Brothers Arthur McDevitt born in Tyrone around 1856, his brother Cornelius born 1846 and Edward born in 1860. No birth records and the 3 brothers immigrated to San Francisco, CA in the early 1870's.
I'm interested in birth records, who their parents were, if there are any other siblings and where in Co. Tyrone they lived.
Any help is appreciated, thank you
JRanghiasci
Tuesday 12th Apr 2022, 04:09AMMessage Board Replies
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I would try and get the McDevitt brothers parents names from marriage or death certificates in the US. Otherwise you have no real way of knowing whether you have found the right baptisms in Ireland. Birth registration didn’t start in Ireland till 1864 so for these 3 births you need to rely on church baptism records. I assume the family was RC. I can’t see any likely baptisms for Arthur and Cornelius. There was an Edward bapt 20.8.1862 in Lifford, Co Donegal, which is right on the border with Tyrone. Parents William McDevitt & Catherine McBrearty.
Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.
The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project in conjunction with FTDNA and can offer testing kits at a reduced price. http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).
Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Tuesday 12th Apr 2022, 08:25AM