The Hayhow Family Bible

Recently a dilapidated family bible for the Hayhow family of Ontario Canada came into Olive Tree Genealogy’s hands. Inside were two pages of family births and deaths, tintype photos from the second half of the 19th century, and a few assorted documents.

 Over the next few weeks I will feature a half of the items individually, along with some research into the family.  I’ve done a bit already, enough to know that this Bible belonged to Charles and Ann (Higgins) Hayhow who married in 1863 in Ontario. 

Church of Ireland Parish Registers are a genealogy goldmine

Over $110,000 was awarded to the Representative Church Body Library to support the digitization of the Church of Ireland parish registers in Ireland.

 The register records date back as far as 1619 and include the Church of Ireland parish registers for baptism, marriage, and burial; 1,110 sets of parish records in total and approximately 840 of which contain varying quantities of public records which have not yet been digitized.

Continue reading at https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/genealogy/church-ireland-parish-registers-online

M is for Murderer

 Warder and Dublin Weekly Mail
Saturday 09 July 1842

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is M for Murderer. I don't have any murderers or ancestors who were murdered, in my family tree. But my husband does.

In September 1813, my husband's 5th great grandparents William and Mary Massey were murdered in their beds in Temple Carrick, Wicklow Ireland.

The burial registers have this note with their entry of burial on September 9th:

"Murdered in their bed, 8 children thus left orphans." 

Their murderer was never found, but rumours persisted that their son Edward (my husband's 4th great-grandfather) had killed them.

In 1842 Edward sued a man who continued to spread the gossip and accuse Edward of being a murderer. The courts found in Edward's favour. The mystery was never solved and to this day no one knows who murdered William and Mary.

Online Search Engines are a Genealogist's Friend

Diane wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with this question

These 2 ancestors [William and Martha Medcalf] emigrated from Ireland to Ontario Canada in 1819 with 10 children we think. They are from Delgany, Country Wicklow but have not been able to access any information about them before coming to Canada. Much appreciated for any suggestions.

Diane - this is where Google is your friend (or any other search engine you prefer). A quick search using search terms "delgany ireland church records" brought several results indicating that these records are online.

I downloaded the PDF files for the transcribed records of THE PARISH REGISTERS OF CHRIST CHURCH, DELGANY VOLUME 2 BAPTISMS 1777-1819, MARRIAGES 1777-1819 & BURIALS 1777-1819, I found the following baptisms for children of William and Martha:

23 Nov 1809 Eliz’th MEDCALF Will’m/Martha, Downs
27 Jun 1805 John MEDCALF Wm/Martha, Downs
9 Feb 1812 Henry MEDCALF Wm/Martha, Downs
16 Oct 1813 Will’m MEDCALF Wm/Martha, Downs

"Downs" is their residence. I am sure you can find much more by downloading and searching more records.

You should also search the Upper Canada Land Petitions to see if the family applied for land once in Canada. Their petitions may reveal more about their lives in Ireland. You may wish to read my tutorials on searching those petitions and finding the actual images onlline once you have completed your search in the index.

Using Land Petitions to Learn about an Ancestor

Finding an Ancestor in the Challenging Upper Canada Land Books

Searching Ontario Canada Land Records, eh? 

 In fact I did a quick search and here are the results for MEDCALF. Using my tutorials to guide you, you can now find the actual petitions online using the index information for any names below that are of interest.

 

It appears that one of William and Martha's sons (Francis Henry Medcalf) became a mayor in Toronto Ontario. There may be quite a bit of biographical information about him in Toronto archives or libraries.

Beyond 22: Virtual Record Treasury for Irish history

Thanks to Gail Dever of Genealogy a la Carte for reporting on "Beyond 22: Ireland's Virtual Record Treasury"

The Beyond 22 website explains:

June 30th, 2022, marks the centenary of the terrible explosion and fire at the Four Courts, Dublin, which destroyed the Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI) and, with it, seven centuries of Ireland’s collective memories. While incomparable with the loss of human life, the destruction of the Record Treasury at the PROI was one of the great tragedies of the Civil War.  

Beyond 2022 is an all-island and international collaboration. Working together, we will launch a Virtual Record Treasury for Irish history—an open-access, virtual reconstruction of the Record Treasury destroyed in 1922.

What an exciting new project for those of us with Irish ancestors! According to the organizers, more than seventy repositories world-wide hold substitute materials that can replace the documents destroyed in the Four Courts fire.

