Margaret,
I echo what Boyd has said.
Armstrong is a very common name in Ireland.In the 1901 census there are 6122.
545 in Co Tyrone, 6 named Samuel and41 named William. The names would have been
even more common in the mid 1800s asthe population was considerably greater
then. (It was 8 million in 1841 and it’sonly 6 million today).
There’s 42 parishes in the county, and probably250 – 300 churches. Not all the
churches have records back to the mid 1800s letalone 1811 when William was
born, and of those that do, many are not on-line.Only the RC records are fairly
comprehensively on-line. For all other denominationsit’s very patchy. A lot
have been copied and are in PRONI, but there are somesmall churches where the
Minister still has the only copy of the records.No-one has copied them at all,
and the only way of checking them is to contacthim/her. Searching all the
various church records for Tyrone is a mammoth task.Researchers need to be able
to reduce the search by knowing the exact denomination(s)of the families they
are looking at. And we need some reasonably reliableinformation on where they
might have lived to keep the research withinreasonable bounds. Searching the
church records for the whole county forArmstrong would be a huge task. But even
then, there’s no getting away from thefact that the Church of Ireland lost a
significant portion of its records inthe 1922 fire, and that other
denominations didn’t always keep records, or ifthey did, they have been lost or
damaged. So no certainty of success at all.
It’s worth bearing in mind that noteveryone is listed in Griffiths. Servants,
people lodging with others and folkwith very low value properties were all
excluded. Labourers who moved aroundregularly to follow available work often
slipped through the Griffiths clerks net.There are other examples. Also it was
compiled for Tyrone around 1860, so if afamily had left by that year, they
won't be in it.
With your Samuel and William, I wouldsearch all possible records in Canada, or
wherever else they ended up. Marriageand death certificates sometimes give
places of birth, as well as parentsnames. Military records, obituaries, wills
etc can all throw up informationabout someone’s origins. Because it’ssuch a
common name, to trace William Armstrong born c1852, we’d need hismother’s full
name, to be sure of finding the right family. Presumably you knowthat, though
it isn’t in your post.
The researcher’s expertise is obviouslyimportant but equally we can’t magic up
records that don’t exist anymore, and themore accurate your information and the
narrower the search area, the better thechances of success.
Elwyn
From: Boyd Gray via CoTyroneList <[email protected]>
To: CoTyroneIreland.com Mailing List <[email protected]>
Cc: Boyd Gray <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, 3 December 2018, 22:31
Subject: Re: [CoTyroneMailingList] Using a researcher
Hi Margaret,
I am a "researcher" currently working on a project very similar to the one you
describe. And after weeks of research, I have not found that magical "smoking
gun" which you seem to desire. Thankfully, I am not being expected to do so
and I made that clear at the start when I offered to help. It is as simple as
this. If the records do not exist, no amount of research, by anyone other than
a magic fairy, is ever going to find that definitive link for which you seek.
In the end, it will all come down to probabilities. If you have researched
every birth, marriage and death, every land record from the Tithe Applotment
Books, through the Griffiths Valuation AND beyond through the Griffiths
Valuation Revision Books, through their overlap with the censuses and right
through to their end circa 1930, then you will have sufficient sense of the
family in that area to know whether they are your folks, to withing 80% or 90%
degree of certainty. But you can not expect even a professional researcher to
magic up a record which does not exist.
Just like you, we found a Christopher Irwin, but not the Christopher Irwin who
emigrated to Ontario in 1850 because this Christopher Irwin was still in Co
Tyrone when he died in 1906. But, we have done enough work on this branch of
the Irwins, compared to other Irwins from County Tyrone, which was the only
clue given by Canadian records, to be reasonably sure we have the right Irwins.
But no smoking gun. No family bible. No record from a list of sources which
simply does not exist. No researcher with a magic wand. If you need to know
what sources are actually available, have a look here at the helpful hints,
workshop videos, sources and links:https://www.facebook.com/westulstergenealogy/
That is the reality.
Keep researching, do not give up, but do not look for the impossible....
though, who knows.... you may strike lucky and find that mythicak family bible.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Boyd
https://www.westulstergenealogy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/westulstergenealogy/
http://familytrees.genopro.com/boydgray26/Boyd/
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 at 21:42, margaret marion via CoTyroneList
<[email protected]> wrote:
I have grown more and more frustrated with my research in Northern Ireland.
Has anyone ever used a researcher? Was it a good experience? Can anyone
recommend someone?I have done my research for Samuel Armstrong born 1811 and
his son William born 1852, Tyrone, Northern Ireland.I have done Griffith's
Valuation and the census from 1901 and 1911. I centered on the Armstrong's of
Sixmilecross. I went there because in Griffith's Valuation, they had a Samuel
Armstrong.I now know that it is not my Samuel Armstrong. I figure he came to
Canada in 1860 - 1862.The Samuel Armstrong of Sixmilecross is present right
into the late 1800's. this is what frustrated me to the most.I have done the
family tree for the Armstrong's of Sixmilecross back to 1797 with Isaac
Armstrong, father Francis, I believe, but not lots of proof.My own guess is
Samuel is a younger brother of Isaac. But absolutely no proof.Hence the reason
I am thinking of getting a researcher for a bit.Any advice would be
appreciated.Margaret MarionOshawa, Ontario,
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