Hi Gill
thank you for your query. You mentioned that you acquired the information that you have from the census, have you checked the emigration records?Do you know much about their emigration? who they may have travelled with?..etc..Generally more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at (e.g. Liverpool,etc.), this could be a good place to find more information. -And perhaps even find out an exact place of origin.
You will need to find a place name of origin in Waterford to search for any existing records e.g Parish or Townland.
You could try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64) http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/ or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) https://familysearch.org/
The Tithe Applotment List might be of use to you, or at least interesting for you. These lists constitute the only nationwide survey for the period, and are valuable because the heaviest burden of the tithes to the Established Church, the Church of Ireland, fell on the poorest, for whom few other records survive. For Parishes where the registers do not begin until after 1850, this information can be useful, as they are often the only surviving early records. They can provide valuable circumstantial evidence, especially where a holding passed from father to son in the period between the Tithe survey and Griffith's Valuation. ( You can search Griffiths Valuation under family name)
Here are some other websites that may be of help to you:
http://www.waterfordcountylibrary.ie/en/familyhistory/
http://www.goireland.com/genealogy/county-centres/locations/waterford-c…
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/
http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
http://ifhf.rootsireland.ie/?gclid=CKLT_Pa4wrUCFYUf4Qod4EoAGg
Gill I hope that this information is helpful to you. Do not hesitate to contact us again.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support