Looking for a genealogist in the Limerick area

dlloyd7787

Hi:

I have traced my family back to my great grandfather's marriage which took place in Murroe on Feb 19, 1867. According to the marriage certificate, his father was (John Lloyd) was deceased at that time. I'm looking for a local (Limerick) genealogist who can coduct some research and trace the family back to roughly 1700.

Thank you,
David

pinkypinky

Any particular reason you want a Limerick genealogist? A lot of Irish records are centralised in Dublin.

dlloyd7787

Since my family appears to have resided in the Limerick area from 1660 until 1940, and we have managed to trace back to the mid 1800's, it seemed like that would be easiest. I would welcome suggestions.

Waitsian

dlloyd7787 wrote: »

I'm looking for a local (Limerick) genealogist who can coduct some research and trace the family back to roughly 1700.

David

I'm not saying it's impossible, and I'm not discounting that there is certainly skill in being a genealogical detective and that those more experienced would have a better chance, but the best in the business can only go with what's out there, and that excludes most people being able to go back to 1700.

Brennans Row

I would recommend contacting the good people at Limericks Life and at Limerick Genealogy.

dlloyd7787

Why do the records not go back before 1700? I thought the church maintained baptism and marriage records going back a very long time. Since my Great Grandfather converted, surly there is a record of this somewhere, along with other information (like DOB). Also, my family (back then) had very large land holdings. Any and all suggestions would be most welcome.

Waitsian

dlloyd7787 wrote: »

Why do the records not go back before 1700? I thought the church maintained baptism and marriage records going back a very long time.

I'm not assuming so I must ask - are you referring to Catholic church records? If so, the answer is quite simple - The Penal Laws.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlker/penallaws.html

Some parishes started keeping records late 18th Century, but most began early 19th.

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

dlloyd7787

My ancestors appear to have been Protestants until my grandfather converted before his marriage in 1867. Where do those protestant birth records reside? Does this fact make it easier to follow the thread back? Also, since they appear to have been significant land owners, would this help?

Waitsian

dlloyd7787 wrote: »

My ancestors appear to have been Protestants until my grandfather converted before his marriage in 1867. Where do those protestant birth records reside? Does this fact make it easier to follow the thread back? Also, since they appear to have been significant land owners, would this help?

Civil birth, marriage and death records exist for Protestants from 1845.

Church records:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/records/church/ireland/

Land records are used as census substitutes, but are more prevalent starting in the 19th Century. There are records for land owning Protestants in the 18th Century and previous to that yes. There are militia records, land records, estate records just to name a few.

dlloyd7787

First, thank you very much for responding. I'm now under the impression that it just may be possible to work backwards, hence my need for a responsible and honest researcher. I believe my arm of the family was from Towerhill. I'm supposedly a descendent of Thomas Lloyd, who was the tax Assessor for Limerick in 1660. Thomas had three sons and each founded a separate arm of the family, and they intermarried over successive generations, which just adds to the confusion. The Limerick Library has some "Lloyd Papers" on file, with wills, marriage agreements, etc. There are also various deeds, land sales, transfers, etc. Family lore is that we came over with Cromwell.

Waitsian

dlloyd7787 wrote: »

First, thank you very much for responding. I'm now under the impression that it just may be possible to work backwards, hence my need for a responsible and honest researcher. I believe my arm of the family was from Towerhill. I'm supposedly a descendent of Thomas Lloyd, who was the tax Assessor for Limerick in 1660. Thomas had three sons and each founded a separate arm of the family, and they intermarried over successive generations, which just adds to the confusion. The Limerick Library has some "Lloyd Papers" on file, with wills, marriage agreements, etc. There are also various deeds, land sales, transfers, etc. Family lore is that we came over with Cromwell.

You're welcome. I'm staying up late to watch a Maple Leafs hockey game so I don't mind at this late hour.

The fact you have Protestant ancestors means your chances of going back so far are greatly increased. And if many of the records you seek are in Limerick city, then it makes sense to hire a Limerick genealogist although there are records in Dublin too for e.g. the National Archives. You'd do well to take the advice of Brennans Row, see if you can find one.