Researching Ulster Ancestors, 1800-1914

With the advent of the nineteenth century the quantity of records available for the family historian increases dramatically, notwithstanding the catastrophic destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922. In part, this is due to the greater survival rate of private records – for example, church registers, landed estate papers, personal correspondence.

It is also because of the increase in bureaucracy and the expansion of the state into new areas of responsibility – such as the care of the destitute, the provision of education and the registration of births, deaths and marriages – that had previously been the domain of other institutions, notably the Church of Ireland.

This book presents a detailed exploration of genealogical material for the nine-county province of Ulster from the ‘long nineteenth century’ (up until the eve of the First World War), identifying what is available and where it can be found. Not only that, but through the liberal use of examples, this book places these records in context and shows how they can be used in the pursuit of family history.

While much material is now online, many records can still only be accessed in manuscript form and there is a particular focus on collections in archives and libraries across this island and, on occasion, further afield.

This volume is a companion to the author's successful Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors, 1600-1800 (2nd edition, 2018) and a follow-up to his other genealogical titles, Researching Presbyterian Ancestors in Ireland (2020) and Researching Farming Ancestors in Ireland (2021).

Chapter List

1. Introduction

• 1.1 Getting started with research
• 1.2 Background reading
• 1.3 The Internet
• 1.2 Background reading
• 1.3 The Internet
• 1.4 Surnames
• 1.5 Place-names and land divisions
• 1.6 Archives and libraries
• 1.6.1 Northern Ireland
• 1.6.2 Republic of Ireland
• 1.6.3 Repositories in Britain

2. Printed sources

• 2.1 Nineteenth-century Ulster newspapers
• 2.1.1 What to look for in newspapers
• 2.1.2 Locating newspapers published in Ulster
• 2.1.3 Indexes and extracts
• 2.1.4 Online access to newspapers
• 2.2 Published books and periodicals
• 2.2.1 Lists of subscribers
• 2.2.2 Descriptive surveys and accounts
• 2.2.3 Periodicals and magazines
• 2.3 Ordnance Survey Memoirs
• 2.3.2 The publication of the Memoirs
• 2.3.3 The contents of the Memoirs
• 2.3.4 The genealogical value of the Memoirs
• 2.4 Ordnance Survey Letters
• 2.5 Directories
• 2.6 Parliamentary papers
• 2.7 Official publications

3. Church records

• 3.1 Religious affiliation in nineteenth-century Ulster
• 3.2 The major religious denominations
• 3.2.1 Church of Ireland
• 3.2.2 Methodist Church
• 3.2.3 Presbyterian Churches
• 3.2.4 Roman Catholic Church
• 3.3 Other religious denominations
• 3.4. Using church registers for genealogical research
• 3.4.1 Baptisms
• 3.4.2 Marriages
• 3.4.3 Burials

4. Civil registration of births, deaths and marriages

• 4.1 The development of the civil registration system
• 4.1.1 Civil registration of non-Catholic marriages
• 4.1.2 Civil registration of births and deaths
• 4.1.3 Civil registration of Catholic marriages
• 4.2 Birth certificates
• 4.3 Death certificates
• 4.4 Marriage certificates
• 4.4.1 Finding the unexpected in marriage records
• 4.5 Accessing civil records

5. Census records

• 5.1 1901 census
• 5.1.1 Household Return (Form A)
• 5.1.2 Other census forms
• 5.2 1911 census
• 5.3 Access to the 1901 and 1911 census returns
• 5.3.1 Using the NAI website
• 5.3.2 Missing returns
• 5.4 Nineteenth-century census returns
• 5.5 Old age pension forms

6. Graveyards and gravestone inscriptions

• 6.1 Graveyards in Ulster in 1800
• 6.2 Places of burial in the nineteenth century
• 6.3 Finding your ancestor’s place of burial
• 6.4 Records relating to graveyards
• 6.4.1 Records in PRONI relating to graveyards
• 6.5 Published inscriptions in print
• 6.6 Gravestone inscriptions and cemetery records online
• 6.7 The genealogical value of gravestone inscriptions

7. Valuation records

• 7.1 Tithe valuations
• 7.1.1 Tithe applotment books
• 7.1.2 Online access to the tithe applotment books
• 7.1.3 Gaps and absent tithe applotment books
• 7.1.4 Tithe arrears
• 7.2 The Valuation of Ireland
• 7.2.1 The work of the Valuation
• 7.2.2 The manuscript records of the Valuation
• 7.2.4 The Primary (Griffith’s) Valuation
• 7.2.4 Post Griffith’s Valuation manuscript books
• 7.2.5 Why check the Tenement Valuation field books if Griffith’s Valuation is available?

