When I found my husband's great-grandparents' gravestone it said, John O'Brien June 10, 1904 age 67 and Rose O'Brien (nee Kelly) Oct 9, 1905 age 70 natives of Parish Dromore County Tyrone, Ireland. The grave is in Calvary Cemetery in New York City. They lived in Brooklyn, NY. I have no knowledge of when they emigrated to the US, when they met and married. I know of only one daughter Sarah Jean - born in New York in July 1870, died April 1907. I am looking for any information about their lineage in Ireland.
This family was unfortunate in that many died very young. The family knows little about the past. It was only by searching that I was able to find the grave and was blessed with the notice where they were from.
Friday 16th Mar 2012, 03:46PM
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Hi there,
You could check the Roman Catholic church records for them (were they Catholic?). The church records for Dromore start from 1835 (bapismal records) and 1833 (marriage). These are located at the National Library of Ireland, Pos. 5568, or Pubklic Records of Northern Ireland, MIC.1D/11, or the Church of Latter Day Saints ref. no. 0926052.
You could also check for a record of them in the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64). Griffith's is freely available online here: www.askaboutireland.com
You should also check local newspapers in New York from the time they died, as there may be valuable information in the death notices, such as next of kin, etc.
There might also be information about their parents in the 1796 Spinning-Wheel Premium List. There are 7,150 names listed for County Tyrone.
Please make sure you link anyone else in your family who is interested in their Irish heritage to our site - and indeed anyone else you know of Irish heritage.
Kind regards,
Sinead Cooney
Genealogist (Ireland XO)
Tuesday 20th Mar 2012, 11:17AM