Ross family - Monaghan

[Jim Davis]

I have been researching my and my wife's family history for about 2 years, almost exclusively in USA and Canada. I am starting to expand to Europe and UK and must admit to some intimidation. Not sure where and how to start. One family I am working on is my wife's gg grandfather. The information I have is

William Ross b. 5 July 1837 Monaghan, Ireland

Father was David Ross b. 1793 Monaghan, Ireland
Mother was Margaret Ann Conagan b. 1789 Ireland
mother and father married in 1828 in Monaghan, Ireland

Children of David and Margaret were
Charles b. abt 1820 Tyrone Northern Ireland
John A b. 6 Aug 1827
Eliza b. 1831 Monaghan, Ireland
James b. 1833 Monaghan, Ireland
Susannah b. 1835 Monaghan, Ireland
William b. 5 July 1837 Monaghan Ireland
Jane b. abt 1838 Monaghan, Ireland

The entire family emigrated to Canada in 1848 when William was 11 y/o.

William's father David was a school teacher in Ireland.

I do not have a lot of supporting documentation for the above. Any suggestions as to how to proceed or any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Jim Davis
North Carolina USA

[Elwyn Soutter]

Statutory records of births, deaths & marriages started in Ireland on 1.1.1864 (1st April 1845 for Protestant and Non-Conformist marriages). Prior to that you are heavily dependant on church records, where they exist. Most early Irish censuses have been destroyed so no help there. You really need to try and find out a little more about the family from sources outside Ireland. (Otherwise it’s a needle in a haystack).

To use church records effectively, because there’s no centralised index, ideally you need to know the ancestor’s exact denomination, townland and parish in Ireland. Good sources immigration & naturalisation records which can show town/townland of origin as well as parents and siblings travelling together. Check every possible census. Census returns sometimes include exact place of birth. Look out also for other Irish people nearby in the censuses. Immigrants often settled near people they knew from home. Check any military records, old diaries, gravestones, family bibles, wills and obituaries.

Ross is a very common surname in Co. Monaghan, but you can see where there were Ross households there in 1861. (Chances are David left some family behind there).