The Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland

If you plan to do any family history research in Northern Ireland and you have ancestors that emigrated to Northern Ireland from Scotland, this is a good place to do some research. Before we left for Ireland, I planned on visiting their facilities. However, when I was at PRONI, I decided to spend my time there rather than go to a facility that may not have anything that I am interested in as some of my Irish ancestors were Methodists and the records that I needed to access if I had enough time would be in PRONI. Afterwards, I was assured that there may have been some records that may have helped me in my search.

Most of the information that I present here was gleaned from the website. Their website looks like it’s fairly easy to use. They seem to have it well organized and they have a slide show explaining some of the history of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

If you are working on your family history, they do state that they do not have a comprehensive collection, but they will do the best that they can in order to help you. If you are interested in hiring a researcher, they direct you to go to the PRONI website and choose from the list of researchers there.

The website lists what is held in their library, in their archives, and how donations and indefinite loans can be made.

There are a number of documents that have been digitized and can be accessed online. The only problem is that you need to have a paid subscription or membership in order to access the information available. It currently costs £16 per year. When you look at the cost and compare it to some of the fees for other websites, £16 really is not very much money. Unless you are going to Ireland to visit other places as well, you may just find what you are looking for on your computer in the comfort of your own home.

If I find that the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland is one of the places where I can find records of my ancestors, yes, I would use the website and pay the fee so that I can access the information. You never know just where you may find something about that elusive ancestor who doesn’t seem to want to be found.

Day 8 – Field Trip, April 2016

Last night, the group that stayed for the late hours at PRONI were back about 8:30 – 9:00 and had their supper at that time. I’m glad that I didn’t stay as I would not have been able to go so long without food.

This morning, we left the hotel shortly after 9:00 am and headed towards the Ulster Historical Foundation. Fenton, Gillian, and Michael each did a presentation for us and provided a small snack at mid morning. One of their board members also spoke for a couple minutes and thanked us for going to their facility. They then spent some time one on one for anyone who wanted to ask about researching in Ireland.

As I am not at the point where I could do anything, a thought came into my mind. I then asked about the origin of two of the surnames that I am researching. I was taken upstairs into their office and Fenton provided me with two books regarding surnames. I found some interesting information on one of the surnames, but not much on the other. While looking them up, I realized that this was a good chance to look up two other Irish names. I will write about the information that I learned at a later date.

About noon, we loaded onto the bus and travelled to the North of Ireland Family History Society’s library. We had access to their books and the expertise of two of their members. Because of the status of my research right now, I worked on a computer to see if I could find a list of their library holdings. I found their publications and ended up making a purchase of five of their booklets. I know that these will help me after getting home.

My brother was not interested in going to these places, so he stayed in the vicinity of the hotel and wandered around with the company of two other members of the group.

After we arrived back at the hotel, my brother and I decided to go look for a pub to have supper. The first one was not to the liking of either of us. We then wandered over to The Bridge House which is a Wetherspoons restaurant. They had a special on fish and chips and our meals were both under £10 each. It was good. I couldn’t finish my meal because it was too much for me.

After dinner, I wanted to wander around to get some pictures. My brother took me around some of the areas that he explored over the past couple of days and I took some good pictures. I will have to download them from my phone as I was expecting to go back to the hotel before going for the wander. In some respects, I was glad that he was with me. There were one or two areas that I probably would have avoided if I had been alone.

I’m hoping to be in bed early tonight as we have an early start in the morning and it will be a long day. We will be visiting Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, followed by a trip to Ballymoney. Tomorrow evening, we will be having dinner at the Crumlin Road Gaol.

A Summer Day's Trip

I originally wrote this article in 2014. The time frame of the story is March to June of 2014.

I was perusing the marketplace at Gen-o-rama to see if there was anything that I should consider purchasing.  Global Genealogy had their books of information from newspapers from Lanark County out and I was considering that it might be in my best interest to purchase one.  But, I had to find one that would be of the most benefit to my research.  So, I was checking the indexes to see if any of my ancestors were listed.  Not surprisingly, there were very few Farrells listed.  Then I came to the book containing the obituaries for 1902.  I found only one name:  Mary Ann Farrell.  I didn’t think that this could be my great-grandmother, but I decided to check anyway.  As I read the obituary, I really got excited.  This was indeed my great-grandmother.  This obituary listed where Mary Ann died and was buried. I was so excited.  I wrote down the community where she was buried.  However, I did not purchase the book.  I did enter the information into Ancestry that same day through my tablet.  (Yes, there was internet access at the conference.)

After I got home, I began to google Cohorton to see where it is located.  I found that Cohorton was not the name of the community but it is Cohocton and is located about 2 hours south of Buffalo.  It is a small community but it does have an historic society which has a Facebook page. I sent them a message to see if they had any information on my great-grandmother and her family.  About 2 weeks passed and a message was returned.  Mary Ann passed away in 1902 after a period of time suffering from tuberculosis.  Two years previously, she gave birth to a baby girl by the name of Margaret.  Her husband’s name was Frank (Francis) and they had moved there 6 years previously.  That was about the extent of the information that they were able to find in that time.

This gave me more information than what I had before.  I still have more information to find. 

As it turns out, my husband and I own a house in the Niagara Peninsula about 3 hours north of Cohocton.  I was already planning a trip to there for about a week in the beginning of June for a dinner being held by the 57 Field Regiment Association.  I have made some adjustments to my plans so that I can go visit Cohocton on Friday, go to the dinner on Saturday evening, and then conclude my business and travel home by Tuesday. 

The staff of the Historical Society of Cohocton have graciously given me their street address and phone number so that I will be able to drive down and visit.  I will also be able to visit the cemetery that Mary Ann is buried in.  Who knows, but I might even be able to learn what address that the family resided at during the 1900 census and take a picture of it.

You never know what you will find at a family history conference.