My late grandfather believed he was descended from the McDonnells of Antrim.

John James McDonnell, the oldest ancestor I can trace, was born about 1853 in Liverpool. I know nothing of his mother.

At the age of 17, in 1871, he was boarding at a house as a linen draper’s apprentice.

Over the years, he worked as a writing clerk, cashier, commercial clerk, and fire engineer’s accountant.

He married Myra Fox in 1874. Both witnesses were her relations. However, he named his father as “James McDonnell, surgeon” on his wedding certificate.

I’ve searched records of surgeons and can’t find any that really match up. One researcher suggested he could be the illegitimate son of the notable Irish doctor John McDonnell (whose middle name could have been James? son of James McDonnell), but he admitted it’s a long shot.

Traced back with documented & strong matches back to 12 of my 16 4x Great Grandparents. All from Derry & Tandragee; I'm assuming the missing 4 are from Drogheda based on the births of their children but I haven't been able to find records to confirm their identity. I've also found names of 2 5x Great Grandfathers, although I cannot find their own records. I've gone through parish records for as much as detail as possible from as far back as possible and I have been able to find some great stuff.

But it feels like I'm at the end of the road. What have people done from here? Does DNA / y-chromosome testing really help? Has anyone had luck contacting parish's for pre-1800s records?

Hello wondering if anyone can help me I've been looking for back Issues for Irish Roots Magazine from when it was first published in 1992.

Wondering if there is some where online that I can find digital copys of them.

This is a throw a medium sized net issue. Worth it to hire someone or, given the number of hours it may require is it better/cheaper to go myself?

I'm a very experienced genealogist but I live in the states. I realized recently that my two non-Catholic Irish ancestors are my best bet at being able to trace. Both born about 1818-1820 according to later censuses, so taken with a great deal of salt.

Names are James Tate and Ann Jane Acheson. Always Ann Jane, never one or the other.

I found two Ann Jane's born in Armagh in 1812 and 1819. I thought the 1819 was probably her until I found a corresponding marriage record. The other was born in Shankill, Armagh. I cannot find any other reference to her family or parents so I'm assuming they moved there temporarily from another nearby parish.

So I was debating hiring someone to check the surrounding areas since they are not available online. But I'm realizing it could get expensive quickly without a definite place.

I guess my questions are,

- what would you do assuming going is feasible?

- is it even worth pursuing? Is the name Ann Jane Acheson born about 1817 unusual enough to find the needle in the haystack? I came up with two fairly quickly.

- James Tate I assume is unlikely to find unless his family is wherever hers moved.

Nearby parishes do have records going back to the mid 1700s for the church of Ireland but are not available online, only at PRONI.

Can someone help transcribe the baptismal record for the 10th February 1843. Found, at 02427/07, Croom - Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI page 56

I am having trouble making out a few of the words:

10 Bapt.^ized Rev.^nd L Gleison. _____ Patrius Reeves et Maria Lynch. Spo.^ns Rev.^nd Jno Reeves et Johanna Butler. Ballygrennan

Im looking through my genealogy and I've hit a roadblock because there is no census results from before 1900. They also lived in a very rural area so most other sources I've checked have come back with nothing

If you could help it would be appreciated. The furthest person I've got is Mary Hanley (hanley being the married name) who was born c. 1822 in the Allihies/Eyeries/Castletownbere area of Cork

My earliest known ancestor was a Protestant and lived in North Carolina during the 1700s and early 1800s. According to an old family story, he moved from Ireland to America with two brothers, but I don’t have direct proof of this. His surname was Brady, an Irish name. However, a vast majority of people with the Brady surname in Ireland are Catholic.

Do you believe he (or his ancestors) might have converted to Protestantism? How likely was this? Do you think this was a case of the Protestant Brady’s immigrating to America while the Catholic Brady’s remained in Ireland?

Hello — I'm hoping someone visiting PRONI in Belfast might do a quick free lookup for me. I'm looking for the marriage of my ancestor Ann RIDDLE (also spelled Riddell), born about 1836, daughter of John Riddell and Mary Evans, of Legahurry townland, Cumber Lower parish, County Londonderry. The family was Presbyterian.

The Cumber Lower Presbyterian registers survive at PRONI on microfilm MIC.1P/147: baptisms 1827–1867 and marriages 1843–1906. I believe her baptism (29 September 1836) is in the baptism register, and if she married, it would be in the marriage register 1843–1906.

I've already checked the free civil marriage indexes (1855–1885), the 1901 and 1911 census, and gravestone records — no trace of her after her baptism. I can't afford the paid transcript sites, so I'm stuck.

If anyone is at PRONI and could check the marriage register for an Ann Riddle/Riddell bride (roughly 1855–1885), I would be so grateful. Thank you! — Barbara

For some context William is the husband of Jane Risk who is buried at one of my local cemeteries all the way in Skamokawa, Washington. It appears she immigrated to the US with at least one of her sons after he passed away in 1889. I am not familiar with Irish records and a lot of it I am having trouble with access so I was wondering if you guys could help me find more about his life, Jane before she immigrated, and maybe where he was buried so I can link the family together on findagrave. It also appears some of the children may have stayed in Ireland?

Here is his familysearch page which gave me some info, but I thought there could be more.

William John Risk (1835–1889) • Person • Family Tree

Thank you all for any help!