G2G: Where can I research next for my GGGfather James D Purcell of Waterford Ireland and his wife Ann Ronan of Tipperary?

Question

My Purcell tree research has stalled out now, I have last entries for James Purcell (1824 - 1897) who immigrated to Canada around 1840's and married Ann Ronan in 1849 at the Parish of St. Paul's Cathedral, Toronto Canada. I do know that the parents of these two were James D. and Eleanor Grace of Waterford Ireland. This is where it stalls out, I have looked and not found credible matches for these two in Waterford. Also related, I can not find Ann's parents, Timothy Ronan and Ann Smith (English) of Tipperary.

So today I am requesting research ideas, tips for these two branches, specific to the towns they were listed as being from on the marriage record of their children.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Answer 1

Hi Jeffery I have found this on Find my past  First name(s)	James
Last name	Purcell
Sex	Male
Birth year	1824
Place	Armagh
Country	Ireland
Regiment	36Th Foot
Organisation	Armed Forces
Source	Gro Regimental Birth Indices (1761 To 1924)
Archive	General Register Office
Archive reference	REG1
Record's year range	1824
Page	35
Volume	13
Line number	119
Record set	British Armed Forces And Overseas Births And Baptisms
Category	Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Subcategory	Civil Births
Collections from	Great Britain, UK Other

Comments

Thanks Frank, I think I have run across this one before, but wasn't sure... I'll add it to my "Maybe" list : )

Answer 2

Hi Jeffery,

I've got many Purcell ancestors which is what caught my eye here. Your Purcell + Grace surnames are famous in Leinster + Munster starting from the 1300s. I'm sure with a bit of detective work you can find records.

Here are a few quick suggestions:

1) Try the extensive source list prepared by the Irish Project team: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Historical_Sources_of_Ireland

2) If you start back in the 1700s you'll get a bit of historical context that will put the 1800s into better focus

3) County libraries can be useful for online research ... clarelibrary.ie, Waterford, Kilkenny, Tipperary etc. People often moved around more than we thought.

4) Irish history journals ... also JSTOR and Academia.edu

5) Google the person's name + a few specific town names ... be creative with all spellings! Recently I've blasted through brick walls that had plagued me for 15 years ... new records are constantly coming online

Good luck!

Comments

Thank you for this information and encouragement!