Hello Steve,
Do you have the name of a specific Freeman who came from the Province of Connaught that you may be related to? More specifically, to a Freeman who came from one of the five counties in the Connaught Province---Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo.
Even at that it may be a challenge to locate records from the 1600 and 1700s specific to your Freeman line. Statutory birth records were not recorded by the Irish government until 1864. Protestant marriages, as well as civil marriages, were recorded from 1845, and marriage for Catholics beginning in 1864.
I suspect your Freemans, perhaps descendants of the semi-mythological Irish king, Niall Noígíallach (of the Nine Hostages), according to Family Tree DNA (https://tinyurl.com/mr428pbm), were of a Protestant denomination in the 17th and 18th centuries, which leaves church parish registers as primary sources for research.
But many church parishes registers, no matter the denomination, are not available for the 17th and 18th centuries in Ireland. Then too, almost half of the Church of Ireland parish registers were destroyed in a fire at the Public Record Office, Four Courts Building in Dublin City in 1922, during the Irish Civil War.
One 18th century record that can be found online for a Freeman, is recorded in the Elphin Census/Synge Census of 1749, available at the Leitrim-Roscommon Data Base: https://leitrim-roscommon.com/elphin/index.shtml
A Will (William) Freeman was recorded in the 1749 census in the townland of Oxhill, Civil Parish of Ardcarn(e), County Roscommon.
The census does not record William's occupation, but does show he was Protestant and that he had a wife, un-named, who was a "Pap," which is an abbreviation for "Papist," that is, his wife was a Roman Catholic.
The census also shows that William and his wife had three children under 14 year of age, and that the children were "Protestant."
The census is attached to this reply.
The census does not record which Protestant denomination William Freeman belonged to.
If he belonged to the Ardcarne Church of Ireland, there won't be a baptism record for him or a marriage record for his parents.
The Ardcarne Church of Ireland parish registers were not destroyed in the 1922 fire, but according to the "The List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers" database, (revised in July 2025) the Ardcarne parish registers of baptism and burials are only available from 1830. Marriages are available from 1813. See The List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers database:
https://www.churchofireland.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/registers/ParishRegisters/PARISHREGISTERS.pdf
Just from the 1749 Elphin census alone, there is no way of knowing if the William Freeman of Oxhill, Ardcarn, Roscommon, was related to your Freemans in America.
A 19th century agricultural land record called the Tithe Applotment Books also recorded Freemans. The tithe books span the years from 1823 to 1837 for the 32 counties of Ireland.
There tithe records of Freemans in Mayo and Sligo for the years 1824, 1832, and 1833. You can see these at: https://tinyurl.com/3zfxmx7n
Matthew Freeman is recorded twice in the townland of Balloughter, Civil parish of Kilcolman, County Mayo.
The Freeman surname is also recorded 20 times in the tithe books in County Roscommon, mainly in townlands located in the civil parishes of Boyle, Kilcorkery, and Kilkeevin. See: https://tinyurl.com/j3a6vv2p and https://tinyurl.com/mrywcw6d
There are no Freemans recorded in the townland of Oxhill, Civil Parish of Ardcarn in the Tithe Apploment Books for the year 1834: https://tinyurl.com/4642fsda
But as you can see there is a "Barthw" (Bartholomew) Freeman recorded in the townland of Rushin, Civil Parish of Ardcarn.
Because most of the Freemans recorded in County Roscommon were living in townlands in the Boyle Civil Parish, there is that possibility that one of your Freeman lines comes from this area of County Roscommon.
Then too, Boyle and Ardcarn are not that far from one another either. This Google Map shows that Ardcarn is 5 miles east of Boyle traveling along the N4 road: https://tinyurl.com/ym5weasn
For a comprehensive explanation of the Tithe Applotment Books, and to also search the Tithe Applotment Books at no cost, go to the National Archives of Ireland link at:
https://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
Be aware however, there are a lot of errors and omissions in the Tithe Applotment Books as explained in the Irish Genealogy Toolkit, under the subheading, "Where to view the Tithe Applotment Books." See: https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/tithe-applotment-books.html
Even so, there is a possibility, though not a certainty, that your American Freemans were in the same line as one or more of the Freemans recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books.
I also wanted to see if there had been any Freemans who are recorded in the Landed Estates of Ireland database.
I found there are Freemans recorded, but not in the Province of Connaught.
There are four estates associated with the Freeman and related families in counties Kerry, Cork, and Waterford, Province of Munster. See the Landed Estates entries at: https://landedestates.ie/estate/2164
Also Steve, to see if other people may be researching their Freeman and related lines, and to see if there are additional historical records you can access in Roscommon, contact the Co. Roscommon Historical & Archaeological Society. Contact information is below:
Co. Roscommon Historical & Archaeological Society
The Percy French Hotel
Bridge St
Strokestown F42 A996
Email: crhas1905@gmail.com
Website: Co. Roscommon Historical & Archaeological Society
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You can also request posting queries about your Freeman ancestors in Mayo and Roscommon at three Newspapers. These are the Roscommon Herald; Western People (County Mayo); and the Connaught Telegraph (County Mayo). There may be a charge for this service.
The email addresses for the three newspapers are below:
https://www.roscommonherald.ie/
https://www.westernpeople.ie/
https://www.con-telegraph.ie/
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The email addresses of these news organizations were kindly provided by Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer, Roger McDonnell.
Kind Regards,
Dave Boylan
SOURCES
Family Tree DNA
Leitrim-Roscommon Data Base
The List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers
National Archives of Ireland: Tithe Applotment Books
Landed Estates of Ireland database of
Co. Roscommon Historical & Archaeological Society
Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer Roger McDonnell
Newspapers: Roscommon Herald, Western People (County Mayo), Connaught Telegraph (County Mayo)
