Researching Irish Family Histories
Introduction
We don't, as a group, conduct family history research, nor do we offer a research facility for others.
However, some of our members do have an interest in such research, and have taken the time to compile a few suggestions to assist those interested in doing such research.
Recording Tools
- Camera - any camera will do, including cell-phones, but specialised equipment will give better results
- Stills - if you're copying hard-copy prints make sure they are flat (not curled) and in good light but not direct sunlight. If you're photographing people, be careful about the light so they can seen, and they're against a plain, uncluttered background
- Video - be careful about the light so they can seen, and they're against a plain, uncluttered background
- Tripod - valuable; allows you to concentrate on the subject, and to minimise camera-shaking, especially for extended interviews, or close-ups when copying documents or photos
- Scanner
- Printer - most domestic printers have a built-in flatbed scanner. Need to be able to scan to an image format (.jpg .png .gif), or .PDF, or to scan a document and save as text (.txt or .rtf)
- Hand-held - low-cost, hand-held document scanners are helpful if you're travelling to visit interview subjects
- Phones - Android phones can accommodate an app from the App Store to allow the phon's camera to act as document scanner. iPhones have a built-in scan function in the native Apple Notes app
- Audio Recorder
- Specialist Recorder - talk to your local library; they may have equipment available to borrowers. Alternatively, National Library in Wellington can offer advice (& possibly training)
- Phone - modern smart-phones have a built-in Voice Recorder, or will allow one to be downloaded and installed.
Database Applications
(NB: costs are as at April 2023)
- Ancestral Quest (successor to Personal Ancestral File)
- AQ Basics = free
- AQ full = $US 34.95
- Family Tree Builder (free)
- Family Tree Maker - $NZ 129.95
- Legacy Family Tree – Standard = Free; Deluxe = $US 34.95
- Family Historian - $NZ 89.95
- RootsMagic - $US 39.95
Storage
It is important that artefacts (documents, photos, etc) are kept in materials that protect them from environmental degradation. Generally this means acid-free packaging.
Suppliers:
- Port Nicholson Packaging
- 33 Fitzherbert Street, Petone, Wellington. sales@pnp.co.nz
- Conservation Supplies
- 12 Donnelly Street, Havelock North 4130. info@conservationsupplies.co.nz
Digitise documents & images (photos & pictures)
- PDFs
- Highest practical image resolution [300dpi]
- .JPG = common format
- .TIFF = high-res format
- Convert documents to text using OCR (Optical Character Recognition
- Convert audio files to text using Speech to Text
Update digital media
- Newer Formats - e.g MP4 and .MKV
- Various media
- DVD - now obsolete, and many devices can no longer play them, so existing disks need to be replaced with some other device such as an external drive
- USB drive - if only thumbnail size, use for transfers, rather than long-term storage as they are easily misplaced/lost
- Local hard-drive - USB-connected?
- Online storage. Cloud-based option is current preferred option
Back-up - to off-site or online?
- External drive stored elsewhere
- Copy all relevant files periodically
- store 'off-site', perhaps in a drawer of your desk at work, or the home of one of your children as backup protection.
- Online cloud-based storage
- likely to involve a cost
- Ensure there is a ‘recovery’ option for your files in case of local loss/corruption of data
- iCloud? BackBlaze.com?
Data Sources: New Zealand
- Births, Death, Marriages - historical; rules governing access periods
- Archives NZ - very useful; shipping lists, colonial correspondence, Wills, Divorce papers, military personnel files, etc
- PapersPast (archive) - exhaustive archive of published newspapers, journals, magazines, etc. Both reproduced images of articles and rendered text versions (which may need significant editing)
- Digital NZ - an aggregator site for digital 'documents' held by other sites/organisations; a 'one-stop shop'
- Nga Taonga Sound & Vision - specialises in visual & audio media
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa - particularly useful for images
- Specialist Libraries – eg. Hocken or Hocken catalogue search or Hocken's extensive photo collection
- Public Libraries – see Council websites
- Cemetery searchable databases – see Council websites
- NZ Online Cenotaph - Remembering New Zealand's War dead
- National Library holds full electoral records for New Zealand back to the earliest election. Useful for tracking individuals and families. Hard copy at the Library only.
- National Library holds copies of a series of 32 books published by Geography Publications which consist of "Indisciplinary Essays on the History of an Irish County".
Data Sources: International
- FamilySearch.org - Free to use
- Ancestry.com $$$$$$$
- MyHeritage.com $$$$$$$
- FindMyPast.com $$$$$$$
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission - Manages War Graves of Western allies from World Wars I & II. Searchable. Free
- Find a Grave - Vast pool of data added by volunteers around the world. Searchable. Free
- Image repositories such as Flickr.com - host collections of photos, such as this one from National Library of Ireland
Data Sources: Ireland
- IrishGenealogy.ie - Official home of the historic records of Births, Marriages and Deaths of the General Register Office. Searchable. Free
- National Archives of Ireland - Census records, and more. Searchable. Free
- Ask About Ireland - A national Internet resource for culture, accessing material held by local libraries, museums and archives. Searchable. Free
- Dublin City Library & Archive - a number of databases produced by the Libraries & Archive Service. Most of the original records from which the databases are created are held by Dublin City Library & Archive. Searchable. Free
- The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) - The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is the official archive for Northern Ireland. Searchable. Free
- Census of Ireland 1901/1911 and Census fragments and substitutes, 1821-51 - Searchable. Free
- Catholic Parish Registers - Searchable. Free
- National Library of Ireland - Searchable. Free
- UK & Ireland Genealogy - an exhaustive collection of links to data sources. Searchable. Free
- Griffith's Valuation, produced between 1847 & 1864 Searchable. Free
- GeoHive - Search, view, and access official and authoritative geospatial information
- National Folklore Collection - Searchable. Free
- Military Archives - Searchable. Free
- Bureau of Military History (now closed) - Searchable. Free
- WW1 casualties - Searchable. Free
Other Help
The standard published books are:
- James Ryan's Irish Records: Sources for Family and Local History (2nd ed Ancestry.com, 1997)
- John Grenham's Tracing Your Irish Ancestors (4th ed. Gill, 2012)