I am trying to find my GGrandmother. I am thinking that Mary Sarsfield(born 7 Dec 1828) to parents Thomas Sarsfield and Mary Kennefick in parish BALLYCLOUGH in Cork Co. Sponsors were Edward Ring and Peggy Haloran. Marriage records of Thomas and Mary was 23 April 1823 in BALLYCLOUGH in Cork Co. with witnesses William Fitzgerald and John McCarthy. Does anyone have any info on this family that they could share with me? Thank you
Hi Janis,
Thank you for your message. I hope that someone with information on the family makes a connection with you and helps you with your research. In the meantime here are some resources where you may be able to find more information.
Church Records:
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. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Ballyclough parish, follow this link:
As you can see from the above link, Mallow Heritage Centre have copies available. If you would like to contact them here is their email, however a fee may apply:
mallowheritagecentre@gmail.com
Land Records:
You could also check for record of the family in the land records 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 Records:
Civil registration began in Ireland in 1864 so any births, deaths or marriages in the family after this date would be recorded in these records. Civil records are available from the General Register?s Office. Here is their website:
http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You can search the indexes to these records up to 1958 online at:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
Census Records:
You could check in the 1901/1911 census records to see if there were any Sarsfields still in the area at the time:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
Some other websites that you may find 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
Family Search: www.familysearch.org
Cork Past and Present: www.corkpastandpresent.ie
Failte Romhat: www.failteromhat.ie
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