Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Using RootsIreland with the Free Parish Records

I have to admit, I thought that the release of the Free Catholic Parish Records by the National Library of Ireland would make the website RootsIreland obsolete but I was so wrong. As a matter of fact, I bought a one month membership yesterday, this cost me $28. 

Why did I pay $28  when the NLI records are free? Because they are not indexed and I am impatient. Actually I have more money than time to put it bluntly. I knew one branch of my family is from Queens County but looking on my own through the parish book I could not find what I wanted.

By paying $28 I was able to search and find the exact date and parish of the record I wanted and that find led to two more very important finds. I now have the baptism for my second great grandmother, I proved she had a sister and I found her parents marriage. Believe me, after 30 years, that knowledge was well worth $28.

Before you buy a membership, I suggest that you have your information nailed down. Look at the free records and try to imagine how a spelling error could affect the transcription in Rootsireland. In my case Talent became Tallon and Moran was Horan. Without that knowledge the index would have done me no good.

The combination of these two resources can yield exciting results but you have to know what you are looking for.

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