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Manuscript Sources
Papal Letters
Trade Directories
Griffiths valuations
Family Fragments
Census and Vital Records
Military Records


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Andy McMenemy

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Researching any family tree can be problematic. We have the added complications of variations in spelling, mobility of the family, and the poor availability of detailed records in Ireland.

I thought I'd provide a few background comments that may help:

  1. When checking the spelling of your name when doing family history research do remember the other likely variants. It could be that after leaving home the spelling changed dramatically. Same goes for christian name, Bridget can be spelled Brigid and Hugh Heugh. If you only search for the one spelling you may miss the vital record you seek. Older dates of birth can also be difficult as many of the ages were written down as a result of guesswork by the person giving the information particularly where the family was illiterate.
  2. Roman Catholic records are difficult to research because between 1600s and 1864 it was against the law in Ireland for Roman Catholic Births, Deaths, and Marriages to be officially recorded. They would only exist in parish registers if the priest took the trouble to enter them. Many BDMs were not recorded until months after the event if ever, because priests may have had to journey long distances to perform the ceremonies.
  3. A large proportion of the official records stored in Dublin were destroyed by fire in 1922 during the "Irish Rebellion". Two of the best records for Irish families are "The Tithes Applotment Registers 1823-1837, which recorded the head the household for all Ireland so that a tax could be collected for the "Official" church which was the Church of Ireland. Everybody regardless of religion had to pay it.  The other is "Griffiths Property Valuations" which showed the names of all property owners and their tenants in the 1850s.
(My thanks to Aeneas McMenamin, for these)
Onsite Source Link
One of the richest sources of information is the research that other people have already completed. I have been collecting these "fragments" of family trees for several years. You may find a read-made branch to your family tree! Family Fragments
The "Griffith's Valuation of Rateable Property" is a valuable source of information, given the destruction by fire of normal Census information in Dublin. I have presented the information collated by one our contributors. (I regret I have lost the contributor's name, so cannot thank them properly) McMeanman families in Griffiths
Passenger lists and Immigrant ships recording the emigration of our ancestors to various parts of the world. Emigration
During our research people have submitted entries from the Census, Births, Marriages, and Deaths indexes that they have found Vital Records
Several M'Meanmain families are featured in Trade Directories Trade Directories
A list of citations from Manuscript sources was provided by John D. McLaughlin Manuscripts
Extracts from Papal Letters that reference the M'Meanmain family members serving in various ecclesiastical functions. Papal Letters
Offsite Sources  
A list of Donegal Births and Marriages for family members has been collected by Carol Queen. This links directly to her research. Donegal BMDs
A list of Vital records entries for McMen* families from San Francisco Call Newspaper
Vital Records for the Years 1869-1891
San Francisco Call - Vital Records