8. Records of land organisation and management

• 8.1 Landed estates in Ulster
• 8.1.1 Publications on landed estates
• 8.1.2 Identifying the relevant estate
• 8.1.3 Locating estate papers
• 8.1.3.1 Major archives for landed estate papers
• 8.1.3.2 Published and printed guides
• 8.1.3.3 Online databases and resources
• 8.1.4 The range of records in estate collections
• 8.1.4.1 Leases
• 8.1.4.2 Lease books
• 8.1.4.3 Rentals and accounts
• 8.1.4.4 Maps and surveys
• 8.1.4.5 Correspondence and tenants’ petitions
• 8.1.4.6 Manor court records
• 8.1.4.7 Other estate records
• 8.2 Landed Estates Court records
• 8.2.1 The establishment of the Court
• 8.2.2 The ‘rentals’
• 8.2.3 The availability of the ‘rentals’
• 8.3 Records of land reform
• 8.3.1 The Irish Church Act of 1869
• 8.3.2 The Land Acts and the Irish Land Commission
• 8.3.3 The records of the Irish Land Commission
• 8.3.3.1 Records in Northern Ireland
• 8.3.3.2 Records in the Republic of Ireland
• 8.3.4 Printed sources on land reform
• 8.4 The Registry of Deeds
• 8.4.1 The registration process
• 8.4.2 The indexes
• 8.4.3 The genealogical value of the Registry of Deeds
• 8.4.4 Accessing the Registry of Deeds
• 8.4.5 The Land Registry of Ireland

9. Education records

• 9.1 Primary education
• 9.1.1 Organisations supporting education
• 9.1.2 The National Education system and its records
• 9.1.3 Records of individual schools
• 9.2 Places to look for primary school records
• 9.2.1 Schools in Northern Ireland
• 9.2.2 Schools in the Republic of Ireland
• 9.2.3 Publications and online
• 9.2.4 Finding schools
• 9.2.5 Records of teachers
• 9.3 Secondary education
• 9.3.1 Secondary schools and their records
• 9.4 Other schools in Ulster
• 9.4.1 Agricultural schools
• 9.4.2 Industrial schools
• 9.4.3 Technical schools
• 9.5 University education

10. Records of medical provision and boards of guardians

• 10.1 Hospitals
• 10.1.1 Records of hospitals in Ulster
• 10.2 Dispensaries
• 10.3 Asylums
• 10.3.1 Records of asylums in Ulster
• 10.4 Medical practitioners
• 10.5 Medical organisations
• 10.6 Boards of guardians
• 10.6.1 Records of the boards of guardians in Ulster

11. Wills and testamentary papers

• 11.1 Testamentary papers pre-1858
• 11.1.1 Indexes to pre-1858 wills and grants of administration
• 11.1.2 The availability of pre-1858 testamentary records
• 11.2 Testamentary papers from 1858 onwards
• 11.2.1 Calendars of wills and administrations
• 11.2.2 Online access to post 1858 wills and administrations
• 11.3 Using testamentary papers for research

12. Records relating to government and civil administration

• 12.1 Records of the Chief Secretary’s Office
• 12.1.1 Official Papers
• 12.1.2 The agricultural census of 1803
• 12.2.3 Official Papers Miscellaneous Assorted
• 12.1.4 Chief Secretary’s Office Registered Papers
• 12.2 Other records of civil administration
• 12.2.1 The Office of Public Works and associated public bodies
• 12.2.2 The Post Office
• 12.2.3 Customs and Excise
• 12.3 County administration records
• 12.3.1 The grand jury
• 12.3.2 Grand jury records
• 12.3.3 County and rural district councils
• 12.4 Urban government records
• 12.4.1 Corporations
• 12.4.2 Town commissioners and urban district councils
• 12.4.3 Records of urban government

