Hi,
Thank you for your message. I am delighted to hear you will be visiting this year and I hope that you are able to find some information beforehand!
Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information without more information. 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 placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.
If you use the Irish Times surname search engine you can see that Devlin was a very popular surname in Co. Tyrone in mid-19th century Ireland so it will be hard to narrow down a parish without more information.
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID=
Do you know the names of any other family that may have been in Ireland, or did John?s parents return to Ireland? If you have some forenames, it may be possible to find the family in Griffith?s Valuation. This as a property valuation survey carried out in Ireland 1848-1864. It offers no genealogical information but it can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Some other websites that may be helpful as you research 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
The National Archives Scotland- family history: http://www.nas.gov.uk/familyHistory/
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/tyrone/index.html
Family Search: www.familysearch.org
It may also be an idea to contact the Irish World Heritage Centre in Tyrone for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email: info@irish-world.com
Remember to post any new information that you find.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
