RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 25, 2016
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
In 2014, Brian Mitchell published two books pertaining to genealogical research and emigration from County Derry/Londonderry, the place of origin of many Americans whose roots go back to Northern Ireland. Recently he added another publication to his series: THE PLACE NAMES OF COUNTY DERRY.
Mitchell’s new book consists of two parts. The first one furnishes an alphabetical list of 1,750 place names as they appear on the 1901 census returns for the city and county of Londonderry (also known as Derry). The roster includes the names of all townlands, together with the street listings for all towns. For each place name, Mitchell supplies the district electoral division, parish, registrar district, poor law union, and seventeenth century landowner. Knowledge of the record jurisdictions for place names helps genealogists make more effective use of major Irish record sources such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses, church registers, estate records, church and civil registers, and the national indexes to civil vital statistics registers.
Emphasizing resources of value to family researchers, the second part of the work features both civil and church resources, compiled and recorded by parish. Knowledge of the parish in which one’s ancestors lived is important because, by the mid-nineteenth century, County Derry was subdivided into forty-six civil parishes. To aid genealogists, Mitchell provides an alphabetical inventory of all of the reports for each civil parish. Information includes the parish’s location, topography, population in 1831, principal towns, a roster of the top ten surnames in 1859, and details concerning the major record sources. For church registers, for instance, the author gives their religious denomination and commencement dates for specific records, like baptisms and marriages. Cemetery information furnishes the name and location of graveyards in 1859. In addition, he furnishes data about censuses and census substitutes, such as Griffith’s Valuation.
Genealogists who have tried to trace Irish forebears realize they must know the name of their ancestral townland in order to conduct research successfully. THE PLACE NAMES OF COUNTY DERRY will be a valuable guide to persons trying to extend their pedigree into this region of Northern Ireland.
The 106-page volume has soft covers, an introduction, and maps. To the book's price of $18.95, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional copy; for UPS, the cost is $7.50 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book. The volume (item order #8366) may be purchased by check, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211 (for phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website www.genealogical.com ).
The items below can be found on page 23 of the March, 1938 (Volume 59, Number 2) issue of The Texas Druggist. (Surnames are capitalized for emphasis and some punctuation added for clarity.)
“Miss Margaret COUSINS visited her parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. COUSINS, during the Christmas holidays, from New York City, where she has been for several months. She shared honors Christmas evening with Miss Mildred CULBREATH at an open house Mr. and Mrs. Cousins held....”
“Harry BURNETT, 40, pharmacist, Fort Worth, for the past 10 years, died unexpectedly, Dec. 27 in Jackson, Miss., while visiting relatives. Mr. Burnett, who lived at 1512 St. Louis Avenue, relinquished the managership (sic) of the new Ward Drug Store, 900 Houston Street, the week before his death. Survivors are his widow, two brothers, and a sister.”
(End)