Paula,

There is not a lot on the forum about genealogy. I do have links to appropriate websites on my "Links" page. Perhaps some of the forum members will share their stories about ancestry research.

Michele

Probably MUCH more than you were looking for, but here goes --

My wife's paternal Grandparents were BOTH born and raised in Ireland.  They came to the US, separately, around 1900, not even meeting until 1910 or so.  He was from North Cork, in the area around Millstreet.  We have found no living links to that side of the family.  The Grandmother came from West Cork, and a NUMBER of my Father-in-law's First Cousins still remain in County Cork.  We visit them, every year.

Our research, therefor, has been QUITE easy, compared to others.  In April of 2006, we finally decided to 'Track Down' an official, Long Form Birth Certificate for Grandmother Margret.  What follows are excerpts from my Trip Report for that April Trip.

You can view the un-abridged version at

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34787168

"This was NOT to be only our first co-incidence that morning, however, because after we asked to purchase the print, we also inquired about securing records of my wife's ancestors. Skibbereen has a full copy of the 1901 Census, plus one later, as well. We were told that those copies only exist, by accidental, good fortune. Prior Census data was ordered destroyed by the British Government, after they felt that it had become out dated. Most subsequent records were transferred to Cork City, where most were partially or completely destroyed in the fighting there, during the Civil War in the 1920's. By some fluke, Skibbereen's local government had kept copies of 1901 and one other. For any with relatives from the area and THAT time period, it is a significant "bubble" of information. Birth records are a separate matter. Those are the domain (in Skibbereen, at least) of the Records Office at the local hospital. While we were there, at least, we were informed that they can only be attained between 10 and 12:30. As it was almost 12, we realized that our quest for the elusive birth certificate would require a return trip to Skib.

Now, I am an amatuer student of human behavior. I have discovered, in Ireland at least, that there are usually only three or four reactions to the announcement, "We're here in search of our roots. Can you help us?" An alarmingly frequent reaction is The Look -- The, 'God, how am I going to let these people down easy, without crushing their dreams?"

You see, it is very DIFFICULT to trace ancestry ANYWHERE in the world, without a good deal of prior information. Have you ever told someone you were going to Ireland and heard them say, "Wow, I/we want to do that! We're Irish, too. My Great-great Grandfather/mother came from somewhere over there. We don't know where, exactly, but they were (O'Brien / O'Reilly / Burkes / Flynns, or whatever )- so it shouldn't be too hard to check out where we came from, right?"

My wife's Grandmother was a Driscoll (They didn't take back the " O' " until after Independance). I once read that you couldn't throw a rock, anywhere in Baltimore, Skibbereen, or the general area, without it striking an O'Driscoll -- there are that many!  (The same book said that it would be a BIG mistake, too, by the way -- something about 'provoking a MIGHTY wrath'...) Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is, YOU NEED SOME DETAILS, and a LOT of people don't have them. It makes it hard, being the bearer of bad tidings, and dread of that is what causes THE LOOK.

So, we told Margret that we were looking for information about my wife's Grandmother, and I notice The Look. It doesn't get much better when we say that her maiden name was Margret O'Driscoll, we THINK she was born in 1883 (it's what's on her grave marker), but it softens, a bit, when my wife says that her Great-Granfather was named William, and that she was from Drimoleague (SEE--details!). Then, I spoke up, and it REALLY got weird.
"Sehanes," says I. "They lived in the Townland of Sehanes."
Margret gets a REALLY strange look -- whatever the Irish equivilent of, "Shut UP! Get the Hell out! You're s****** me, right?" Then, she looks at us and smiles.
"My cousin is married to Teddy. I was just up there, this last weekend!"
Now, Teddy is the current resident of the family house, in Sehanes. His late father was my father-in-law's first cousin (like Sean, Sean2 and Liam)!
Small world, ain't it?

We had a nice chat about the family after that. Margret told us all about the family, including some DISTANT cousins that we didn't even know about and then we said our goodbyes and headed off with our gift, a detailed copy of the family's listing in the 1901 Census and good directions, to avoid another 'magical exploration' of the hinterlands. This time, I didn't get lost."

