MKA O Kief Coshe MangYou have checked the usual – the 1901 and 1911 Census, then Griffith’s Valuation and if you are really interested and want to pin down an earlier ancestor, then you have also tried and probably struggled to find your family name on the Tithe Applotment books.

The original census returns for 1861 and 1871 were destroyed shortly after the censuses were taken. Those for 1881 and 1891 were pulped by the British Government, during the First World War, probably because of the paper shortage. The returns for 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 were, apart from a few survivals, notably for a few counties for 1821 and 1831, destroyed in 1922 in the fire at the Public Record Office at the beginning of the Civil War.  Most of these lost records were both valuable and irreplaceable.  However, we have what are now regarded as ‘Census Substitutes’.   They are lists of names /location that were compiled for reasons other than Census purposes and a name of your family ancestor on one of these, can copper fasten your search (or otherwise).

MKA Slaters Tralee 1856There is a complete list on our website Links & Resources page, the following are just some highlights:

  • Knocknagoshel – List of names who signed a petition in 1916 to the Bishop of Kerry to split off Knocknagoshel from Brosna
  • Index to O’Kief Coshe Mang – Kerry Material
  • Killarney Marriages – 1839 – 1843 including both sponsor names
  • Flax Seed Entitlement List 1796 – Names of those in Kerry who were paid a premium for growing Flax.
  • Kilquane Civil Parish – Heads of Households 1827 Tithe Books, Religious Census of 1834, Griffith’s Valuation 1852 for these parishes
  • Castlegregory Emigrants to the USA – taken from Ellis Island records.
  • 1659 Pender’s Census of Kerry (Extracts)
  • World War 1 Officers from County Kerry
  • Slater’s Commercial Directory of Castleisland 1870

See the complete list of links and further resources to help you with your search.