The Project has four phases: Discover, Digitize, Reconstruct, Reveal

With the identification of those records, Beyond 22 will digitize and restore what is found, then bring them online for researchers, historians, and genealogists to access.

I am looking forward to searching these records for my McGinnis, Downey, Jamieson, and Greenlees families. What names will you be looking for?

Don't Let Family Lore Confuse You!

Shannah wrote to ask Olive Tree Genealogy about her Great grandfather William James Twiss

I have been trying to find out where my Grfa., TWISS, William James, had "landed" for over ten years, to no avail, from Cty. Cork, Ireland to New York, USA..  He was a mere 17 year old, at the time.  

The story I was told was that it was my Grfa. who had left Cork, Ireland, from Sept. to December of 1887 (I believe these are the months) on the Barque Julia, from Edinburough to Cork and to New York.  This particular Barque was a ship of supplies and the Captain was a friend of my Gr-Grpars., TWISS, Francis Edward Day, Sr..  It was my Grfa. who had suggested that he, himself, come out to Canada, first and they allowed it but he must go with someone they knew.  It was only a few days' trip and have researched into several ports along the eastern coast to no avail.  When he had landed, he had stayed with friends of his pars., (never knew who they were) Francis Edward Day and Ellen THOMPSON, in New York for a while then travelled up into BINBROOK, Wentworth Cty., Ontario, Canada to stay with our cousins/family there while his own pars. arrived through Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the following springtime.

 Shannah - 

Here is what I found which does not seem to agree with your family lore. That is not unusual as family lore can be family myth and is often incorrect or confused. Don't let it lead you down the wrong path when researching!

Source: Ancestry.com

Ed Twiss, age 40, farmer, his wife Ellen age 40 and three daughters Sarah
(20) Mildred (17) and Marcella (17) arrived 4 September 1888 at Halifax  on
board the steamer Peruvian. Their destination was noted as "Victoria BC"
Your ancestor is not with them on this journey.

The 1901 Census for British Columbia shows the family as Edward D. Twiss born 1839 Ontario, his wife Ellen born 1842 Ireland and two children - your ancestor William born 1872 Ireland and his sister Marcia born 1877 Ireland. Their year of immigration of Ellen and her children is given as 1889. 

We find Edward Day Twiss dying in July 1925 in British Columbia and his son William James dying in February 1953 in Vancouver British Columbia. His death registration found on FamilySearch indicates his date of birth as 11 November 1869, his father as Edward Day Twiss, his mother as Ellen Thomson and his wife as Sadie Jewell Brenton.

There are several death records on FamilySearch for your siblings of your William James Twiss: Mildred Jemima Twiss born 22 Sep 1868; Sarah Helena Nash Keen born 1866 in Kerry Ireland; Marcella Ellen Moodie born 22 Mar 1875 in Co. Kerry. Also William James Twiss marriage record 05 Jul 1906 shows he was born in Kerry, Ireland too. All these records come with images - how lucky is that!

I did find a few other items that might interest you - namely the marriage of William's father Edward to Ellen Thompson in Killarney Ireland. Her father is recorded as James Thompson. This might give you clues for more research in Killarney for the family.

 I found the birth of another son named Edward born 05 Sept 1872 in Ireland to Edward D. Twiss and his wife Ellen Thompson. Sarah Helena Twiss' birth was also found in the Irish birth records and her place of birth is recorded as Castle Island, Kerry Ireland. 

I am beginning to envy you all the records for your ancestors! And best of all here is your ancestor William James Twiss. A second birth record for William shows his place of birth as Annascall, Kerry Ireland. Now you have an exact date of birth and a location. Armed with this new information you have a lot of clues to help you in your search.

Summary of my findings:
Edward Day Twiss married Ellen Thomson/Thompson daughter of James in 1865 in Killarney, Kerry Ireland.  They immigrated to Canada 1888

Children:
* Sarah Helena Twiss  born 1866 in Castle Island, Kerry Ireland md 1 Nash m2 1893 B.C. John Keen, immigrated to Canada 1888
* Mildred Jemima Twiss born 1868 Castle Island, Kerry Ireland immigrated to Canada 1888
* William James Twiss born 1869 Annascall, Kerry Ireland md. 1906 B.C. Sadie Bointon
* Edward Twiss born 1872 Ireland
* Marcella Ellen Twiss  born 22 Mar 1875 in Kerry Ireland md. Walter Moodie
immigrated to Canada 1888

Seeking The Primrose Girls from Galway Ireland to Canada 1853

The website Irish Central has an intriguing plea for help.

