Indexes – Page 3

Oregon and Washington Donation Lands

If you have ancestors settled in the Pacific Northwest of the United States prior to 1855, then you may document them through the Donation Land papers. The Donation Lands of Oregon and Washington Territories provide one of the most descriptive application processes of any action in the U.S. during this era. There were over 7,500 applications.

The land applications for the Irish are only second to those filed by American born citizens. As the records often provide exact birth places, this makes the Donation Lands a primary source. Even if your ancestor didn’t settle in the Pacific Northwest, use them to document relatives who did.

Oregon Territory was established in 1848, originally from what is now present day Oregon, Washington, Idaho and a small portion of Wyoming. Washington Territory was separated out in 1853. Most applications involve present day Oregon and Washington. Donation Land applications begin in 1850 and provided free land to white and mixed-blood settlers who arrived in the territories before 1 December 1855. This was in exchange for four years of residence and cultivation. Applicants were given up to 640 acres. Sometimes the claims for land went on for decades.

The original files are at the National Archives: www.archives.gov with microfilm copies at the Family History Library: www.familysearch.org Both the Washington State Library: www.sos.wa.gov/library/landrecords.aspx and the Oregon State Archives: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/records/aids/land.html has information on the Donation Lands.

The database “Genealogical Material in Oregon Donation Land Claims” is on Ancestry: www.ancestry.com The Genealogical Forum of Oregon: www.gfo.org/donation/index.htm has an online index. You can also use the Bureau of Land Management database to search Donation Lands: www.glorecords.blm.gov

There will be no shortage of online articles to guide you through the process. However, you will need to obtain the application to see how the person answered the questions posed.

A “Super Index” to Will Indexes

12 Jul By Dwight Leave a Comment

An incredible, but little known, resource is Super Index: A Compilation of Available Irish Will Indexes 1270-1860 (Salt Lake City, UT: J & J Limited, 2000), compiled by Gloria Bangerter then edited and alphabetized by Joyce Parsons and Jeanne Jensen. It is a massive alphabetical index to indexes compiled in 11 volumes, using the Family History Library (FHL) microfilm and books: www.familysearch.org

Most of the originals referred to in this index were destroyed in 1922. However, second copies, abstracts and extracts do survive for many of the estates mentioned. The first step is to consult the index to see if a will was generated; the second step is to look for a surviving copy. The index itself is on microfilm as follows: A-C, Volumes 1-3 (#1145963 items 11-13); D-E, G-M, Mc, Volumes 4-5 pt. 2, 6-8 (#1145964); F, Volume 5 pt. 1 (#1145972 item 21); N-Z, Volumes 9-11 (#1145965 items 1-3).

The index lists approximately 210,000 names. It lists the given name of the person and the year of the will. It also shows whether it was a will or administration bond, the county, whether it was dealt with by the Prerogative Court or by which Consistorial Court.

This index can launch your search for surviving second copies, extracts and abstracts. It can also be used as a locator for families, and is a helpful tool if you are dealing with 1600s and 1700s immigration problems. That may be all you need to launch into other record types.

Smith’s Inventory of Genealogical Sources: Ireland

11 Jul By Dwight Leave a Comment

A valuable finding aid is Smith’s Inventory of Genealogical Sources: Ireland. It is an in-house inventory of sources at the Family History Library (FHL). They are usually referred to as Smith’s Inventory.

The FHL staff and volunteers compiled this inventory using only the resources in their British Isles collections, under the direction of Frank Smith. Unlike the famous Periodical Source Index (PERSI), which only inventories articles from periodicals, Smith’s Inventory adds these to sources hidden in books and the microfilm. The books are more self-explanatory, unlike the microfilm. Many microfilmed manuscript collections do not have page numbers. Smith’s Inventory mentions them, and then you have to backtrack in order to find the reference. This is not easy, but it’s usually the nature of Irish collections.

Smith’s Inventory is most helpful in accessing estate papers, freeholders’ lists, genealogies and tombstone inscriptions. While there are many subject categories, these are the ones I tend to use the most. Now be aware this is a dated source with the inventory published in 1994. Even at this, the value of bringing these hidden resources into the light cannot be underestimated.

Smith’s Inventoryis on microfiche. For Ireland the microfiche are as follows, all part of FHL #6110527: Irish General (Fiche #1-#3); Irish General-Antrim (Fiche #4); Antrim-Armagh (Fiche #5); Armagh-Cavan (Fiche #6); Cavan-Cork (Fiche #7); Donegal-Down (Fiche #8); Dublin (Fiche #9); Dublin-Galway (Fiche #10); Galway-Kildare (Fiche #11); Kilkenny-Leix (Fiche #12); Limerick-Londonderry (Fiche #13); Londonderry-Mayo (Fiche #14); Meath-Offaly (Fiche #15); Offaly-Tipperary (Fiche #16); Tipperary-Westmeath (Fiche #17); Westmeath-Wicklow (Fiche #18).

If you are accustomed to using the FHL microfilm, then this is a must to make sure you haven’t missed some of the more obscure and hidden sources.

What is Genuki?

8 Jul By Dwight Leave a Comment

As a professional genealogist, I am constantly referring back to the GENUKI links. There are specific county sections as well as categories covering all of Ireland. The basic categories for both are: Archives and Libraries, Bibliography, Biography, Cemeteries, Census, Chronology, Church Records, Civil Registration, Court Records, Description and Travel, Directories, Emigration and Immigration, Gazetteers, Genealogy, Heraldry, History, Land and Property, Maps, Military History, Names (Geographical), Names (Personal) Newspapers, Nobility, Occupations, Periodicals, Probate Records, Social Life and Customs, Societies, and Taxation.

