GSI Notes

(includes links to topics not included in talk – from  *)

External Links :

Townlands & Locations

Place Name Database (logainm.ie)

Place Names NI

Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland
1861 Townland Index, 1871 Townland Index

FindMyPast Townland Index books (images)

Townland Index 1901 IGRS (irishancestors.ie)

Topographical Dictionary of Ireland 1837 – Samuel Lewis (libraryireland.com)

Civil Registration districts maps – IrishGenealogyToolkitFindMyPast

Maps

Ordnance Survey of Ireland/Geohive

OSNI & Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) Historical Maps

Dublin Historic Maps / Brian Hollinshead

Bibliothèque Nationale de France several John Rocque Maps of Dublin city & environs
Dublin City & Suburbs 1756, Dublin bay & Environs 1756, Dublin City 1757

South County Dublin Libraries
Historical Mapping (arcgis – now functioning correctly, 22nd Jan 2020)

Mapco 1838 Ireland,     Mapco 1798 Dublin City

Wikipedia Map of Dublin city (large jpeg)

Down Survey 1600s (T.C.D.)

Historic Map Portal (oldmapsonline.com)

Directories

Dublin Street Directory 1862 (libraryireland.com)

Failteromhat.com / John Hayes (pdf images)
Slaters 1846 Directory of Ireland
Pigot’s 1824 Directory of Ireland

Lennon Wylie – Belfast and Ulster etc.

The Catholic Directory and Annual Register for the Year 1838 Volumes 1-2, by C. Dolman
(Google Books ~page 102 for section on Ireland – thanks to Diane for the link)

Google Books Thom’s 1850
(index available..contact me via website)

Swilson.Info pages :

Townlands & Locations

Townland Database Search Options
Registration District Browse
Alterations to County borders in Ireland 1898

Maps

Dublin City maps
County Dublin maps
Ireland maps
Lewis 1837 County maps
Taylor & Skinner maps 1777

Directories

County Dublin Towns 1848
Pettigrew & Oulton 1834 & 1840
Watson’s Almanack 1783
Kingstown Directory 1913
Catholic Parishes & Directory 1848
RC Parish to Townland DB
Search for nearest Chapels and Parishes
Mobile Church/Chapel locate RC Chapel findCofI Church find
Thom’s Directory Street Indexes
Directory Database

Others

Tithe Location Reference Database
Surname Distribution
Surname Cross Reference
Street Index Article – York Street (wp article) *
Image Browse and Search Tools (wp article)
Historic Photographers DB
Telephone Subscribers 1900-1901
Coastguard Stations
Milestones & Boundary Markers
Dublin 1916 map of damage
Dublin before and after the rising
Milners Safes Advert 1917


[end]

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Using the GRO Image Browse Tool – Example

following on from the article detailing the Browse GRO BMD Image tool I’ve included an example below on how to use the indexes on FamilySearch / FindMyPast in combination with the GRO Image Browse tool to locate correct images for entries either not found on the IrishGenealogy website, or where the image link is missing or invalid.

Note – the browse tool currently only works FireFox browser

The example birth is that of a Catherine Lafferty father’s name Patrick born July/September Quarter 1887 in Stranorlar Registration district. A search of the birth indexes on FamilySearch and FMP shows two likely results the first in volume 2 page 319 and a second in the same volume on page 322.

There’s no sign of matching entries on the IrishGenealogy website under Lafferty..

The key details to note are the year/quarter, district volume and page (the folder, image & film references are FamilySearch internal references)

Lafferty birth index on FamilySearch

Lafferty birth index on FindMyPast

The next step is to do a generic search of all births during 1887 in Stranorlar district using FamilySearch or FindMyPast and look for births with the same year/quarter, ideally with a distinctive name – I picked a Mary Ann Ramsay :

Name Mary Ann Ramsay
Event Type Birth
Event Date Jul – Sep 1887
Registration District Stranorlar
Volume Number 2
Page Number 320

A little luck with this because her birth entry is on page 320 so close to our two possible matches. Look for this name on IrishGenealogy, leaving off the middle name which they dont usually index, and just 5 turn up for all Ireland, including just one in Stranorlar district.

Birth entry for Mary Ramsay 1887

Open the record and select the image link option to view the image and confirm that Mary Ann Ramsay is shown on the page, and that the page number is correct (320 top left of the page) . Copy the URL for the pdf page image from the browser address, and then open the GRO Image browse tool.

Copy URL from register image page on IrishGenealogy

Paste this image url into the textbox and click submit – the same register image should be shown – click the ‘< Previous link, at the top of the page to show page 319 and look for the first possible match, it’s entry 41 and father’s name is Stephen, so not the right one.