"Can you help? Seeking descendants of the 156 Irish “Primrose girls” who emigrated to Canada, in 1853.

A group of Irish amateur genealogists from a small Galway town are seeking to connect with descendants of 156 emigrants known as the “Primrose” girls after the name of the ship they sailed on to Canada in 1853. "

A letter sent from the Galway organization reads in part

We, “The Primrose Girls’ Project” are currently undertaking research on a group of workhouse orphan girls who traveled from Mountbellew Workhouse in County Galway, Ireland via the port of Limerick bound for Quebec Canada on the Primrose ship on July 16th, 1853. Our aim as a group is to discover what happened to these orphan girls on arrival in Canada. Record their stories and reconnect with their descendants’. These girls, so long forgotten in their native place, deserved to be remembered. The group are hoping to have a commemoration for the girls in 2021 in Galway.

Here is a list of the girls. If any of my readers know anything about any of the Primrose Girls, please leave a comment on this post. Please also read xxx about another earlier project (Irish Orphans to Australia in 1853) regarding the Mountbellew Workhouse. Also see Bytown or Bust for more information on these girls and the workhouse

A list of the Primrose girls:

Biddy Molloy, aged 18
Mary Carr, aged 19
Biddy Barrett, aged 16
Catherine Connolly, aged 20
Peggy Lohan, aged 18
Mary Rafferty, aged 17
Biddy King, aged 18
Catherine Higgins, aged 19
Ellen Egan, aged 15
Honor Gibbons, aged 23
Kitty Loughnane, aged 15
Mary Shannon, aged 15
Bessy Fallon, aged 16
Biddy Kelly, aged 18
Kitty Rabbitt, aged 18
Ellen Madden, aged 18
Ellen Brennan, aged 18
Honor Corbett, aged 15
Mary Brennan, aged 22
Mary Coffey, aged 17
Mary Down, aged 20
Winny Dowd, aged 17
Anne McGrath, aged 15
Biddy Healy, aged 16
Honor Brady, aged 16
Margaret Coffey, aged 19
Mary Concannon, aged 15
Biddy Toohey, aged 18
Celia McCabe, aged 19
Jane Murray, aged 15
Judy Healy, aged 20
Mary Killarney, aged 21
Biddy Cox, aged 20
Catherine Kilgannon, aged 15
Honor Quinn, aged 18
Mary Daly, aged 18
Biddy Breheny, aged 20
Catherine Fallon, aged 17
Kitty Heneghan, aged 26
Mary Dooly, aged 20
Mary Coffey, aged 18
Mary Kilfoyle, aged 18
Mary Warde, aged 16
Mary Mitchell, aged 16
Catherine Keogh, aged 20
Jane Kelly, aged 40
Fanny Gereghty, aged 15
Biddy Ruane, aged 40

Update to Free Irish Births, Marriages, Deaths

Sample Page of Deaths

An additional 2 years of records of births, marriages and deaths have been added to the www.irishgenealogy.ie website.  The marriage Index data along with additional images has also been updated for the years 1864-1869 inclusive.

The years covered by the release of the historic records of Births, Marriages and Deaths after this update are

Births: 1864 to 1918
Marriages: 1864 to 1943
Deaths: 1878 to 1968

Records include transcripts of the baptism and marriage records of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kerry to c. 1900, All Roman Catholic baptism, marriage and burial registers for Dublin City, All surviving Church of Ireland baptism, marriage and burial registers for Dublin City, and more

Visitors can search the database freely. Images are also available. If you have Irish ancestors you will want to check this site out.

A 1908 Mystery in Limerick Ireland

Hanora Meaney (aged 14) Sarah King (13) Elizabeth Gleeson (14) Lily O’Dea (13) Frances Storey (13) Mary Kelly (13) Mary Quirke (13) Bridget Donoghue (17) Mary Ryan (14) and Jessie Smart (8) all died within a few days of each other at Mount St. Vincent's orphanage in Limerick Ireland in 1908.

The cause of death was given as food poisoning but it is unusual for so many to die of that, even back in 1908.

What really happened?

