all faiths had to pay. The church was responsible for the upkeep of the parish and the poor. Yet, to have funds be demanded for the support of a church that many people resented led to the Tithe War (1831-38).

In 1830-31 an increasing number of people in particular counties refused to pay their tithes. Due to the loss of revenue by the Church of Ireland clergy, the Government set up the Clergy Relief Fund in 1831. There the clergymen would claim loss revenue based upon a person who refused to pay.

For genealogical purposes, the Tithe Defaulters list would preserve the name of the defaulter, where they lived, or representatives if deceased, and how much was owed. The records include 1,061 pages, 29,027 names from 232 parishes. Defaulter statistics from counties represented are as follows: Carlow (437), Cork (2,115), Kerry (20), Kilkenny (10,263), Laois (360), Limerick (851), Louth (965), Meath (36), Offaly (23), Tipperary (9,346), Waterford (1,838) and Wexford (2,719).

The Tithe Defaulters (1831) list can be found on several websites. IrishOrigins: www.irishorigins.com  has an excellent database and background to the source. I have utilized their historical survey in presenting this blog. Another excellent presentation and database is on FindMyPast.ie: www.findmypast.ie Both of these are subscription websites.

If you have ancestors in counties such as Cork, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford in the 1831, then be aware these had the highest concentration of tithe defaulters. This source may help you to document them due to the lack of an 1831 Census.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Databases, Indexes, Irish, Tax Records

The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland (1844)

25 Aug By Dwight Leave a Comment

If you are writing a pre-famine family history, or simply wanting to know what life was like in a particular area, then The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland (1844)  may be what you are looking for. This is a ten volume set arranged alphabetically. This work is found several places online, so it is best to Google the title of the book and see which database you want to consult.

This work is similar in scope to the two volume Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837): www.libraryireland.com/topog/index.php by Samuel Lewis, which I have already blogged about.  The two sources together provide you with an excellent pre-Famine view of Ireland.

The gazetteer is written from the government point of view, so a parish entry will mean civil parish. However, Roman Catholic history and statistics will be listed under the civil parish. There are entries for counties, parishes, islands, towns and considerable villages, baronies, principal mountains, bays, all fishing harbors, all rivers, principal lakes, chief mines and mineral districts, on all villages which contain at least twenty houses, and hundreds of others which contain fewer, and principal rural antiquities to name some of the topics covered. This remains a true encyclopedia of pre-Famine Ireland. What is not listed are histories on individual townlands.

The entries all sorts of statistics taken from the 1831 and 1841 censuses. This in itself can provide you with hard to find information from which to develop your narrative, if you are writing a family history or conducting historical research.

A breakdown of the volumes are as follows: Volume 1 (A-Arm), Volume 2 (Arm-Car), Volume 3 (Car-Cus), Volume 4 (Dal-Gal), Volume 5 (Gal-Kil), Volume 6 (Kil-Mag), Volume 7 (Mag-Rap), Volume 8 (Rap-Tib), Volume 9 (Tib-You), Volume 10 (You-Z and Index).

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Dictionaries, Geography, Heritage, Historical, Indexes, Irish Ancestry, Place Names

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Dwight A. Radford

Dwight A. Radford is a professional family history researcher. Along with his staff they specialize in Ireland, England, Canada, African American, Native American, and United States. Connecting families together through historical documents and then creating a cherished family heirloom published book for generations to enjoy. Full bio…

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