Patrick Tracy and Eliza Lawn

Hi Don,

Thank you very much for your message.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information 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 preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

There are some places where you can search online, however these websites do not have complete collections:

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.

Do you know either patrick or Eliza?s fathers? names? If you do you could try looking for them in Griffith?s Valuation. This is a property valuation survey carried out in Ireland 1848-64. It doesn?t give any genealogical information but can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place. I did a search for Tracy in Longford and only 3 parishes came back so these may be places to start your search:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&Submit.x=-1212&Submit.y=-562&Submit=Submit&familyname=tracy&firstname=First+Name&baronyname=&countyname=LONGFORD&unionname=&parishname=

You could try looking in church records in these parishes to see if you can find a birth record for Patrick. 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 parishes in Longford, follow this link:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/longfordrc.htm

You could also try contacting Longford Genealogy for some assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email: longroot@iol.ie

Some other websites that you may find 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

Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/longford/index.html

Ireland Gen Projects: http://www.igp-web.com/longford/

Longford Library: http://www.longfordlibrary.ie/geneaology.html

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

Dear Don,

The name Tracy or Treacy is still found in Longford, though as Emma says, it is difficult to make progress with your search without a particular location. Many parish registers in Longford began after 1820, but you should consider contacting the Longford Genealogy Centre, address given by Emma, which can do a search of its database.

The Tithe Applotment books, which list landholders who were obliged to pay tithe to the Church of Ireland, date from 1823-35 for the civil parishes of the county. They are available at www.titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie and can be searched. However, a word of warning there are some errors in transcription.

Kind regards,

Martin Morris

Thank you Emma and Morris.  I will certainly try some of the sources you suggest.  A distant cousin of mine in London has already found some information from Roots Ireland; for example, he found the marriage registration of Patrick and his second (maybe third) wife, Mary Ann Dibbs, in Mullingar in 1865.  He could find nothing about Patrick's birth or earlier marriage from that source

He also located a Patrick Tracy, painter and glazier, in Ballymahon in the 1846 Slater's Directory; unfortunately, with no other information, we don't know if it is the same Patrick.   Ballymahon, from what I can gather, is close to Kilcommock  where Patrick's brother was married.  I don't know whether this narrows down the location or not.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Don Faulkner

I have learned courtesy Longford Genealogy and my distant cousin, Robert, in London, that a Patrick Tracey married Mary Rollins on August 5, 1804 in Longford Parish.  They had a family as follows;

     William b. May 20, 1805

     Marian b. 1807

     Margaret b. 1809

     Thomas b. August 23, 1812

     John b. 1817

     Andrew b. January 7, 1823

     Ann b. 1826.

Thomas is undoubetdly the one who emigrated to Liverpool and eventually became an emigration agent.  Missing from this family is a Patrick b. 1820-1821, the one of most interest to me as he was my greatgrandfather and who, I had supposed, was a brother of Thomas as they worked and lived closely together in Liverpool.  (Both were emigration agents; Patrick reported Thomas' death to the registrar; Thomas's son lived for a period with Patrick and family and married Patrick's daughter; Patrick and Thomas are buried in the same cemetery.) The reason (or reasons) he is missing from the above list may be several but one intriguing notion is that he was adopted by Patrick, Sr. and Mary.  Robert, my cousin, has discovered that a Patrick McKenna married a Rose Tracy in Longford July 23, 1815 and they had a son Patrick b. March 25, 1821.  Patrick was orphaned before the age of 13 - his father died February 8, 1833 in Killoe and his mother died May 4, 1834, also in Killoe.

The question is: Did Patrick Tracey, Sr. and Mary Rollins adopt Patrick McKenna who then took the name Tracy?  It is highly plausible that this happened but Robert and I would like confirmation.

Can anyone provide any information to confirm or refute our suspicion?  If so, I would be very grateful.

Don Faulkner