13. Records relating to law and order

• 13.1 The superior courts and their records
• 13.2 Assizes and quarter sessions
• 13.2.1 Records of the assizes and quarter sessions
• 13.3 Petty sessions courts
• 13.3.1 Petty sessions court records in PRONI
• 13.3.2 Petty sessions court records in the National Archives of Ireland
• 13.3.3. Other places to look for petty sessions court records
• 13.4 Bankruptcy courts and their records
• 13.5 Other sources of information on law and order
• 13.5.1 Rebellion Papers
• 13.5.2 State of the Country Papers
• 13.5.3 Chief Secretary’s Office Registered Papers and Outrage Reports
• 13.5.4 Proclamations
• 13.5.5 Police and Crime Records in the National Archives of Ireland
• 13.5.6 Larcom papers in the National Library of Ireland
• 13.6 Coroners and their records
• 13.7 Parliamentary papers and crime
• 13.8 Records of prisons and prisoners
• 13.8.1 Records in the National Archives of Ireland
• 13.8.2 Registers of individual prisons
• 13.8.3 Calendars of prisoners awaiting trial
• 13.8.4 Other records of prisoners
• 13.8.5 Records of prisoners in Britain
• 13.9 The police
• 13.9.1 The Constabulary
• 13.9.2 Constabulary service registers
• 13.9.3 Constabulary pension records
• 13.9.4 Records kept by Constabulary barracks and individual constables
• 13.9.5 The Police Gazette or Hue and Cry
• 13.9.6 Other police forces

14. Election and political records

• 14.1 The franchise and the electorate, 1800–85
• 14.1.1 Electoral records by county
• 14.1.2 Borough electorates
• 14.2 The electorate and electoral records 1885–1910
• 14.3 Records of political organisations
• 14.3 Political petitions and declarations
• 14.3.1 Act of Union petitions
• 14.3.2 Catholic Emancipation petitions
• 14.3.3 Anti-Repeal petitions
• 14.3.4 The Morpeth Roll
• 14.3.5 William Smith O’Brien petitions
• 14.4 The Ulster Covenant and Ulster Volunteer Force

15. Businesses, occupations and trades

• 15.1 General information on businesses, occupations and trades
• 15.2 Records of businesses, trades and occupations
• 15.3 The textile industry
• 15.3.1 Records of textile firms
• 15.3 Guilds and trade unions

16. Fraternal organisations, clubs and societies

• 16.1 Freemasons
• 16.1.1 Freemasons’ Hall archive
• 16.1.2 Records of individual lodges
• 16.1.3 Freemasons’ records in PRONI
• 16.2 Orange Order
• 16.2.1 The records of the Orange Order
• 16.2.2 Records of county, district and private lodges in PRONI
• 16.2.3 Printed pamphlets and reports
• 16.3 Other fraternal organisations
• 16.4 Private members’ clubs
• 16.5 Artistic, literary, musical and scholarly societies
• 16.6 Civic and mutual improvement societies
• 16.7 Sporting organisations
• 16.8 Farming associations

17. Famine relief, charities, orphan societies, temperance associations, loan funds and friendly societies

• 17.1 The Great Famine and Ulster
• 17.1.1 Publications on the Famine in Ulster
• 17.1.2 Records of the Famine in the National Archives of Ireland
• 17.1.3 Records of local relief efforts
• 17.1.4 Other sources of information on the Famine
• 17.1.5 Other subsistence relief efforts
• 17.2 Charities
• 17.2.1 Belfast-based charities
• 17.2.2 Other charitable organisations
• 17.3 Orphan societies
• 17.4 Temperance associations
• 17.5 Loan funds
• 17.6 Friendly societies

18. Records of the armed forces

• 18.1 Background reading
• 18.2 British Army records
• 18.3 Royal Navy records
• 18.4 Army and Navy records in Northern Ireland
• 18.5 The Militia
• 18.5.1 Publications on the Militia
• 18.5.2 Militia records in TNA
• 18.5.1 Militia records in PRONI
• 18.6 The Yeomanry
• 18.6.1 Records of the Yeomanry
• 18.6 Military service in other countries

19. Diaries, journals, memoirs and genealogical papers

• 19.1 The genealogical value of these records
• 19.2 Listing of diaries, journals and memoirs

20. Records of emigrants and emigration

• 20.1 Thinking about emigration
• 20.2 Background reading
• 20.3 Mellon Centre for Migration Studies and the Irish Emigration Database
• 20.4 Passenger records
• 20.4.1 Outgoing passenger lists from 1890 onwards
• 20.4.2 Incoming passenger lists from 1878 onwards
• 20.4.3 Pre-1890 outgoing passenger records
• 20.5 Emigrant correspondence
• 20.5.1 The genealogical value of emigrant letters
• 20.6 Other sources for emigrants
• 20.6.1 Church records
• 20.6.2 Estate papers
• 20.6.3 Registry of Deeds
• 20.6.4 Wills and testamentary papers
• 20.6.5 Emigration from workhouses in Ulster
• 20.6.6 Gravestone inscriptions
• 20.6.7 Newspapers
• 20.6.8 Ordnance Survey Memoirs
• 20.6.9 Other records
• 20.7 Transportation to Australia
• 20.7.1 Transportation records in the National Archives of Ireland