THE PEDIGREE-HUNTER IN IRELAND
As has previously been intimated, the pedigree-hunter, if looking up an
Irish family, can discover almost everything he wants (if discoverable
at all) in Dublin.
So, even if living in some country district in Ireland, all he requires
is to locate himself for some time in the Irish metropolis.
There he will find, in the Dublin Record Office, the _Wills and
Administrations_ which he needs, both Prerogative and Diocesan.
There he can revel in the _Chancery_ and _Exchequer Bills_ and
_Answers_ which, apart from the direct object of his search, very often
supply most interesting and even amusing information.
_Cause Papers_, another variation of legal documents, are to be found
there; also _Marriage Licence Bonds_ for the whole of Ireland, and,
indeed, nearly all the more important documents of the various kinds
enumerated in earlier chapters.
Besides these, the Dublin Record Office holds the greater number of
Irish _Parochial Registers_, either in the original or as copies, both
equally valuable to the searcher. This is a great advantage to him, as
he may find what he wants in the registers of a country parish while
searching in Dublin.
But many parishes still keep their registers in their own possession,
and have not forwarded any “parochial returns” to the Dublin Record
Office.
“Inquisitions post-mortem” and “ad quod damnum” of early dates can be
consulted there; they are written in Latin, and a novice would not
find them at all easy to decipher. The majority of them, however, have
been printed in ponderous old volumes, which can be studied by all
interested.
The pedigree-hunter should go through as many indexes of documents as
he can during his visits to this Record Office on the chance of coming
across something new and valuable.
There are bookcases lined with volumes of indexes round the walls
of the Search Room, and others, such as those required for Chancery
and Exchequer Bills--known as “Bill Books”--will be given to him on
application.
Though so much is discoverable at the Record Office, the Dublin
searcher must not confine his attention to it, as there are other
treasure-houses in that metropolis also.
He should certainly make his way to the Registry of Deeds in King’s
Inn, for there he will be sure to have valuable finds, and he can
search in the office all day long on payment of two shillings and
sixpence.
Indeed, the pedigree-hunter will be more than surprised at the number
of deeds under each name which the copious indexes display, and as a
separate index is issued (for each letter of the alphabet) for every
few years, a long time might be profitably spent in the Search Room of
the Registry of Deeds, and each successive visit there be increasingly
beneficial.
Therefore the searcher in Ireland must not forget to devote his
attention to the Registry of Deeds, King’s Inn, Dublin.
Nor should he fail to visit Trinity College, where he can peruse
_Matriculation Entries_, which supply the father’s name and other
particulars, to his heart’s content. No fees are charged for such
investigations.
And if the inquiries he wishes to make relate to early times, he may
find there also _pedigrees_ of value, for fairly early pedigrees of
Anglo-Irish families, as well as other similar documents of interest
and importance, are preserved in T. C. D.
At the Castle, Dublin, he can visit the _College of Arms_, Ulster’s
Office, which, of course contains a vast store of genealogical and
armorial information.
The Betham MSS. are among the most important of such documents stored
there.
But pedigree-hunters are not admitted far into these hallowed
precincts; indeed, they are seldom now allowed to make personal
searches, as officials undertake the desired investigations for stated
fees.
The searcher may derive considerable benefit from visits to the
principal Dublin libraries.
The _National Library_ contains the published works already
recommended, and has a most valuable stock of newspapers, some of which
date from far back in the eighteenth century. Besides this, the indexes
will show several out-of-print pamphlets and other papers of interest
to the genealogist.
_Trinity College Library_ is of world-wide renown, being one of the
five British libraries to which a copy of every published book must be
sent. It possesses certain valuable illuminated MS. treasures relating
to early Irish history and ancient Irish families. Some noticeable
Irish wills are also here deposited. The library, as such, is not open
to the public; special permission _may_, however, be given to read
there, if approved by the authorities.
At _Christ Church Cathedral_ a certain number of ancient deeds and
other documents have been preserved; particulars as to these can be
found in the _Reports_ of the Deputy-Keeper.
These are the principal places in the Irish metropolis where
genealogical information can be obtained, and some of them may be found
by the searcher to be genuine treasure-houses. This is especially the
case with the Irish Record Office, which, as we have seen, preserves
most valuable documents of all descriptions.
But if any desirable _Parochial Registers_ are not procurable there,
application should be made to the rectors of the parishes in question.
The publications of the _Parish Register Society of Dublin_ might
be consulted. The _Irish Association for the Preservation of the
Memorials of the Dead_ has issued certain volumes which are most
valuable, as they record and reproduce the inscriptions on many old
Irish tombstones. The _Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of
Ireland_, and the _Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological
Society_, should also prove valuable to the searcher in Ireland.