A Guide to Tracing Your Clare Ancestors
Published in 2013
Flyleaf Press
4 Spencer Villas
Glenageary
Co. Dublin
Ireland
www.flyleaf.ie
© 2013 Flyleaf Press
British Library cataloguing in Publications Data available
ISBN 978-1-907990-05-2
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
The information in this book is subject to change without notice.
Cover Illustration:
Eoin Ryan
www.eoinryanart.com
Layout:
Brian Smith
Abbreviations
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Getting Started
Chapter 3 Administrative Divisions
Chapter 4 Civil Registration Records
Chapter 5 Censuses and Census Substitutes
Chapter 6 Church Records
Chapter 7 Wills and Administrations
Chapter 8 Land Records
Chapter 9 Commercial and Social Directories
Chapter 10 Newspapers
Chapter 11 Gravestone Inscriptions
Chapter 12 Family Names and Histories
Chapter 13 Further Reading
Chapter 14 Library, Archive and Society Addresses
Index
| An. Hib. | Analecta Hibernica |
| Arch. | Archaeological |
| b. | birth/born |
| bapt. | Baptism |
| Burl. | Burial |
| BL | British Library |
| BNL | British Newspaper Library Bo. Barony |
| c. | circa |
| Conf. | Confirmation |
| CCL | Clare County Library Co. County |
| CoI | Church of Ireland |
| d. | death/died |
| ed. | editor/edited (by) |
| Gen. | Genealogical |
| GO | Genealogical Office |
| GRO | General Register Office |
| h/c | Hard copy |
| Hist. | Historical |
| IGI | International Genealogical Index |
| IMA Par. Reg. Sect. | Irish Memorials Assoc. Parish Register Section |
| IMC | Irish Manuscripts Commission |
| Ir. | Irish |
| Ir. Anc. | Irish Ancestor |
| Ir. Gen. | Irish Genealogist |
| J. or Jnl. | Journal |
| JAPMD | Journal of Association for the Preservation of Memorials of the Dead |
| LC | Local Custody |
| Lib. | Library |
| m. or marr. | marriage/married |
| m/f. | microfilm |
| Ms/Mss | Manuscript/s |
| NAI | National Archives of Ireland (formerly PRO) |
| n/a | not available/none available |
| n.d. | not dated |
| NMAJ | North Munster Antiquarian Journal |
| NMAS | North Munster Archaeological Society |
| NLI | National Library of Ireland |
| N or Nth. | North |
| OP | Official Papers |
| p./pp. | page/pages |
| Pos. | Positive (microfilm) |
| PRO | Public Record Office (now National Archives of Ireland) |
| PRONI | Public Record Office of Northern Ireland |
| RC | Roman Catholic |
| RCB(L) | Representative Church Body (Library) |
| RIA | Royal Irish Academy |
| RSAI | Royal Society of Antiquarians in Ireland (J. of) |
| SCE | St. Columba’s Church of Ireland, Ennis |
| SLC | Family History Library, Salt Lake City (and branches) |
| Soc. | Society |
| SOG | Society of Genealogists (London) |
The counties and provinces and of Ireland
County Clare is situated in the north-west of the province of Munster. It is bounded along its coastline by Galway Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and to the east by the river Shannon. The main towns of Clare are Ennis, Kilkee, Killaloe, Kilrush, Scariff, Sixmilebridge, Shannon and Tulla.
In the old Gaelic system, the county was part of the Kingdom of Thomond. The main Gaelic families are the O’Briens, O’Loughlins, McNamaras and McMahons, generally referred to as the Dalcassian families.
Clare was invaded on several occasions from the ninth century by Danish Vikings who established settlements on Inniscattery Island and elsewhere. They were finally being defeated by Brian Boru, who also defeated the Danes at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
Following the Norman invasion of 1169, the area was nominally granted to Norman knights. However the Clare chieftains kept them from holding any substantial power in the county. The major Norman settlements were at Clare town and Bunratty. Some were eventually expelled from the county by the Gaelic families while others adopted the Irish way of life.
The county boundary was established in 1565 by the English authorities, who first united it with the province of Connaught. However in 1602 it became part of Munster.
Following the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Clare was one of the counties which was set aside to accommodate the ‘delinquent proprietors’ i.e., those proprietors whose land was confiscated because they did not actively oppose the rebellion. Under the 1652 Act of Settlement parts of the holdings of the existing Clare landholders were confiscated to accommodate these ‘delinquent proprietors’ and supporters of Cromwell were also ‘planted’ in the county.
Although unaffected by the 1798 rebellion it was troubled by agrarian disturbances during the 1800s. The county was badly affected by the Great Famine of 1845-50 and by 1851 the population had decreased considerably. Over 50,000 people died and thousands emigrated to many destinations throughout the world. The continuing decline in population continued on into the early years of the twentieth century, by 1901 the population was 112,334 and by 1911 it was down to 104,232.
* from the 1st May 1851
Tracing a family history normally requires the researcher to consult many different historical sources. Hopefully, some or all will provide details of the family being researched. Sufficient details, when pieced together, can form a comprehensive picture of a family’s existence. The final picture depends on number and quality of the sources.
It is important that the full range of sources available are used effectively. These sources vary widely in their genealogical content and are described as Primary Sources (e.g. Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths; church records; census records; Wills and administrations) and Secondary Sources (i.e. records that assist the researcher to locate an ancestors existence in an area at a particular time, e.g. Tithe Applotments, Griffiths Valuations). Some of the above sources will also provide the researcher with interesting background details.
Other sources can also be of great assistance in providing information about the lifestyle of an ancestor. They can, in some cases, be used to define a timeframe in which a primary source can be consulted. They include newspapers, journals, published family histories and documents.
There is no magic formula for successful research. However, initial research should be based on the following principles:
A basic pedigree chart layout for constructing a family tree
• Record as much detail as possible from living relatives. Even dubious information from this source should not be ignored until the true facts are established. The elimination of false information is as much a part of the research of a genealogy as is the confirmation of valid information.
• Construct a pedigree chart so as not to confuse different generations, especially when a personal / forename is very common within a family, as is often the case. - See page 12
• Work from the known to the unknown, i.e. always try to establish a connection between a known family member and a previous generation, or another potential family member. Irish family surnames are often common to specific localities, do not assume a connection, research it.
Having gathered as much detail as possible from your family members and papers/documents, you should plan to verify and expand this information using the available records and sources. This book is designed to help you do this. The nature, timeframes and locations of the available sources are described in the following chapters. Descriptions of the available sources are arranged by chapter according to the source type, i.e. civil registration, church records, census returns, newspapers, directories etc.
For the optimal use of these records, it is important to understand the system of administrative divisions used in Ireland. These divisions or areas are described in Chapter 3. They are vital in determining an ancestor’s address or location. Many, if not most, sources are arranged according to such divisions, and an understanding of the different elements of an ‘ancestor’s address’ is therefore important.
The abbreviations used throughout the book are explained on page 6 and contact details for the organisations, libraries and archives cited can be found in Chapter 14. Most publications cited are to be found in most major libraries and archives.
The collection of primary, secondary and other sources for County Clare will help provide the researcher with a fascinating insight as to how and where an ancestor lived.
An essential guide to the Administrative Divisions of Ireland