Looking for information about my ancestors

Hi,

Thank you very much for your message.

Most Irish record sources are based on specific locations, usually a parish. So in order to find information on birth/marriages/deaths you really need to know in which parish the event took place. Hopefully, if Hugh and Margaret were based in Kilmood from at least their marriage onwards you may be able to find their marriage certificate and baptismal records of their children. Hopefully you may even find their birth records there.

Do you know the family?s religious denomination?

Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. Kilmood civil parish is in Newtownards Catholic, to see what is available there follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Down&parish=Newtownards&churchid=422

Most surviving Church of Ireland records are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42

Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.

Presbyterian registers are held in three main locations:

• in local custody
• in the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
• at the Presbyterian Historical Society http://www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com in Belfast.

PRONI has microfilm copies of almost all registers in Northern Ireland and also lists of records held by the Presbyterian Historical Society.

Civil registration began in Ireland in 1864 so any births, deaths or marriages in the family after this date would be recorded in these records. Civil records are available from the General Register?s Office. Here is their website:

http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm

You can search the indexes to these records up to 1958 online at:

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347

Have you already looked at Griffith?s Valuation? this is a property valuation survey that was carried out in Ireland 1848-64. I found a record for Hugh Cairns in Kilmood parish 1863, it is very likely that this is your Hugh:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&Submit.x=45&Submit.y=18&Submit=Submit&familyname=cairns&firstname=Hugh&baronyname=&countyname=DOWN&unionname=&parishname=KILMOOD

I did a search for Cairns in the parish in the 1901 census records and came across the following:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Kilwood/Drumhirk/1257794/

There was a David Cairns with a son Hugh recorded. Looking at the link it says Kilwood, however if you click on ?Enumerators Abstract Form N you can see the original which says Kilmood.

The family were still there in 1911:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Down/Kilmood/Drumhirk/266927/

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

Family Search: www.familysearch.org

Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/down/index.html

I hope some of this is helpful. Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.

Kind regards,    

Genealogy Support

Thank you - you have listed some sites I didn't know about so will head off to search them, particularly Presbyterian register in Belfast.

1901 census is correct...

Will get back to you with my findings. cheers!