Dr. Pope, a lecturer at Mary Immaculate College (MIC), is hoping to find out what was the true cause of the deaths of those ten girls. She asks for help if you are a descendant or a relative of any of the families the girls belonged to. 

If you have information regarding the event, please contact Dr. Pope at Jennifer.pope@mic.ul.ie

Funeral lays 21 Irish Famine victims to rest in Canada

172 years after the Carrick coffin ship from Sligo sank off Cap-des-Rosiers, in Quebec the remains of 21 Irish victims of the Great Hunger, mainly women, and children, were laid to rest

The  Carricks had been transporting 180 people from Sligo in 1847, at the height of Ireland’s Great Hunger, when it sank just off the coast of Canada. Only 48 passengers survived, 87 others were buried in a mass grave.

Irish Memorial to the victims of the shipwreck

The bones of three children washed up on the shore in 2011 after a harsh storm, and the remains of another 18 individuals were unearthed in 2016 before a beach restoration. Bones from 21 individuals found over 5 years suggest rural Irish origins based on diet.

TheShipsList.com tells us that:

We are indebted to Messrs. Pembertons for the following extract of a letter giving the melancholy account of the loss of the brig Carricks, of Whitehaven. R. Thompson, master, from Sligo to this port, with passengers:--
"Cape Rosier, 19^th May, 1847.
"I am sorry to inform you that the brig Carricks, was wrecked about four miles to the eastward of this place, and shocking to relate, out of 167 passengers, only 48 reached the shore-the crew, except one boy, were all saved. Little will be saved, but what there is, together with the wreck, will be sold for the benefit of all concerned on Saturday next."-(Exchange Register.)

 

Finding Palatine Ancestors

The Palatinate or German Pfalz was subject to invasion by the armies of Britain, France, and Germany. As well as the devastating effects of war, the Palatines were subjected to the winter of 1708 and 1709, the harshest in 100 years.

The scene was set for a mass migration. At the invitation of Queen Anne in the spring of 1709, about 7 000 harassed Palatines sailed down the Rhine to Rotterdam. From there, about 3000 were dispatched to America, either directly or via England, under the auspices of William Penn. The remaining 4 000 were sent via England to Ireland to strengthen the protestant interest.

Palatine Immigrants to New York

In 1710, three large groups of Palatines sailed from London. The first went to Ireland, the second to Carolina and the third to New York with the new Governor, Robert Hunter. There were 3 000 Palatines on 10 ships that sailed for New York and approximately 470 died on the voyage or shortly after their arrival.

Pennsylvania Palatine Ancestors

Over the next 100 years, impoverished Palatines fled from Germany to America - many arriving in Pennsylvania. Olive Tree Genealogy has a Pennsylvania German Pioneers Project which includes the list of ships carrying Palatines from Germany to Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808 as well as names of passengers, Oaths of Allegiance and Ships Passenger Lists.

I have many Palatine ancestors who came to New York in 1709 and 1710. If you are looking for your Palatine immigrants, here are some links that may be helpful

Palatine Ships Lists to New York
 
Palatine Child Apprentices 1710-1714

Palatine Ships to Pennsylvania 1727-1808

Palatine Denizations (Naturalizations) 1708

These are two books you should have in your Library for Palatine research

* The Palatine Families of New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710 by Henry Z. Jones, Jr.

* More Palatine Families : Some Immigrants to the Middle Colonies 1717-1776 and Their European Origins Plus New Discoveries on German Families Who arriv by Henry Z. Jones, Jr. 

Here are my Palatine ancestral families:

BELLINGER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

DECKMANN aka DEGMAN a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

WARNER aka WERNER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

HOMMEL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

SCHNEIDER aka SNIDER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

KEHL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

MERCKEL aka MERKLEY aka MARICAL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

MULLER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

WUEST aka WUST a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

The Smithsonian Channel Disappoints

I was enjoying a documentary on the Smithsonian Channel called Aerial Ireland on Sunday night.

It was lovely to see the beauty of various historic places in Ireland, and to learn something of its history. And then..... the narrator explained that

....1845 saw millions of Americans come through Ellis Island to America.

WHAAAAAT???? My mouth dropped. I turned to my husband and exclaimed in horror "Ellis Island wasn't in existence then! Neither was Castle Garden!"

Yes my friends, the Smithsonian Channel got it wrong. Castle Garden, the receiving station for the port of New York, opened in1855. Ellis Island replaced Castle Garden in 1892.

