My ancestor Peter Brady was either born in Urney (about 1815) or he married his wife Margaret Downey there (about 1843). He was a soldier with the 58th Regiment. He and his wife sailed to Sydney in 1844 and then on to New Zealand in 1845. He died in Auckland in 1902.
I would welcome any information that anyone can give me about these two people.
Thank you.
John
Hi John,
Thank you very much for your message. I hope that someone with information on the couple makes a connection with you and helps you to further your research.
In the meantime, have you tried looking at church records in Urney to see if you can find any more 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. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Urney parish, follow this link:
Unfortunately, as you can see from the above dates records do not start until after the couple have left. However you may be luckier if they followed the Church of Ireland as CofI records generally tend to have an earlier start date.
Most surviving Church of Ireland records are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42
Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.
Some other websites that may be helpful 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/tyrone/index.html
Irish Genealogy Tool kit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/
Co. Tyrone: www.cotyroneireland.com
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support