Hi,
Thank you for your message.
You can use the Irish Times website to see a listing of what estate records are available for Westmeath. Here is the link:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/counties/index.cfm?fuseaction=estates&CityCounty=Westmeath#Westmeath
Also for more information check the National Archives website at:
http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/estate-records/
For more records on the family you could try searching in church records in Taghmon. 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. For Taghmon parish, follow this link:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&churchid=962&CityCounty=Westmeath&CityCounty=Westmeath&parish=Taghmon
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.
Civil registration became mandatory in Ireland in 1864 so you may also be able to find records relevant to the family in these records. Civil records are available from the General Register?s Office in Dublin. Here is their website:
http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You can search the indexes to these records online at:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
You could also check the 1901/1911 census records for the children: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
With regards to tracing John and Mary?s parents, you will probably have to find their birth records. If they were born in Taghmon, you may be lucky as records there begin in 1781.
You could try contacting the Family History Centre in Westmeath for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email: dunnasimoate@eircom.net
In the meantime some other websites that you may find 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/
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/westmeath/index.html
Family Search: www.familysearch.org
I hope that this is helpful. Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support