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Looking for headstone photos in Inishowen and Tirhugh

DonegalCuldaff (Donegal)Donagh Or Carndonagh (Donegal)Drumhome (Donegal)Templecarn (Donegal)Kilbarron (Donegal)Clonca (Donegal)

Hello,

I'm trying to research some family history, and I'm running into dead ends through the usual places (civil records, online church records, and even trying to hire a professional to look into it).  I'm down to trying to go through cemeteries and hope that the stones indicate connections.  I had someone go and photograph Malin Presbyterian Church Cemetery, and I have the results of that online at findagrave.com - it was extremely helpful, and I was able to make several connections I had almost given up on.  I was hoping I might be able to find someone to help me do the same for a few more cemeteries and graveyards.  The ones of the main interest for now (that I know of) are:

  • Inishowen in the north:
    • Lagg Church Graveyard
    • Malin Church of Ireland Graveyard
    • Culdaff Presbyterian Church Graveyard
    • Carndonagh Presbyterian Church Graveyard
  • Tirhugh in the south:
    • Pettigo Church Graveyard
    • Ballintra Church Graveyard
    • Templecarn Old Graveyard
    • Rossnowlagh Church Graveyard

I'm sure there's also others near them, but it's hard to find any comprehensive lists.

If someone is near any of them and would be willing to help I'll make sure that the results are shared with anyone else who might find them useful. All that would be needed is to go there with your phone and take a photo of each of the headstones that would ideally show the whole stone, and also allow the inscription to be read.  Ideally you'd have the location tracking turned on on your phone to give an approximate location for the stones as you go.  If you send the photos to me (we can work out the technical details) I can do any processing needed and take care of getting them uploaded and transcribed afterward.  I'd even be happy to cover any expenses you might have doing it (fuel, parking, mileage, etc.) if you're willing to help.

tomstrong

6 replies

Tom

Are there specific surnames looking for here?  There is some considerable distance between the graveyards. It is not an option to do it quickly, if you give me more information I can do some checks for relevant families but it could be sometime before I have the opportunity, and the visits would be spread out.  I will also look in depth to find any online records. 

Best Regards,

Marion Whelan - IrelandXO - Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer.

Whelanmg, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘︎IrelandXO Volunteer

The problem with specific surnames is that the Presbyterian families in the area are quite interconnected, I've been seeing 30% or more of the markers being relevant to my research as I'm searching.  In the north it's mainly Colhoun, Stewart, Henderson, Fulton, Bruce, Platt, Boggs, Baird, McCandless, Starrett, Mills, and a few others.  In the south, Strong/Stronge, McKee/McGee/Magee, Portuous/Portice, Farrell, Buchannon, Ferguson, Harron, Spence, Mills, Griffith, Hall, Mills, and others.  I've been searching online as much as I can, but there's very little left there.  Having all of the stones for Malin Presbyterian helped to make a lot of connections, and also let me find burial locations for a lot more relatives than I ever expected, that's why I was hoping for the broad approach here as well, both for my own research as well as anyone else searching in those areas.

tomstrong

I tried the irishgraveyards.ie website, the only one that's even close to what I'm searching for is Culdaff, but the one graveyard they do have there appears to be the Catholic church, not the Presbyterian.

tomstrong

Update - I'm in Ireland now, and I've been taking a lot of grave photos as they apply to the Protestant side.  I've posted some of them on FindAGrave already, and the others will be coming soon once I have enough bandwidth.  They'll be coming up for public transcription soon, so I'd guess within 2 or 3 weeks they should be up.

 

tomstrong

Tom

I was so pleased to read that you have found gravestones and been able to take photographs, once online they will be a great resource for others looking for family records in these parishes of Donegal. 

Many thanks, 

Marion Whelan - IrelandXO - Ireland Reaching Out Volunteer.

Whelanmg, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘︎IrelandXO Volunteer

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