     NEXT DAY:

"The Skibbereen hospital sits in a series of low, modern buildings surrounded by freshly blacktopped and striped parking lots that follow the gentle contours of the rising hillside. Our rental was one of the poorest of vehicles parked there, which is a testament to the continuing pervasiveness of the Celtic Tiger prosperity. I gathered up our accummulated information and we set out, in search of Grandmother's birth certificate.
Years before, I had made a sketch of the family plot, placing the location of each headstone and recording their inscriptions. For Margaret, that included a listed birth year of 1883. Courtesy of the Heritage Center, we now also had acopy of the 1901 Census, which showed that she had already left Ireland. Once inside, we were directed to a waiting room. After about five minutes, we were ushered into a large, modern office and the search was on. Nothing turned up for 1883, there were THREE Margaret Driscolls born in 1884 (all in Drimoleague, but none from Seehanes) and none showed up in 1885. My wife began to dispair of finding any actual records, but I knew that Margaret's YOUNGER brother had been born in 1885 (from the Census), so I suggested searching in the OTHER direction. As the record clerk tapped away on the computer keys - the large flat screen hidden from us, there was still no joy, as 1882 drew no results and 1881proved no better.
"Well," my wife sighed. "It was worth a try.." The record's clerk stopped typing. Disappointment hung in the air. We had come so far... We had come so close...
"Your Grandmother was born on the Twentieth of January, 1880. Did you want me to print you a certificate?"
"We'll want three."
"They are 8 Euro each," she pointed out somewhat apologetically. " Do you still want three? With the 4 Euro research fee, that would total 28 Euro."
"Oh, yeah."


Here was tangible, DOCUMENTED proof, that Grandmother Margaret had been a real, live, human being. Margaret had died in 1947, before my wife was born. Prior to this moment, she had been a semi-mythic character, talked about in stories. But now, we had seen the house where she was born, walked the roads that she had walked and now, we held the legal proof of her existence. As we walked through the parking lot, my wife had tears welling up in her eyes as she gazed, lovingly, at the multi-colored, Irish long form birth certificate.

But Ireland is a place of paradoxes. It is the home of reverent, IRREVERENCE. Here is where men and women learned to deflect sorrow with wit and laughter ...

Standing on the fresh tarmac, surrounded by the new cars and modern medical buildings, we were torn from our sentimental reverie as three sheep ambled by -- a ram, and two ewes.

They didn't seem terribly impressed."     

BOB

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur at 22:28, 2008-02-24

Paula,

I have been researching my family Genealogy for 6 years now. I use Familysearch.org quite a bit. I too have met resistance here at home with both my father and uncle insisting that I had no reason to know.

I was able to determine that both sides of the family line were Ulster Scots, with my Gran's people, Rice & Thomson coming from the Keady area in Co. Armagh and my Grandfather's people coming from Co. Antrim. I had just decided that further research was futile when I received an email from a woman who claimed that we were related just a few weeks ago. Skeptical, I sent her basic information and in doing so opened up a floodgate. She is indeed a relation, being my Gran's neice. We have been trading emails back and forth, comparing family stories. Each question answered on both ends, seems to create twenty more.

If your ancestors are indeed from Northern Ireland, a few days in Belfast to do some research at the Ulster Historical Foundation might be very beneficial. It had helped me suss out a few things.

The cautionary is a good one, as there seem to be many a dark secret held in the family coffers. I am not after the "dirt" so much as, like you, wanting to stand where they have stood. I know now that the family farm I thought had reverted back to the national trust, due to lack of heirs, is still being worked by the grandson of the "old maid" aunt. I have been invited for a visit whilst there in June. The question for me is why I was made to believe she had never married when she in fact had married and had children. Another puzzlement, why do I have pictures of Gran's siblings that are not known to the other siblings. Why did my Gran never say that she had lived in Ireland as a child, when it is now clear that at least some of her late childhood years must have been spent there. You see how quickly the waters get muddied, LOL.

If you are a Yahoo member, there is an Irish Genealogy group, to which I belong, which has a very strong cadre of helpful souls. Jane Lyons is the mediator and she also has a genealogy website.

Slan Beo (Take Care),

Bit

-- Edited by CowboyCraic at 15:41, 2008-02-25