McCaul Family

Hi Seamus,

Thank you for your message. I hope that someone with information on the families makes a connection with you and helps you to further your research.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find records pertaining to David without knowing the specific place of origin in Tyrone and also given the early birth dates mentioned. Sometimes the reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/baptisms/marriages/deaths in Ireland prior to 1800 ? particularly in rural areas ? is that they simply may not exist. Most records that do exist are based on specific locations, usually a parish, which is why it is necessary to know a specific place of origin.

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 US immigration records check http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/

As you know that James lived in Newry for a time you may be able to find some records if he had a family there. You could try looking in church records. 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 Newry parish, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Down&parish=Newry&churchid=455

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.

Also, I did a search for the surname Angus in Griffith?s Valuation. This is a property valuation survey that was carried out 1848-64. One result came back in Newry: Patrick Angus:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&Submit.x=40&Submit.y=13&Submit=Submit&familyname=angus&firstname=First+Name&baronyname=&countyname=DOWN&unionname=&parishname=NEWRY

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: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/index.html

From Ireland: http://www.from-ireland.net/

Ulster Historical Foundation: http://www.ancestryireland.com/

It may also be an idea to contact the Irish World Heritage Centre in Tyrone to see if they can be of any assistance, however a fee may apply for their services: info@irish-world.com

Remember to post any new information that you find here. 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.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support