Hello

Hi, 

Thanks for your message.

Possibly the best course of action to take would be to try and trace the family history up to the most recent timeframe possilbe. This should help, as at least you will know the surname of any descendants still in the Quin area, making it easier to reach out.

The only problem with this however, is that the reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/baptisms/marriages/deaths in Ireland prior to 1800 ? particularly in rural areas ? is that they simply may not exist. Also it is important to note that the Church of Ireland was the official church of the country and therefore the bulk of information that does survive for earlier periods is often from these registers. 

For Church of Ireland registers check the following:

http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42

http://www.nationalarchives.ie/

http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history/family_history_key_sources.htm

Most Catholic records are held locally. One website ehich may help is the irishtimes website. Here they give an overview of what records are available in speific Roman Catholic parishes. For Quin parish follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Clare&parish=Quin&churchid=774

As you can see from this page Catholic records in Quin did not start until circa 1815.

Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland records are also currently being uploaded free of charge to www.irishgenealogy.ie/index.html  However, this is an ongoing project so not all records are available yet.

Other genealogical resources in Ireland used to trace family histories are the land records pertaining to the 19th century. There are two:

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

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

For 20th century records, the 1901 and 1911 census records are available to search online. Here:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

Some other websites which may help in your search 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

You may also want to have a look at the Clare County Library website as it will give you information on the local area. Here is the weblink:

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/

Finally. you could try contacting the Clare Heritage Centre-however a fee may apply for their services. Here are their contact details:

Clare Heritage Centre,

Corofin,

CO. CLare.

Phone: (065) 6837955

I hope that this helps you in your research. Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to the people you are researching. 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