I will take you on my adventure to find my Irish ancestors:
I was lucky enough to have my Irish immigrants buried in a nice Catholic
Cemetery in Cincinnati where they kept wonderful records. Everyone had
to have the approval of the priest for burial and he kept the list. He
recorded who their parents were and where in Ireland they were born. Our
local Family History center had these records on microfilm.
My great grandfather was Daniel Carroll whose parents were Thomas
Carroll and Ann Meara from Tipperary County.
I next turned to the Index to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland. I looked
for a Parish in Tipperary where I could find both a Carroll and a Meara.
It really wasn't quite that easy because there were more than one of
each family recorded. I contacted the Tipperary North Family History
Foundation and they sent me my great great grandparent's marriage
information and the baptismals of their children:
Thomas Carroll married Ann Meara 28 Feb. 1832 in a Townland called
Kilregane in Lorrha Parish, Diocese of Killaloe. No witnesses were
listed but they made it clear that they were married in the Roman
Catholic Church.
They had the following children:
Bpt. Date Name Sponsors
16 Dec 1833 Margaret William and Mary Meara
10 Mar 1836 Mary Peter and Ellen Meara
19 Apr 1838 Patrick John and Honora Carroll
30 Jan 1840 Daniel Not Named
10 May 1846 Anne Bridget Carroll and Edward
Hogan
10 Jun 1848 Thomas James and Catherine Carroll
29 Sep 1850 Michael Patrick and Bridget Carroll
My next step was a stroke of luck. I reached out to a very distant
relative who happened to have letters and documents concerning the
family. She was not interested in genealogy and gave me everything
including pictures of Thomas and Ann and two of their sons as well as a
wonderful picture of my great grandfather, Daniel. From those papers I
learned the parents had two more children in New York.I was also able to
indentify the Cemetery where the children and most likely the parents
were buried. It was St Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. Unfortunately
they did not keep good records for the earlier burials but I was able to
visit the graves of John and William who were born in New York.
I now knew the cast of characters and turned to the New York census
records. I also knew from the 1900 census that they had immigrated in
1855. The ages on the census records were pretty messy for the Irish
born children but the birthdates of John and William were quite
consistent and helped identify the family when otherwise there might
have been some doubt. I have since learned that the Irish really weren't
too big on accurate birthdates.
In the 1860 census there were the following in the family: Thomas (43)
laborer; Ann (40), Margaret (21); Patrick (20); Daniel (18); Ann (12);
Thomas (10); John (3); William (5/12) All born in Ireland except for
John and William who were born in NY.
By 1870 Patrick and Daniel were no longer with the family. Daniel had
moved to Cincinnati. A letter from NY to Cincinnati indicates that
Thomas "went west" and was never heard from again. I have no way of
knowing if Michael was with the family when they immigated or if he left
them before the 1860 census.
By 1880 Thomas had died and I was able to obtain his death certificate
but there was no parental information on the report. In an attempt to go
back even further I obtained the 1824 Applotment Records for Lorrha
Parish. I found that a Patrick Carroll was living in Annagh, Lorhha
Parish (as was Thomas on the Griffith's Evaluation) renting land from a
William Clark. A Dan Meara claimed land in both Lorrha and Annagh
renting his Annagh property from William Clark. That is circumstantial
evidence but it is good, strong evidence. Then there is the naming
pattern that is so touted by American researchers. It appeared to work
in this family.
Finally I went to Ireland and read the Lorrah parish records at the
National Library. They were hard to read and my eyes gave out before I
had accomplished my mission. I would like to go back and take another
crack at it.
While I was in Ireland I was able to visit the grave of Daniel Meara and
his wife who turned out to be Margaret Kennedy.
I have left out many arduous steps but this short essay will show you
that perseverance pays off. There are also some very good books for
researching in Ireland that were invaluable. If you don't see anybody
here that you know, good luck to you. if you do, let me hear from you.