How to research your family history online
Published on 5th November 2020
The Reading Room in Dublin City Library and Archive holds a wide variety of sources to help you find your ancestors. These include Thoms street directories, electoral rolls, newspaper archives, as well as free access to websites such as www.ancestry.com and www.findmypast.ie However, because of the current situation due to Covid19 it is not possible for the public to access these sources, therefore the aim of this blog is to highlight one particular website, www.irishgenealogy.ie in an attempt to get your research started. This website can be accessed subscription free on your computer or phone.
Normally when starting to research your family history it is best to start with yourself and work backwards. This lockdown may be the ideal time to get to know more about your ancestors. Speak to your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and gather as much information as you can, don’t forget letters, photographs and any family stories that have been passed down through the generations. Keep a “file”. You will need some starting point.
The Marriage Certificate
It may seem obvious but finding a marriage certificate depends on knowing the names of the couple to be married, that includes the maiden name of the bride. It is essential that you talk to older relatives and gather as much information as possible before you start. My search begins by accessing www.irishgenealogy.ie. Scroll down to Search online records and fill in first and last name of either the bride or groom and location if known, then press search. You will be offered a list of sources to choose from. Choose Search Civil Records, you will then be asked to solve this captch (tick box). The last step is to fill in your own name and tick box, this will allow you to search the indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages registers. You will then need to revise the Search Criteria. My revised search looks like this:
James McCormack Dublin Tick Marriage box because I’m not sure of the date of marriage I have left Year Range blank. My search produced 118 results (1800s+1900s) for James and 103 results for Catherine but because I know their full names I can find the record very quickly. I click on this record and proceed to next page which allows me to click on image. You may be asked if you want to download the record or it might go directly to the marriage certificate.
Next week we will look at the 1911 Census in an attempt to expand on James and Catherine’s story.