Hello Linda - My apologies for not replying to your note a lot earlier. Jane Ryan was diligent in letting me know and the lateness is all on me. Juggling a bit. My name is Steve Lemken and my relations came from the area around Kesh Corran, outside of Ballymote, Co. Sligo. I've a small cottage near there for 20 plus years and have gotten to know the area a bit, having researched my ancestors and relations in the area. It has not been easy - but because I learned early on where they were from - the specific town land and parish - I've managed.
I note the informaiton you provided above re Peter Conroy. If you have a paper trail, starting with you and working backwards, and all is correct, you are on a good track. I provide information below to help you continue on the research track. Much more satifying when you connect the dots yourself.
If you have not already done so, I do recommend getting a copy of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide. Fourth Edition by John Gresham. A good investment for future work. Get on Amazon. You'll run over more in the future, but this book does help.
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Irish records are a jumble, especially for those in the West. It takes time and patience. There has been a great the loss of many records over the years - espicially government and other records before 1900 due to fires and war. Pre 1800 records are especially rare - except for the estate records in Belfast - and some in Dublin - that I mention below. Besides Ireland's research sites, a look at the records of North Ireland via their research site/center in Belfast could be in order, especially with your ancestor being from Ballymote and they may have connections with the Gore-Booths, who owned a good part of Ballymote in years past. See the site at https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni and find some estate records of owners of land at the time for lists of tenants. It will take time and may or may not be fruitful but I did find a reference to folks I think are my ancestors on the Gore-booth estate in a near by townland. Tis a very searchable site.
It helps to know, as specifically as possible, the townland and/or parish where your ancestor was born. You have Keeneghan in Ballymote. One of my cousins was born there in the 1920s, so I am familir with the area. You should be able to track backwards from there with a look through research sites noted below. A side thought here: There is a very nice B&B in Keenaghan - the Mill House - for consideration if you are looking for places to stay. There is also the Coach Hotel. Other B&Bs, AirBnBs and self accommodations are in the area. And Doddy's Pub down the street is a excellent stop at the end of the day. The owner John and his staff are grand. A short walk.
Another avenue to pursue is through the tithe applotments - using the name you are seeking - and the Griffiths Valuation data. This is a wild card shot. If a name in the Tithe can be matched with a GV name - which would have to be a family member who stayed in Ireland - you can jump from the GV into information via Ireland's Valuation office - which keeps land tenant and ownership records in each town;and. I've used that to track my families acquisition and work on local land. Having my living relations to confirm much of this helped.
SLIGO TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOK Parish listings
Below are the names of heads of families in the Toomour and Drumbeat parishes in 1833-4.
The Tithe Applotment Books are records compiled between 1823 and 1837 to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings over one acre should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland. We recommend a visit to the sites below for more information.
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/about.jsp
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/aboutmore.jsp
Explore Griffith’s Valuation online at these sites:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/irish-genealogy/
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/irish-genealogy/what-is-griffiths- valuati/
Looking for more about properties? See the Valuation’s Office web site at http://www.valoff.ie/en/Archives_Genealogy_Public_Office/
Follow the links. Some material is online, other information is digitized at their office to view.
Once you have a name and place - you can revisit church records sites at http://www.nli.ie/en/parish-register.aspx to check if similarly named people are in that area. You'll want to go to the sectin of the Diocese of Achonory, Emlaghfad Parish. And Ballymote Parish.
More information may be found at the National Archives Genealogy Website. Access the Census Records for 1901 and 1911 and many other informative sites at http://www.genealogy.nationalarchives.ie
Parish Online Resources
Diocese of Achonry | County of Sligo Variant forms of parish name: Keash [includes townlands in Drumrat and Toomour]
This website contains images from the National Library of Ireland’s collection of Catholic parish register microfilms. The registers contain records of baptisms and marriages from the majority of Catholic parishes in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 1880. Go to http://registers.nli.ie/about These are incomplete but you may be surprised!
Other online resources for other denominations may be found at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/County_Sligo,_Ireland_Genealogy#Church_Records
Census of Ireland
Census pages may be accessed through The National Archives of Ireland.
This is the home page: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie
I recommend reading the information available to become familiar with the records. The Census pages has more about individuals and families and their houses and land.
Look at the Hearth Rolls - another tax listing. I think you can find online too.
Oh - if you are lucky and Peter and his family are your relations, they may be buried in the area. There is a local cemetery past the Catholic Church. I know who has the records for it.
What else can we know about our old parishes and townlands?
County Sligo is long inhabited, and the folks who lived here left many reminders - like the ringforts dotting the fields. You can now learn more of these and other monuments via the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, a unit of the National Monuments Service, and its’ online database base. Go to https://www.archaeology.ie and look for the Historic Environment Viewer - an on-line digital service provided by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Tis quite a tool. The viewer is accessible on most browsers and platforms, including smart phones.
I also recommend checking out the Ordanance Survey site for maps of the area stretching back centuries - see this site http://map.geohive.ie/mapviewer.html. It takes a wee bit of time to learn the controls to get into the maps - but go in and land on Co SLigo - then zoom to Ballymote and work from there. Use the map tools on the left to see the area in diffeent years etc.
I also recommend doing a Google - or Duck Duck Go [the browser I use] search for Ballymote history, and Co. Sligo hisotry, and myths and tales of the area. It helps to know a bit of the area's history when there and talking with peoplle.
I'll leave you here for now. Please let me know if this has been helpful - or not. Suggest what else you think you may need in terms of resources to explore. I should be in Ireland when you arrive next year and you can decide if we should meet - I'd be happy be point you too local interests etc. I will check with my friends and relations in the area re the last name Conroy. It rings a bell - I just do not wish to promise anything. Best of luck in your jouney.
Steve
Steve Lemken
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