Hi. I am searching for George Thornton and Mary Jane Tomkins

Hello Meghan,

I think that using the family names and the place names that you have from the records you have found you might find more information by searching through the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp  or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64) http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/    

The Tithe Applotment List might be of use to you, or at least interesting for you. The information in the Tithes is quite basic, typically consisting of townland name, landholder's name, area of land and tithes payable. Many Books also record the landlord's name and an assessment of the economic productivity of the land. The tax payable was based on the average price of wheat and oats over the seven years up to 1823, and was levied at a different rate depending on the quality of land. For Parishes where the registers do not begin until after 1850, this information can be useful, as they are often the only surviving early records. They can provide valuable circumstantial evidence, especially where a holding passed from father to son in the period between the Tithe survey and Griffith's Valuation.

As a next step you could try obtain the full versions of the church/civil records you found on family search, they might contain more detail. Most Catholic records are held locally - One site which might be of use is - http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/ - where you can ‘browse’ an overview of available records per county. If you have any difficulty, you could try writing to the parish priest for possible assistance.

Church of Ireland parish registers for the period up to 1870-are public records. Registers are available for about one third of the parishes, however many were destroyed in the Public Records Office in Dublin in 1922. Most 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. A list of all surviving registers is available in the National Archives. http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.  The Anglican Record Project is has created an index to their records: http://ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/AngRecord/bunclodyunionindex.pdf

Civil registration records are available from the General Register Office (GRO). These start from 1864. You can access the website here: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm

Regarding the index numbers, I think they are Family Search’s own catalogue numbers for their own administration purposes. If you find vol,reg and page numbers accompanying a record they could be in reference to the actual Civil record held by the General Record Office (GRO) in Dublin.

Best regards Michael.

Hi,   I can't help much but can confirm that there was a Tomkins family living in Tinahely, Co. Wicklow who had a number of children between 1830 and 1860.   I do not know thw names of the aprents.One girl, Bessie, married Chas Hopkins and later livEd on main St Tinahely.   Her siblings farmed at Killinure...They can be found on the 1901 and 1911 Census records.

Regards

Ross

I think you "might" have the wrong George Thornton and Maty Jane Tomkins.   Mary Jane (Tomkins) thornton did not emigrate ...She died in 1896 at Knockatomcolyle, Wicklow.

Hi,

Mary Jane Tomkins wife of George Thornton was my 2nd great grandfathers 1st cousin. So far I have only found that they had one child, Sarah Jane born 22 May 1865.

I believe your Esther Thornton was the daughter of George Thornton born in England on 8 Jul 1822 and Jane Elizabeth Smiley born 18 Nov 1825 possibly in Belfast Ireland (1861 Ontario Census) who emigrated to Canada in 1846.