re:MURPHY/HOUTEN

[mrs.bee.5]

Hello,
Am looking for a needle in a haystack, not sure which haystack, so here goes!  The people I am looking for are Thomas MURPHY m. to Sarah Ellen HOUTEN.  Not really sure if Tipperary is their area or if it is Cork.  Any help would be appreciated.  One of their children is Denis MURPHY b. 1878 who m. Mary Ann O'CONNOR in 1914 Gympie Aust.  Thank you mrs.bee

[Christopher]

Hello mrs.bee,

You'll have to rely on Church records when searching for Sarah and Thomas as it appears that they were born prior to the introduction of Civil Registration in Ireland which started in 1864. Marriages of Non Catholic were registered from 1845 onwards.

You'll need to establish the following items if you are going to have any success in finding more about them ...

1. Denomination ... this is important as it's the first step in finding church records.
2. Parish ... step two in your search. Once you've established the denomination you need to find the churches in that particular parish as well as making enquiries about the existence of records for the period you are researching. You should be able to find these details online ... make a note of where such records are held.
3. Townland ... this can range in size from an acre to several thousand acres. In a great many cases the name of a townland referred to an identifiable feature of the landscape ... properties may or may not have had names but it's unlikely they were numbered as they may have been in towns and cities when your ancestor's were living.

Christopher