Elliott

Hi,

Thank you very much for your message.

If William was born in 1881 there would be a civil record of it as civil registration began in Ireland in 1864. These records are held by the General Register Office. Here is their website: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm

You can search the indexes to these records online at:

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347

For more information on these records go to  http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Irish-civil-registration.html

You could also check in church records for information. Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Errigal-Trough  parish, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Monaghan&parish=Errigal-Truagh&churchid=309

As you can see from the above link Monaghan Genealogy have copies available. If you would like to contact them here is their email however a fee may apply: theomcmahon@eircom.net

Most surviving Church of Ireland records are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42

Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.

I did a search for William Snr. in Griffith?s Valuation. This is a property valuation carried out in Ireland 1848-64. I found one result for William in Dundian, it is very likely that this is the your great-grandfather:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&Submit.x=-1212&Submit.y=-562&Submit=Submit&familyname=elliott&firstname=william&baronyname=&countyname=MONAGHAN&unionname=&parishname=

I also found a William in Dundian in the 1901 census records:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Monaghan/Anketell_Grove/Dundian/1635968/

and again in the 1911 census records:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Monaghan/Anketell_Grove/Dundian/808335/

Have you tried looking into his emigration for more information? Generally more inforamtion was given at the port of arrival rather than that of departure. For information on US immigration records check the US National Archives at:

http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/

Some other websites that you may find useful are:

The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/

The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm

Family Search: www.familysearch.org

Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/monaghan/index.html

Monaghan: http://www.monaghantourism.com/people.aspx

All the best,

Emma

Genealogy Support