Tracing Your Family History.- Any Clues?

[Michaelangelica]

Every now and again I get bitten by the Tracing Your Family History Bug.
It is deadly and can lead you into trawling though old archives till dawn just on the mere sniff of new info.

One of my problems is my grandfather's name was James Francis Patrick O'Rourke from Cork Ireland

Do you want to know how many of them there are?

A lot of the WW1 records have not been digitalised or were destroyed in the bombing of London in WW2

I just started a tentative serarch/ help with Ancestry.com but get the feeling all they want to do is sign me up for $US29.95+ PER MONTH to use their resources. I am not looking for the Inheritance of a Country Castle or Lordship for goodness sake.(!!!)

Anyone else get bitten by this bug from time to time?

Any clues, ideas, experience, suggestions to share?

[jab2]

I hit the same problem with the trail from South Africa leading back to a bombed-out City Hall in the Netherlands. Everything just stops there.

I have just finished the book, The Seven Daughters of Eve by Sykes and was bitten by this "Trace your Family bugs" again, but with a slight twist.

It is now possible to have your DNA tested and to put you in a specific haplogroup or linage. This can be done on both the Y-chromosomal DNA (only males) and the Mitochondrial DNA (both male and females), giving either a Maternal or Paternal linage or both. I have names back 7 generations and frankly can't see any significance in having names further back. Now knowing my Haplogroup and where it fits in in the big world picture, that would be interesting.

[LaurieAG]

Originally Posted by Michaelangelica

One of my problems is my grandfather's name was James Francis Patrick O'Rourke from Cork Ireland

Any clues, ideas, experience, suggestions to share?

Hi Michaelangelica,

There are many resources available online but unfortunately many want payment. There are some other resources available though (via googling).

O'Rourke Researchers Page
Rourke Family Genealogy Forum
O'Rourke Family Genealogy Forum (Page 2)

I received about 200 hits for "James O'Rourke" cork

If you start with the local Australian Birth Death and Marriage records you should be able to find out when and where he came to Australia. From this you can find the ships passenger list (in the state of arrival archives) and usually the town where they came from. After the town is located, Griffiths valuation can be used to identify the property departed.

There is one problem with Irish records before 1830, there usually aren't any or they are very 'slim' to say the least.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Michaelangelica

Anyone else get bitten by this bug from time to time?

Any clues, ideas, experience, suggestions to share?

Deet works for me. I haven't traced anything back across the pond, but I am the Son of Daughters of the American Revolution on both my maternal & paternal sides. Johnny Appleseed really is my cousin.

Perhaps in the cases mentioned dead-ending in Europe, where city records are missing, local churches may have kept some records. Masonic lodges? Can we say "road trip?"

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by Michaelangelica

Every now and again I get bitten by the Tracing Your Family History Bug.
It is deadly and can lead you into trawling though old archives till dawn just on the mere sniff of new info.

One of my problems is my grandfather's name was James Francis Patrick O'Rourke from Cork Ireland

Do you want to know how many of them there are?

A lot of the WW1 records have not been digitalised or were destroyed in the bombing of London in WW2

I just started a tentative serarch/ help with Ancestry.com but get the feeling all they want to do is sign me up for .95+ PER MONTH to use their resources. I am not looking for the Inheritance of a Country Castle or Lordship for goodness sake.(!!!)

Anyone else get bitten by this bug from time to time?

Any clues, ideas, experience, suggestions to share?

My aunt did this a few years ago. Hours and hours searching obits, passenger lists, etc. Her advantage was being in college at the time giving her access to archives, newspapers, etc that other people have to pay to access.

I remember her talking about forums and usenet groups exchanging info like this and trading research time. Maybe you could find someone from the Island whos looking for info on a relative in Australia, who would be willing to hunt up some info for you.

I know my aunt eventually hooked up with distant relatives in Europe who had finished a lot of ground work on their own. They hit many dead ends because of the wars, fires, and the habit of only recording a womans first name on marriage certs/church records. Things like Mary... daughter of John Meadowsomething... and Mary, where the linage was thru Mary the wife, leaving a dead end.