Hi,
Thank you very much for your message.
Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information without a more specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or place name, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.
Perhaps as Ballycrissane is mentioned as a possible place of origin you should start your search there. I believe that the place you are referring to is Ballycrossaun in Tiranascragh civil parish. This is part of Killimore Roman Catholic parish. You could try looking at records in the parish to see if you can find any records pertaining to the Magees. 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 Killimore parish, follow this link:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Galway&CityCounty=East%20Galway&parish=Killimore&churchid=333
As you can see from this link the East Galway Family History Centre have some copies. If you would like to contact them here is their email galwayroots@eircom.net However a fee may apply.
There are some places where you can search online, however it may be difficult to discern whether the results are relevant to your family or not without more information:
www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.
www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.
You could also try searching for the family in the Tithe Applotment Books. These were compiled between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland. They do not give any genealogical information but can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place. You can search these here:
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
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
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/galway/index.html
The US National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/
Irish Genealogy Toolkit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/index.html
Remember to post any new information that you find here, especially with regards to place of origin. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support