Meet some of the famous (and not so famous) people of who have had an influence on our history and the lives of so many. Also, lets share our experience of tracing your family tree
Francis Calder – Founder of the Belfast Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals . Calder Memorial Fountain erected 1859.
The Valuation Office Revision Books followed on from Griffiths Valuation and annually recorded the ownership and values of property from 1864 up until the early 1930’s
In tracking Northern Ireland family roots, a useful free website is the Public Records Of Northern Ireland online Wills search – PRONI Wills.
Barney Hughes will be remembered for his desire for social justice, his unstinting generosity and humanitarian reform, but also for the Belfast Bap
In the 1950’s the National Library of Ireland began the work of microfilming Catholic parish registers of births and marriages. The partnership of library and Church hierarchy has ensured the permanent preservation of these invaluable genealogical records. The majority of parishes in the whole of Ireland are covered and the Read more…
Edward Benn was born at Tandragee , County Armagh in the year 1798. His father was John Benn. As a boy Edward was educated at Belfast Academy, along with his younger brother George. The brothers moved to Downpatrick and set up a brewing business. Subsequently they bought an estate called Read more…
John Joseph ‘Rinty’ Monaghan was born on 21 st August 1918 at 23 Lancaster Street in north Belfast. His father was Thomas Monaghan, a sailor, and his mother was Martha Wilson. He was the eldest of 7 children, 3 boys and 4 girls. Rinty attended the Christian Brothers school in Read more…
Andrew George Malcolm was born in 1818. His father, of the same name, was a Presbyterian minister in Dunmurry and then Newry. His mother was Eleanor Hunter. Andrew was educated at Belfast Academical Institution and completed his medical training at Edinburgh, graduating in 1842. By 1843 Andrew Malcolm had returned Read more…
Through his hard work and entrepreneurial skills, Otto Jaffe was one of the leading merchants responsible for the boom in the linen industry in Belfast.
Mary Ann McCracken was a philanthropist, feminist, humanitarian, nationalist radical born in Belfast on 8th July 1770.
Telegram – Interview with the Titanic officers. All unanimous that Thomas Andrews died a heroic death, thinking only of others safety.
Professor Pantridge is rightly regarded as the Father of Emergency Medicine and his invention was a genuine, life-saving breakthrough
David Manson In 1755 David Manson set up a school in Clugstons Entry in central Belfast, promising to teach “by way of Amusement, English Grammar, Reading and Spelling at a moderate Expense” Belfast News Letter Manson was to prove a figure of note in terms on education in Northern Ireland Read more…
Early life Alexander Mitchell was born on 13 th April 1780 in Dublin, but as a young child his family moved to Pine Hill, near Belfast. However, when his father William, died in 1790, the large family of 13 children were dispersed. Alexander and two his brothers, as the youngest, Read more…
The process of tracing your family history can be expensive with many websites offering paid subscription-only services. Sites offering free access are always a good place to start tracing your family. The free online website https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en is a great way to access Irish Civil Records.
Griffith’s Valuation is the primary valuation for Ireland. The valuation was conducted between 1848 – 1864. It’s worth to Irish genealogists cannot be overestimated.
The census records are one of the most valuable resources for anyone starting to research their family history. Unfortunately only two complete census for Ireland survive – the 1901 Census taken 31st March 1901 and the 1911 Census taken 2nd April 1911
The easiest and quickest way way to discover your roots is to hire a professional genealogist. This is also expensive. In these posts, I will share my family research experiences as an amateur, but enthusiastic, researcher.