My ancestors James Fergusson and Hannah Fergusson/McGee and their 5 children Thomas, Elizabeth, John, James and Jane emmigrated to Sydney, Australia in 1841 from Bawnboy, Cavan. James' parents were John and Elizabeth (nee Jervis) and Hannah's parents were Thomas and Anne (nee Reid). Looking for any information regarding their families.
Ian Ferguson
Hi Ian,
Thank you for your message.
Have you tried looking in CHurch records for information?
Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. For Templeport parish, follow this link:
For information on Church of Ireland records check: http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.
There are also some Irish church records available online at www.familysearch.org
You could also check for record of the family in the land acts pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Civil registration began in Ireland in 1864, so you may be able to find records belonging to any family that remained in Ireland here. Civil records are available from the General REgister?s Office in Dublin. Here is their website:
http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You can search the indexes to these records online here:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
You could also try searching in the 1901 and 1911 census records for information on any family still in the area at the time.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
Some other websites which may be useful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/cavan/index.html
Alternatively you could contact Cavan Genealogy for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here are their contact details:
Cavan Genealogy,
1st Floor,
Johnston Central Library,
Farnham Street,
Cavan.
Phone: + 353(0) 49 4361094 Email: cavangenealogy@eircom.net
I hope that this is helpful. Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support