Thomas Coyne of Longford, born about 1830

[mfjcase]

My great-great-grandfather, Thomas Coyne, was born in Longford in either 1829 or 1831.  He was the son of Michael and Margaret Coyne, and had at least one sibling, Timothy.  I have nothing more on the town of his birth.  Coyne was occasionally spelled "Coin" on some documentation, but virtually everyone in the family was illiterate, so it may have been left to the official record keeper to guess as to the spelling.

At some point prior to the 1850s, Thomas moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, married Margaret Ward of Mayo, and produced my great-grandmother, Ann Coyne.  Ann married Patrick McKeon of Rosocommon and moved to Boston, Massachusetts.  Any information on the Coynes of Longford would be greatly appreciated.

[Brian1]

Would suggest you look at this site which lists BMD in the various parishes of Longford.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~irllog/churchrecs.htm

Happy hunting
Brian

[Christopher]

Hello mfjcase,

There are three items you require when searching for Irish ancestors.

1. Denomination.
2. Parish
3. Townland.

You'll have to rely on Church records as civil registration in Ireland was not introduced until 1864. Non Catholic marriages were registered from 1845 onwards. When registration for BDMS started in 1864 some people didn't bother with the registration for a few years after that date. Keep your fingers crossed that church records still exist.

Christopher