Ancestor born c1815, left Ireland c1840's

[Lisa in California]

Hi.  I'm wondering if there might be any Sligo/Irish online records (pre-1841) to help search for my ancestor, please?
James Stuart, born c1815 in "Sligo", Ireland.  (Information obtained from his daughter's death certificate.)  James married Sarah Fowley in 1840.  I don't know if they married in Ireland or Canada.  Their first child was born in Ontario, Canada c1842.  James' occupation in Canada was a cooper.  I cannot find a death for James but it appears that he died prior to 1871.

I recently found a John Stuart, living in the same small Ontario town as James, in 1851.  John was also a cooper.  I've checked Canadian records and it appears that John was born c1817 in Ireland.  Perhaps James and John were brothers?

I've searched online for Sligo/Irish genealogy but have come up empty-handed.  I am not familiar with Sligo research and because James left Ireland prior to 1845, traditional online records don't seem to pertain to him.  I apologize for the long-winded post.  Thank you for reading it.

Previous (Canadian) post about James:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,386169.0.html

[shanew147]

Your problem is probably the early date - very few parishes have records back as far as the 1810s. You would really need to know where in Co. Sligo your Stuart family lived i.e. which parish, and also which denomination they were to see what records, if any, are available for the area they lived.

The average starting date for rural RC records is about 1830, but many of the records for Sligo start later than this. With the exception of the four parishes noted in the list of sources, I think RootsIreland has transcripts for all the available RC parishes and most of the CofI parishes also.


Shane

[Lisa in California]

Shane:

Thank you very much for your reply and guidance.  I did look at RootsIreland previously, but haven't yet signed up.  I will do so later.

A bit of family history was passed down to me regarding my father's paternal ancestors but until I started researching, no one knew about the Stuarts nor that they were from Ireland.  We were very surprised to find out that my ancestor (James' and Sarah's daughter) had siblings, since no one had ever heard about them.

Perhaps eventually I will find more information about the Stuart and Fowley localities, rather than just Sligo.

Again, thank you for your help.  It is appreciated. 

Lisa

[shanew147]

dont know if you've already seen these topics..  worth a quick read if you are new to Irish research :

  Introduction to Irish Records
  My Ancestor came from Ireland - where do I start?



Shane

[Lisa in California]

Hi Shane:

I've been researching (on and off) for a very long time, but I've only really searched online for Co. Galway and Co. Fermanagh information.*  It would be a good idea to read your posts, as I am sure I will find information that is new to me.

Thank you for the links.  I have an errand to do but I am looking forward to reading them when I return.

Lisa
*Researching from California has been difficult, since my family is Canadian and my ancestors are Irish and English.  While I have come to depend on the internet and internet searches, I've not spent a great deal of time researching Irish genealogy sites.

[Elwyn Soutter]

In the 1901 census for Sligo there's only 21 Stuarts listed, mostly Church of Ireland. If you have no other clues as to exactly where your ancestors came from in the County, you could use that together with any Stuarts listed in Griffiths Valuation, as a basis for starting a search of parish records.

[Lisa in California]

Elwyn, thank you for that suggestion, I've not tried that approach before.

I am on my way to work but I look forward to having a look around tonight.

Thank you again.