Catherine page 319

Click the ‘Next >’ link three time to get to page 322 and the right one.

Catherine page 322

Sometimes you have to repeat the steps as there can be several different books and sub-districts in use at the same time with overlapping page numbers.

The same basic steps can also work when you get an entry on IrishGenealogy without an image link. There are also some genuine mis-indexed records – where the page matches the index reference but there’s no sign of the record in question, these sometimes turn out to be misreadings of the page number – e.g. 515 vs 518 etc.

Some image links show a page in an incorrect volume, e.g. the incorrect registration district or county at the top, where these occur note the page number and try the images for other index entries with the correct district and similar page number.

p.s. it turns out that both these births have been indexed on IrishGenealogy as LAFFENTY.

Births indexed as Laffenty

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History of Roebuck Castle (updated)

web_roebuckcastle1908-1795Roebuck Castle c1795 (from Hall’s History of Dublin 1908)

ROEBUCK CASTLE

A short history from the Anglo-Norman Invasion to the present day.

(from details given in 1943 auction brochure)

The earliest record of this historic residence dates from as far back as the 11th century when the lands were called Rabo or Raboge and were far greater extent than at present, and are reputed to have Included  the village of Clonskeagh and the Iron Works there.

In 1154 the lands together,with the somewhat distant manor of Cruagh were granted to Thomas de St. Michael and after passing through the hands of David Bassett (a member of a great Norman family) came, in 1216, into the possession of Fromund le Brun, then Chancellor of Ireland, and the lands actually took their name from Otho de Rabo, who acted as Sheriff to Sir Nigel le Brun, the successor to Fromund.

The successors were then as follows :
1315 Fromund  – Son of Sir Nigel le Brun.
1377 Sir Thomas – Son of Fromund le Brun.
1382 Francis – Son of Thomas le Brun
1420 Sir John – Son of Francis le Brun

Sir John had two sons, Christopher and Richard. Christopher died before his father leaving two children – a son Christopher, who died shortly after his Grandfather, and a daughter, Elizabeth. For a time the lands were in the possession of Sir John’s second son, Richard le Brun, and ultimately became vested in his Grand-daughter Elizabeth, and by her marriage, to Robert Barnwell, 1st Baron of Timelston, passed into possession of the latter family until the beginning of the 19th century.

It has been stated that the Castle of Roebuck now partly incorporated with the modern house was the residence of John, 3rd Baron of Trimleston, “a rare nobleman endowed with sundry good gifts“, whose initials with those of his wife, Anne Fyan, it bore. In 1639 it was described containing 1 Castle, 10 messuages, one water mill and 40 acres of land – all of which were stated to be held of the Manor of Cruagh.

During the rebellion. of 1641, the Castle, then in the possession of Mathew, 8th Baron Trimleslon, was partially destroyed.

In 1663 Mathew Lord Trimleston was found “seised of the Town and Lands of Roebuck, described as 500 acres in the Parish of Taney,” for which he took out a fresh patent in 1667, but forfeited his interest therein in the War of 1688.

In 1689 the Castle was occupied by King James II and the Duke of Berwick when they had their camp in the neighbourhood.

Austin Cooper, on visiting it in 1781, found only a small portion roofed was used as a store house by a farmer who resided in a small house close by. In Cooper’s opinion the Castle was a large one forming two sides of a square and upon it he mention were engraved in stone the arms of the Barnwalls – as well as the letters : R.B.A.F and the name Robert.

In 1790 Lord Trimleston repaired it IMG_0055_800for his country residence.

Mr. Francis Crofton bought Roebuck from Lord Trimleston and it was subsequently sold to the Westby family in 1856.  In the 1870s Edward Perceval Westby of Roebuck Castle, Dundrum, county Dublin and Doon, county Clare, owned 25,779 acres in county Clare and 67 acres in county Dublin. The Castle was modernized in 1874.


Roebuck is described as a district within Taney (civil) parish in Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of 1837, with the Castle as ‘..seat of A. B. Crofton, Esq., was originally erected at a remote period and strongly fortified. ..’, and the land around described as ‘..chiefly occupied by handsome villas, situated in tastefully disposed grounds, many of which command magnificent views of the bay and city of Dublin, the Dublin and Wicklow mountains, and the beautiful adjacent country..’.

The Castle and lands were sold in 1943 for £16,000 to The Little Sisters of the Poor,  who used the building as a home for the aged poor.

In 1985 the Castle was sold to U.C.D. and part of the land was sold for development. The Castle, Gate-Lodge and some of the cottages are now listed as protected structures.

