Request for information on John Fair

Hi William,

Thank you for your message.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information on John without a more specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

There are some places where you can search online, however it may be difficult to discern whether the results are relevant to your family or not without more information:

www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.

www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.

Have you tried looking into the family?s emigration? Sometimes more infomation can be found at the port of arrival rather than that of departure. You may be lucky and find a place name here. For information on Canadian immigration records check http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html

You could also try searching for John in the Tithe Applotment Books. These are land records that were  compiled between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland. Although they do not offer any genealogical information they can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place or at least give you some parishes which you may be able to use as a starting point. http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

As you have a place of origin for Mary, you may be able to find their marriage certificate which may give you some more information on John. weddings usually took place in the bride?s parish of origin so you could try looking for it there. Do you know what religion they were?

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 Lissan parish, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Tyrone&parish=Lissan&churchid=226

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.

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

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

Genealogy links Tyrone: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/tyrone/index.html

Remember to post any additional information that you find here or on the County Mayo page. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.

Kind regards,    

Genealogy Support