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My Great, Great, Grandfather Michael Geary arrived in Montana, USA from Kilrush, County Clare in 1864. His brother, William Geary, accompanied him to America, where William left for Australia. The only thing that I know about my Great, Great Grandfather was that he was around 13-14 when left, that he was from Kilrush, County Clare, and that his mother was an O'Dea, first name possibly Bridgitte (sp?)

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Friday 29th Mar 2013, 07:36PM

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    Hello

    You could try checking for the Geary and O’Dea families in Kilrush in 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. These lists constitute the only nationwide survey for the period, and are valuable because the heaviest burden of the tithes to the Established Church, the Church of Ireland, fell on the poorest, for which few other records survive. 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.

    Considering you don’t have a father’s name (yet) it does make your search more difficult. But you do have both parents’ surnames, so church records could also provide more information. 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.

    *The catholic parish for Kilrush is Senans.

    Thanks for your message

    Best regards Michael

    Genealogy Support

    Monday 29th Apr 2013, 10:49AM

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