Is it worth paying one of those family tree companies? We’ve turned up a blank?

FrankFalcon

Hi all

BEFORE I BEGIN PLEASE ALLOW ME TO STATE THAT THIS REVOLVES AROUND IRISH CITIZENSHIP/HERITAGE. 

For years my mother told me that her mother was Irish but didn’t know where in Ireland. It could have even been Northern Ireland. So, last year, I finally set out to try and find out once and for all if my mother’s mother was from/born/lived in Ireland. Therefore, my wife paid to join a genealogy website to get assistance. My wife did a great job at making a pretty comprehensive family tree, but alas…the trail went cold at my mother’s mother. My wife also discovered that other members of our relations had also made the same family trees, albeit some contained mistakes. So, we turn to a lovely old bloke who bowls at our local bowling club. He actually loves researching family trees and has literally done hundreds for people all over our region. It’s his hobby and he loves it. Suffice to say, he did my family tree but also couldn’t move on from my mother’s mother. He seemed to think that there could be an error on a birth record at the start of the 1900’s. So, I have toyed with paying a company to do the research but logic tells me that they can only access the same info as me and A N Other. I really need to know if my Grandmother was Irish because this would allow me to apply for Irish Citizenship (which is my intention). So, my questions are:

Has anybody ever used one of these paid for companies and discovered that the company gained access to more/better information? If so, can anybody recommend a company or expert who could assist? 

As I said, I don’t mind paying. 

With total respect, I am not looking for tips or advice on how to search myself. Myself, my wife, the lovely man at the bowls club have spent many, many hours trying to resolve it. It seems that the connection to Ireland may be hampering us. This may be evident in a comment made by the man at the bowls club who told me “A lot of files were distroyed, lost etc at the start of the 1900’s due to the troubles”. I have no reason to doubt him. 

Thanks in advance all. What do you all think? 

Hoenir

 This may be evident in a comment made by the man at the bowls club who told me “A lot of files were distroyed, lost etc at the start of the 1900’s due to the troubles”. I have no reason to doubt him. 

Factually correct. The Public Record Office of Ireland in Dublin was destroyed in a fire during the Irish Civil War and hundreds of years of Irish records were lost.

DE_612183

I have Irish ancestors - I think the issue is there was a huge explosion in the Irish records office in 1922 when lots were destroyed - so you'd need to get someone to physically visit places ( churches etc  ) also I had the problem that the people I was trying to trace was called Michael McCarthy - which as you can imagine is not a unique name in Ireland.

Personally if your "bloke" at the bowls club has turned up nothing I'm not sure how much further you'd get.

elsien

Holiday to Ireland coming up? 

Do you now have any place names at all so that you could physically search or have you not managed to narrow it down even that far?

Olinda99

it is unlikely that's a paid for researcher could turn up anything that you couldn't or your friend from the bowls club couldn't 

everyone has access to the same records and nobody has a crystal ball

Ireland is particularly difficult because of the destruction of the records mentioned above. 

sammyjammy

Interesting posts, my grandfather was Irish (I have no interest in an Irish passport) and couldn't find any evidence of his parents which makes sense now, I guess they would have been born 1890-1900.  I can trace my English grandparents back to the 18th century but it seems pointless (IMO) when it tells me nothing about them other than birth/death.

theoretica

You don't mention if you have paid for DNA already.  Some people find that pays off in connecting with relatives and then working out how they are connected.  Mitochondrial DNA only connects with maternal relatives.

TonyMMM

Hoenir said:

 This may be evident in a comment made by the man at the bowls club who told me “A lot of files were distroyed, lost etc at the start of the 1900’s due to the troubles”. I have no reason to doubt him. 

Factually correct. The Public Record Office of Ireland in Dublin was destroyed in a fire during the Irish Civil War and hundreds of years of Irish records were lost.

The main records lost were the C19th censuses and most wills.

Birth/marriage and death registrations weren't affected, and can be viewed (free) online  and the 1901 and 1911 Irish census records are also free to view.

Most parish records are also available.

You will need a properly evidenced written report to submit with the application..... try one of the people listed here for an opinion:

https://accreditedgenealogists.ie/

Grumpelstiltskin

Join  Rootschat ( free ) and post a query on here.

Ireland (rootschat.com)

Give as much information as you have and see if they can help you

silvercar

theoretica said:

You don't mention if you have paid for DNA already.  Some people find that pays off in connecting with relatives and then working out how they are connected.  Mitochondrial DNA only connects with maternal relatives.

This. I’ve found relatives on 23andme, though ancestry is another large DNA database. It can be difficult to work out where on the tree people should be - I have second cousins that aren’t actually second cousins (as I know all of them) but we can’t work out where the relationship lies.

Savvy_Sue

DNA testing might - and I say might advisedly - be worthwhile. It might show a distinct absence or presence of Irishness; and it might turn up cousins etc who may have the evidence you need. 

But it can also uncover skeletons in cupboards.