Genealogy Chat

See below in a sec

I have an ancestor Elias McDonald born circa 1794 in Ireland. I have no idea when he came to England only that it was before 1828 - as his eldest child in the 1841 census was born around then in Cheshire. He is on the 1841 and 51 censuses and in both it just states Ireland, nothing else. He died in 1860. His wife was from Lancashire and his children were born around Newton Moor, Cheshire, (one in Carlisle) and then a couple in Simondly, Derbyshire on the Cheshire border. I've not been able to find his marriage so far but I know his wife was Elizabeth Leech from their youngest childs birth cert. Are there any passenger lists for Ireland pre potato famine? Or am I doomed never to know anything more about him?

His occupation doesnt help does it? I mean I managed to find my hubbys GGF's Irish birth place through his naval records. If your chap had a particular skill or occupation that required training it may be on an apprenticeship list somewhere?

No records were kept of arrivals from Ireland. See here for more info: http://www.movinghere.org.uk/galleries/histories/irish/journeys/journeys.htm Sam x

Sadly he was a lowly labourer... It would be better if he had a more distinct surname that could tie him to a specific area but no lol! Its just such a pig! I was hoping that if I found his marriage it might say something about where he was from or something, but so far I've not had any luck tracing it.

My husbands gg/grandparents were both Irish 1841 and 1851 census both just say Ireland no County so will never get any further back on that line I think they must have gone back to Ireland but of course their daughter Bridget had already married so stayed. Thomas Butler was his gg/grandfathers name Alexandra what is a district surname and how can I find out Margaret

When I say distinct surnames - basically there are certain surnames that are particular to a specific area in Ireland. It helps some researches to narrow down what part of Ireland people were from if their surname was one that was say more common in Limerick than in Lietrim etc.

Hi Alexandra, I've got one like that! My g'g'father is shown on the '81 census as- b. Ireland, a coal dealer, and '91- again Ireland, gen. labourer. So not much to go on! But your comment about different surnames being more common to certian areas was interesting. How do I find out more? Is there a list or a website? (I'm no good at googling, so don't all shout at me for not trying that!) Bx

I'm not sure of any specific sites - as I had seen this information in various genealogy books and magazine articles. You could always type in your Irish name into Google and put in genealogy research into the search query too - and you never know - there might be some details on a website. If yours came over after the 1840s it might be easier for you to find info on him - have you tried Irish Origins? www(.)irishorigins(.)com - just remove the brackets.

Thanks Alexandra, I'll try that. (Though 'Banks' doesn't sound very Irish to me - still, that's what the census info says!) Bx