The dates for various receiving stations, and when there was no receiving station in New York, are:

1624-31 July 1855: no receiving station
1 Aug. 1855-18 Apr. 1890: Castle Garden
19 Apr. 1890-31 Dec. 1891: Barge Office 
1 Jan. 1892-14 June 1897: Ellis Island
15 June 1897-16 Dec. 1900: Barge Office
17 Dec. 1900-1924: Ellis Island  (^{FN 1})

You may think I am over-reacting but I'm horrified that the Smithsonian Channel could get the facts so wrong. And it has ruined my previous enjoyment of the documentary because now I am wondering what else they got wrong in this program.

Why oh why is there not some kind of quality check on documentaries like this?

(^{FN 1}): hhttps://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/tousa_ny.shtml

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

The saying is that we all want to be Irish. Sadly that wasn't the sentiment when the Irish began arriving in full force during the Famine Years. There was a great deal of discrimination towards the Irish who were considered by many to be lazy drunks. What our early ancestors must have suffered under this unwarranted stereotype!

I'm proud of my Irish heritage and wish I could tell them that. John Greenlees and his wife Elizabeth Johnston came from Fermanagh Ireland to the wilds of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) with three children - George about 5 years old, Thomas about 3 years old and my 2nd great grandmother Jane who was under 2 years old. The year was some time between Jane's birth in 1819 and the birth of their next child in Upper Canada in 1821. What a perilous journey that must have been!

Joseph McGinnis and his wife Frances (Fanny) Downey from Co. Down made the journey from famine stricken Ireland with their year old daughter Bridget (Delia) in 1846. Joseph and Fanny were barely 20 years old.

It must have been a nightmare voyage and I am sure that like most of the Irish who left Ireland during the Famine Years, they and their loved ones suffered greatly at home. Joseph and Fanny arrived in Ontario and settled near family who had arrived much earlier. They were my 2nd great grandparents. They were very poor Catholics and the land they settled on was more swamp than anything else.

So - I have three Irish great-great grandparents (Joseph, Fanny and Jane) and two Irish Great great great grandparents (John & Elizabeth). Out of that mix I get four Irish surnames: Greenlees, Johnstone, McGinnis & Downey.

My husband has many Irish surnames: Jackson & Moynahan from Tipperary, Hogan & Hayden (county not known), Kennedy & Maloney from Kerry, Massey from Wicklow, Montgomery & Graham & Johnson from Fermanagh. I don't know if hubs' Johnson and my Johnson are related. That would be fun to find out!



I hope this Irish blessing worked for all of our Irish ancestors! "May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you're dead."

Ads for Irish Immigrants in Boston Pilot

Boston College has a free online database of Advertisements for Irish Immigrants. These ads were published in the Boston Pilot in the 19th century and sometimes contain the name of the ship the immigrant travelled on.

I've put together an index, with links, of the names of passengers on ships arriving in Canada, since before 1865 the ships passenger lists were not kept. It is a challenging time period to find passenger lists! However there ARE alternate records - shipping agent records, emigration agent ledger books, newspaper extracts to name but a few. 

My book Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada is available on Amazon and is another resource for these early years. There is a  Paperback version and an e-book version available.

Mary Buttler (nee Slatterly) and husband William Buttler, from Clare, on Ship Maria, Limerick to Quebec June 1847

John Hogan, from Limerick, 1849 to Quebec on Ship Anna Maria

Mary Keanes, nee Monaghan, from Mayo on Sarah Maria, Kilalla to Quebec 1846

Mary Reaney born ca 1824, from Mayo, on Ship Sarah Maria from  Kilalla to quebec 1844

Patrick Cahill from Tipperary, son of Patrick, July 1847 on board Admiral, Waterford to Quebec

John Mullin from Tipperary, April 1844 on board Admiral, Waterford to Quebec

John Quillan from Tipperary, Waterford to Quebec on Admiral, before 1856

Michael Quillan from Tipperary, Waterford to Quebec on Admiral, before 1856

If you want to see more listings for immigrants arriving in USA and Canada go to Missing Friends on Olive Tree Genealogy

Part 2: Breaking Down That Brick Wall

Part 1 published on November 23 introduced the 30 year search for a county of origin for my Irish McGinnis Family. We continue with Part 2

Breaking Down a Brick Wall

Still unable to find a death date for the one remaining brother (Hugh) who was born in Ireland, I set my research aside. Then the breakthrough - two amazing women who have written several history books, spent many years going through newspapers to gather obituaries for people who had lived in Puslinch Township.  Doesn't sound impressive? It is. "A Celebration of Lives: Obituaries of Puslinch Township Wellington County Ontario" was published recently as a two-volume set consisting of 1,408 pages. There are over 6,500 obituaries. It's impressive.

