Useful online free genealogical databases

Useful online databases:

These sites are very useful since they offer access to thousands of named individuals from a variety of sources and many predate civil registration. Databases are limited in scope in that they give limited information with name and perhaps a location. Locating an ancestor in these databases is a bonus, of course, but one should remember that this is a secondary source of information and it would be important to consult any original documentation where it exists. The provenance of a source is vital in understanding the historical context of the document as there is a reason why the person is named within. It is the sources which provide the surnames. Amateur family historians usually make the mistake of searching for surnames rather that searching for sources pertaining to townland/parish which have the potential to identify the names of their ancestors.

For north Antrim and Derry - Bill Macafee's website is superb:

http://www.billmacafee.com/

For Ballymoney (55,000 records - registration necessary)

http://www.ballymoneyancestry.com/

Bready ancestry (superb site - lots of local history as well as genealogical databases)

http://www.breadyancestry.com/index.php?id=3

Newry ancestry (free databases)

http://www.bagenalscastle.com/ancestry/

Ros' Davies county Down surnames (800,000 names)

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rosdavies/SURNAMES/Afrontpage.htm



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