Hi. We are investigating the ancestry of John Clarke. What we know is that he was born in Tyrone County in 1801 and immigrated to Canada in the 1830's and he died in Ontario, Canada in 1866. His wife's name was Sarah Drummond. Here is a list of their children from oldest to youngest and what we know of them: Elizabeth Clarke (d)1914; Margaret Clarke; Martha Clarke; Robbie Clarke (died at sea while the family was immigrating to Canada); Sarah Clarke, Jane Clarke (1832-1857); John Clarke (1844-1861); David Clarke (1851-1938); Mary Anne Clarke (1852-?); and James George Clarke. We are also very much interested in tracing the roots of John's wife, Sarah Drummound. All we know is her birthdate: February 2, 1807. David Clarke (1851-1938) said to my father-in-law when he was a young boy that Sarah -his mother - had told him she came from the Drummound Castle in Scotland. The most reliable information we have is that Sarah was born in Northern Ireland. Any light you can give as to John & Sarah's ancestry is something that would be of great interest to us. Thank you. Please indicate any other important info you may require.
Saturday 13th Apr 2013, 05:45PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi Kelvin,
Thank you for your message.
Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find more information on John and Sarah 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.
Do you have any documentation pertaining to the family that mentions any place names at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records,census records, letters, diary entries etc.
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
Some other websites that may be helpful 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
Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm
Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/tyrone/index.html
You could also try contacting the Irish World Heritage Centre in Tyrone to see if they can offer any further assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email: info@irish-world.com
Remember to post any new information that you find here, especially regarding place of origin. 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.
All the best,
Genealogy Support
Monday 27th May 2013, 09:21AM