Some Irish counties do not have much, while others have a myriad of links to explore. Some links lead you to the Irish GenWeb Project, others to the local heritage centre, various databases, and just as many to sites developed by individuals with a specific interest. There’s no way of knowing what you will find until you look. Also, you will need to keep referencing GENUKI as this is a growing website constantly being added.

I can personally recommend GENUKI from years of constant use. It doesn’t always have a link which answers a question I might have. However, when it does, and I solve a problem, I couldn’t be happier!

Church of Ireland Prerogative Court of Armagh Marriage Bonds

28 May By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Prerogative Court of Armagh covered all of Ireland. The moneyed segment of mainly Protestant society had their marriages recorded through this court. These Marriage License Bonds (1710-1849) are on microfilm at the Family History Library (FHL #100876). The original records were destroyed in 1922, but several Irish genealogists had worked with the original records prior to their destruction. The resulting works list only the groom, the bride and the year.

Two collections provide details missing from the indexes, such as the residence of the groom and the bride. “Betham’s Genealogical Abstracts from Prerogative Marriage Licenses, 1629-1810” (FHL #100874-75), abstracted by Sir William Betham is at the National Archives of Ireland: www.nationalarchives.ie Important details about this collection can be found in David E. Rencher’s three part article “Sir William Betham Collection” published in The Septs in 2010 and 2011. This is the journal of The Irish Genealogical Society International: www.irishgenealogical.org The second, “Abstracts of Prerogative Marriage Licenses of Ireland, 1629-1858” (FHL #100167-68), extracted by Denis O’Callaghan Fischer, is at the Genealogical Office: www.nli.ie/en/intro/heraldry-introduction.aspx The Fischer Collection does have its own bride’s index (1629-1820) at the end of the Genealogical Office’s MS 421 (FHL #100167 item 1).

These Prerogative Court marriage record abstracts may not be as informative as you would like. However, they do open up other sources such as the Registry of Deeds, surviving wills and other records from which the upper classes can be documented within.

Church of Ireland Diocesan Marriage Licenses

27 May By Dwight Leave a Comment

Protestants wishing to obtain a marriage license without having banns read in the parish church were required to place a bond with the bishop of their diocese. The original licenses and bonds were destroyed in 1922, but the indexes survived.

People listed in the bonds usually were moneyed Protestants and some Catholics. Depending on the cost of the bond, other classes of Protestants may be included.

The Marriage Bonds Indexes are very straightforward. They are divided by diocese and list only the name of the groom and the bride, along with the year. Remember that diocese boundaries frequently crossed county boundaries. To use these indexes, maps such as those from Brian Mitchell’s A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland (2002) are essential tools, as they show the boundaries of the dioceses. Some of the diocesan indexes have been indexed online or published.

The records are at the National Archives of Ireland and on microfilm at the Family History Library. The FHL numbers are as follows:

Diocese FHL#

Armagh (1727-1845) 100859-60

Cashel & Emily (1664-1857) 100860

Clogher (1709-1866) 100862

Cloyne (1630-1866) 100863

Cork & Ross (1623-1750) 100864-66

Down, Connor, Dromore (1721-1845) 100867

Dublin (1672-1845) 100867

Kildare (1790-1865) 100868

Elphin (1709-1845) 100868

Anchonry & Killala (1787-1842) 100868

Killaloe (1718-1845) 100869

Clonfert (1739, 1815-1844) 100869

Limerick (1827, 1833, 1844 100869

Kilmore & Ardagh (1697-1844) 100869

Meath (1655, 1702-1845) 100869

Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin (1691-1845) 100870-71

Raphoe (1710-55, 1817-30) 100871

Tuam (1769-1845) 100871

Waterford & Lismore (1649-1845) 100872

Lismore Peculiar Jurisdiction (1779-1802) 100872

If you find your ancestor in these indexes, then you have an indication of their social status. Perhaps most important is that if you didn’t know where in Ireland they were from, then now you at least know a diocese. This opens up other records to continue your search.

Irish Registry of Deed Indexes (1708-1929)

24 May By Dwight Leave a Comment

There are two manuscript indexes to the Registry of Deeds on microfilm at the Family History Library, 1708-1929 (FHL) and an ongoing indexing project online. Understanding these indexes is your key to this valuable set of records.

The “Surname Index” (Grantor Index) is alphabetical by first letter of the seller’s name. This is a limitation as deeds are usually a tangle of owners, lessors and sub-lessors. It is arranged by time periods. Another limitation is that it does not identify the county or townland of the property until after 1833.

The “Lands Index” (County Index) is arranged geographically. The handwriting can be terrible or the quality of the microfilming problematic. This index is currently only way to access all registered transactions for a specific place.

The Lands Index is divided by county, Corporation Town, time period with townlands listed by first letter. From 1828 the County Index divides entries by barony within a county. From 1828, the cities and Corporation Towns are listed separately. From 1832, the year of registration is given in the index.

The Lands Index lists volume, page and memorial number of the transaction. Once you have the reference, then you are ready to examine the deed books on microfilm at the FHL.

The “Registry of Deeds Index Project Ireland”: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~registryofdeeds is an online index being compiled by volunteers. The purpose of the project is to index all of the names that appear in the memorial books at the Registry of Deeds. This includes wills and marriage settlements. The index can be searched by name, grantor, family name and memorial number.

Deed index research can be tedious, but it is a necessary evil in comprehensive Irish genealogy.

« Previous Page

Call Today! 801.699.2450

Or send us an Email