IMG_0219_p1_800

see also :

Roebuck Castle Sale 1942
Map of Roebuck Townland – 1820
Roebuck Castle 1765 – Drawing
Contents of Entrance Hall – Roebuck Castle 1943

see also full entry from Hall’s 1903 – Description of Roebuck from F.E. Hall’s ‘History of Dublin’

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Production of town Gas, from c1920s/1930s Encyclopedia

[click on any of the images to show a larger version]

The manufacture of gas is to-day a great industry, and on these pages We show, from drawings made at the South Metropolitan Gas Company’s works in London, how gas is produced from coal and sent into our homes. The pictures largely explain themselves. Starting at the top left-hand corner we see the coal arriving at the works, where it is carried up by an elevator and dropped into an automatic charger. A hydraulic ram then pushes it into a retort, where heat extracts the gas from the coal. The gas, however, is very impure and it passes through a water main where tar is deposited and collected. Then it goes through a valve into the exhauster, an ingenious apparatus consisting of one drum within another. The inner drum‘ turns and within it revolves a blade which moves up and down and pushes the gas through a pipe into a condenser. Here cold water passing upward through pipes condenses further tar which is collected and the gas passes down through a pipe into a washer. It travels down spaces between boxes containing perforated metal tubes.

[some of the following section missing due to torn page] Then it goes through the perforations and passes through water to a scrubber. It enters at the bottom and goes up through a staging.. of broads over which water is sprayed sprayed by revolving pipes. The water dro.. known as ammonia liquor.  The gas then goes to a purifier, passing ov[er] … Then it goes through a meter with curved vanes which, as the mov[e]… The quantity passing through the meter is registered on a dial. In the … perforated sheets of absorbent material soaked in oil. These …. a gas holder (often erroneously called a gasometer) Then i… district, and eventually enters the mains under the street.. [the residues left after ?] the making of the gas were once a  nuisance, as it was diffi[cult]…  and other commodities, such as road-making materials an[d]…‘

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Browse GRO Ireland BMD Images

(updated March 2019 and January 2020 – see example of this method – Using the GRO Image Browse Tool )

Sharing a tool I use to browse images of the Civil Birth, Marriage and Death registers on the IrishGenealogy website. The tool adds a selection of next / previous links to make it easier to move backwards and forwards through the images without having to manually edit the URL. This can be useful to help locate mis-indexed entries, or records with missing index entries.

Note the BMD image browse tool currently only works in FireFox browser

see BMD Image Browse (IrelandGen.com)

To use, first locate a record for the district and date range of interest using the IrishGenealogy website in the usual way, and open the register image. Copy the full URL from the address bar. (ensure this starts with the https and ends with .pdf) :

Open the BMD Image Browse Tool, paste in the copied URL, and click the submit button.



The Next and Previous buttons move one page forward or backward through the register images. Also available are +-5, +-10 and +-50 links which skip backward or forward in larger steps.

To start a new search, click the [reset] link to the top right.
If the captcha screen is displayed instead of a register image, select the appropriate images and enter your name as usual and the register image will display.

The full references with page numbers are available on the FamilySearch version of the BMD Index. These are also available on FindMyPast and Ancestry.

The tool was primarily developed for Chrome and also tested on FireFox, and on Safari on iPad, but should also function on other modern browsers.

Note : the browse function adds and subtracts from the image number, so does not account for entries with multiple images – e.g.those with 1 2 3 links (These use a letter suffix on the image filename – e.g. 5864623.pdf , 5864623a.pdf , 5864623b.pdf etc)

See also the revised 1901-1911 Census image browse tool and the new Tithe Applotment Image Browse (updated Jan. 2018).

For records on IrishGenealogy without an image link, or where the image is in the wrong volume or district, I start off by establishing the full index references, i.e. the year/quarter, volume and page using the BMD Index on FamilySearch (or FindMyPast/Ancestry), and then look for other records in the same year/quarter, registration district and volume, ideally with a close page number, ideally with nice unusual names and start the browse with these..

An additional source that can help provide clues is the collection of extracted civil records on FamilySearch, i.e. births(*), marriages and deaths, these include partial details on the records and some include a page number as part of the ‘address’ field – e.g. “..539, Maynooth, Kildare” some records include details under a ‘Reference Id’ in the expandable panel to the right – e.g. “p508 ln233” , This collection includes transcript on many (but not all) births marriages & deaths between the start of civil records and about 1881.

(* some of these births incorrectly use the caption ‘Christening Place’ instead of birth place)

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