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Looking for Murrays and Donovans in County Wexford

Wexford

My great-grandmother was Alice Barbara Donovan (b. 1860, d. 1922), who married Thomas Henry Grattan Esmonde of Ballynastragh, near Gorey. Her parents were Elizabeth Murray and Patrick Donovan. They were married in London in 1856 but I do not have any more information for them. I suspect they also were from County Wexford, and I have seen that there was an MP from Wexford named Murray.

Can anyone give me more information about these Murrays and Donovans?

IrelandXO member

1 reply

Hi,

Thanks for your message.

It may be difficult to find out further information on these families without knowing 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 placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

Do you have any documentation pertaining to the family that mentions any place names in Wexford at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records,census records, letters, diary entries etc.

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 check for record of the family in the land records pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:

The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

These do not have any genealogical information but may be able to help you narrow down what parishes these names were most common in.

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

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

Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm

Irish Genealogy Tool kit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/

From Ireland: www.from-ireland.net

Irish Genealogy Tool kit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/

Remember to post any new information that you find here. 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

 

IrelandXO member

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