An Obituary Reveals a County

It had limited printing but I managed to get the last copy. Of course I skipped right to the "M" pages and unbelievably there it was - an obituary for my Hugh McGinnis of Hespeler. His obit stated he was born in Co. Down Ireland.  I know an obituary is only as reliable as the person giving the information but it is another piece of evidence. I wish I could find his death registration but still no luck, even with now knowing the month and year and location of his death.

This morning I scrolled through every image on Ancestry.com for a period of 12 months from his death with no success. His death is not there. But I have the obituary and that thrills me! It adds to the growing weight of clues.

Potsdam New York Gives More Clues

Second wonderful item - Hugh's wife was born in USA circa 1810. Due to finding other bits and pieces of clues, including finding her parents' and siblings' names, I found a record in 1830 in Potsdam New York which I was pretty sure was her family. Pretty sure, but not positively proven, so not good enough for me.

Did I mention that one of Hugh's brothers married one of his wife's sisters? The finding of the Potsdam record was important because I know that Hugh (and probably his siblings) was in America before 1831. This would give me more locations for searching if my theory about Potsdam was correct.

And there it was in my new-found obituary book. The obit for Hugh's wife stating that she was born in Potsdam New York in 1810!

A Theory is Proven

I love it when a theory becomes fact. Proven fact. I don't care how long it takes, I refuse to give up! And the moral of my story is that you should never give up either. You never know when that little tidbit of information will fall into your hands. Maybe it wasn't available when you first began your research. New data is being found and transcribed all the time. Who knows, maybe the piece you need is waiting for you right now.

Review Your Older Research Notes

So stop reading this blog post and go back and look over your earlier research! Is there a clue there? Something you couldn't find 10 or 15 or more years ago, but  maybe now you can? What are you waiting for???!!

Breaking Down That Brick Wall, Part 1

For more than 30 years I searched for a record showing where my McGinnis family came from in Ireland. I don't mean the town or village (although that would be nice), I mean the County. There were family tales that it was either Armagh or Down and that the family arrived in Upper Canada (present day Ontario) during the potato famine.

The Known

My McGinnis roots stem from a large family group that arrived in Puslinch Township, Wellington County Ontario circa 1831. At that time Ontario was a wilderness called Upper Canada and was very sparsely populated.

As anyone who has searched for ancestors in Upper Canada can testify, genealogy records pre 1851 are few and far between. There are no census records (they didn't begin until 1851), no vital registrations (they didn't start until 1869) and church records are sparse.

Catholic Records

If, like mine, your ancestors were Catholics in Ontario you're in for a challenge, as Catholic church records as most are in the hands of local priests who have them locked securely away. The public is not allowed access even to older records in the mid 1800s. There are a few scattered Roman Catholic Church records for some parts of Ontario available on FamilySearch but they are not indexed. There are none for Wellington County where my Irish Catholic ancestors settled.


Newspaper Records

There were few newspapers in that time period for Ontario. Of the few that were published, not many have survived. Those that survive for the area I need are not indexed. So an approximate date of an event is a necessity in order to hunt for an obit or other record.

Ships Passenger Lists

Ships passenger lists arriving in Canada were not archived until 1865. There are many substitute ships passenger lists but my McGinnis don't show up on any. Don't get me wrong - there ARE some records for this early time period in Ontario - tax and assessment records, land records, and a few other miscellaneous record sets. But every local area has different records that have survived.  So it's a long process to find out what records exist and where they are kept.

The Known

Back to my Irish family who arrived from somewhere in Ireland circa 1831. I have land records for them. I have tax and assessment records back to 1833. I have death records. I have marriage records. I have some Catholic Church records of baptisms in the 1840s. I have  Catholic Church burial records for many of them. In fact with my 30 plus years of research on all branches of the original McGinnis settlers, I've got an entire filing cabinet drawer full of relevant documents.

I have searched all 9 children of the immigrant McGinnis settler down several generations. I've hunted for obituaries and death records in particular, praying for a mention of a town or county in Ireland.  Nothing.

