Guide to Tracing your Sligo Ancestors

Sligo is a maritime county in the Northwest of Ireland, perhaps most famous for its scenery and as the home of the poet W.B. Yeats. Sligo families are a mixture of native Gaelic families, and of some Cromwellian settlers who arrived in the 17th century. Common names include Scanlon, O'Healy, Brennan, Gallagher, O'Hara, O'Gara, O'Dowd, Kelly, Burke, Boland, McDonnell, McDonagh, Conlon, Breheny, Kelly, Feeney, Gallagher, Gilmartin, McGowan, (O)'Hart, Higgins, Connor/ O'Connor, McDonagh, Walsh, Egan and (O)'Crean. The main 'gentry' families in the county are Cooper, Crofton, Gore, Nicholson, Ormsby, Parke, Phibbs, Irwin and Wood. It is one of the counties which experienced a high level of emigration to North America and elsewhere, and the port of Sligo was a major port of embarkation during the mass exodus of the famine period. This book sets out the records available for Sligo, where they can be accessed, and how they can be used to best effect in tracing Sligo families.

Autorentext
Dr. James Ryan is a writer and publisher who has been active in Irish genealogy for the past 25 years. He also founded Flyleaf Press - www.flyleaf.ie - in 1987. His book "Irish Records" (published by Ancestry Inc.) has been a standard guide for Irish genealogists since its publication in 1987. His research interests during this time have included church records, which resulted in his editing and publication of "Irish Church Records" (see below) which provides the background to the creation and survival of these records. In recent times he has been researching Rentals (i.e. records of tenant agreements and rent payments). These are an extensive resource in Ireland due to the dominance of large estates as land-owners. He has lectured and taught extensively on genealogical research, and has given presentations to over thirty genealogy societies, mainly in the USA. He also presented one-week courses on Genealogy at the Milwaukee Irish Summer School. He was also a professional researcher on Irish family history for many years, but in recent years has concentrated on lecturing and publishing, and has published works by 12 genealogists. His own books include: "Irish Records - Sources for Family & Local History. Ancestry, Salt Lake City 1997 "Tracing your Dublin Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, Dublin 2009 "Irish Church Records. Flyleaf Press, Dublin 2001"Sources for Irish Family History. Flyleaf Press, Dublin "Tracing your Sligo Ancestors: (Flyleaf Press, 2012)