Finding descendants

[jillygorm]

I have traced my father's ancestry in Australia back to early 1800s - I am 4th generation Australian. I have now begun searching and collecting records of their Irish heritage. My earliest known family names are Gorman (married Sanders) and Martin (married Frazer), both married in Ireland, then migrated to Australia and began their families. I am visiting Ireland in October 2018 and would dearly love to meet descendants.  How am I best able to find descendants and make contact with them? Thank you for any assistance. Jill

[chempat]

Welcome to rootschat. jillygorm.

Have you looked in 'Surname Interests' in 'Your Tools' below, to see if anyone on here is researching the same families?

Then have you tried google searches for more specific names and places to see if that leads you to other family websites?

[mrcakey]

Taking a DNA test would be a great help in finding living relatives if they also happen to have taken one. On sites that also allow you to combine with a family tree it can be quite revealing.

Also for finding descendants, if the surnames involved are rare enough you can find marriages and then use the wife's maiden name to search for children, e.g. if your relative was Keaveny and he married a Laverne then you could look for children born shortly after the marriage date whose name is Keaveny and mother's maiden name is Laverne.

[Billyblue]

You could contact local papers in the relevant Irish areas, looking for them.
It's a long shot but you never know

Or you could contact their local FHS to see if anyone knows of the families.

Dawn M

[Cwellan CoDown]

Irish birth and marriage indexes are not available online for anything under 100 years for births and under 75 years for deaths - although family search seems to have them up to 1958

I would look on facebook, and see if there is local facebook group for the area you are looking for relatives in.

Trace the land your family lived on the Griffith valuation (1860's) and visit the area, there might be some family member still owns it

What area of Ireland is it you are looking for relatives in?

[KGarrad]

Looking at the 1902 census, the name Gorman appears in every county
There are hotspots (more than 400 persons) in counties: Antrim, Dublin, Kings County (Offaly), Queens County (Laois) and Tipperary.

Finding relatives will be no easy task