However there was one son for whom I have not been able to find a death record or obituary. I knew he died between 1881 and 1891. I knew where he lived. But nothing could be found.

Family Lore & DNA

Family lore from descendants of his branch claimed Belfast as his place of birth. Family lore from my branch claimed Belfast as the place of birth of my great-grandfather's sister.

I had my brother's DNA done. We linked in with McGinnis families near Belfast. I contacted a descendant of one of the two known sisters from Ireland. She had early photos and on the back of one was written, in period handwriting, "Katesbridge Ireland" Katesbridge is in Co. Down and not far from Belfast.

This was all pretty exciting for me as it definitely gave me enough clues and pieces of circumstantial evidence to hesitantly proclaim that PERHAPS my Joseph McGinnis was from Katesbridge or Belfast in Co. Down. Perhaps.


Part 2 to be posted on November 25th. Breaking Down That Brick Wall

Church of Ireland Parish Records Going Online

Good news for those searching their Irish ancestors! Those of us with Catholic ancestors already had our genealogy gift in 2016 - the digitization of the Catholic Church records. Read about those records at 10 Million Irish Catholic Parish Records Coming Online!

Now a grant has been given to digitize the Church of Ireland Parish registers.

The register records date back as far as 1619 and include the Church of Ireland parish registers for baptism, marriage, and burial. There are 1,110 sets of parish records in total and approximately 840 of them contain varying quantities of public records which have not yet been digitized.

I'll watch for news of a projected finish date so be sure to check back to Olive Tree Genealogy blog frequently. Eventually the digitised records will be indexed and made available on IrishGenealogy.ie. See Church of Ireland Press Release

Update: Ships Passenger Lists to Canada Before 1865

Olive Tree Genealogy has been reconstructing pre-1865 ships passenger lists to Quebec. As many of my readers know, there are no comprehensive ships passenger lists of immigrants arriving in Canada prior to 1865. Until that year, shipping companies were not required by the government to keep their passenger manifests.

My book "Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada" in Paperback version or e-book version has gathered many resources and lists to assist genealogists in finding passenger lists in this challenging period. I also have links to all online databases and ships passenger lists to help in this difficult period.

These are new ships which have had their passenger lists partially reconstructed using other sources. 

 Robert Russell 1828
 Congress 1847
 Anna Maria 1848
 British Merchant 1849
 Arial 1851
 Jane Watson 1851
 Maria 1852
 Anna Maria 1852
 Arial 1854
 Anna Maria 1857

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

Famine Emigration

In honour of St Patrick's Day, when tradition has it that we all want to be Irish, I shout out THANK YOU to my Irish ancestors who came from Ireland to Canada. 

John Greenlees and his wife Elizabeth Johnston came from Fermanagh Ireland to the wilds of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) with three children - George about 5 years old, Thomas about 3 years old and my 2nd great grandmother Jane who was under 2 years old. The year was some time between Jane's birth in 1819 and the birth of their next child in Upper Canada in 1821. What a perilous journey that must have been!

Joseph McGinnis and his wife Frances (Fanny) Downey from Co. Down made the journey from famine stricken Ireland with their year old daughter Bridget (Delia) in 1846. They were both barely 20 years old.

It must have been a nightmare voyage and I am sure that like most of the Irish who left Ireland during the Famine Years, they and their loved ones suffered greatly at home. Joseph and Fanny arrived in Ontario and settled near family who had arrived much earlier. They were my 2nd great grandparents. They were very poor Catholics and the land they settled on was more swamp than anything else.

So - I have three Irish great-great grandparents (Joseph, Fanny and Jane) and two Irish Great great great grandparents (John & Elizabeth). Out of that mix I get four Irish surnames: Greenlees, Johnstone, McGinnis & Downey.

I hope this Irish blessing worked for them! "May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you're dead."

Library of Trinity College in Dublin

There are so many amazing genealogical and research websites out there, and more surfacing all the time. As wonderful as that is for us genealogists, it also becomes challenging to find out about all of them.

I recently became aware of this wonderful site's collection of genealogical materials. The Library of Trinity College Dublin will undertake limited genealogy research.

Some of their digitized records consist of School Entrance records 1637-1961

Be sure to also see my article Irish Lands Stolen By Oliver Cromwell


Do yourself a favour and check out the site if you have ancestors who might have been in the area.