|
We are BACK!! The site is still under construction, so please bear with us ! :-) An Issue with accessing the 1831 Census on this site has now been fixed! :)
Please also have a look at our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maghera-Genealogy-History/174884832562626
Whilst the name of this site is is Maghera and District Genealogy & History, it would perhaps be more accurate to say Maghera and a 10 mile radius within the south of the County. . (but then, that'd be quite an mouthful!). The catchment area will therefore include Garvagh, Kilrea, Magherafelt, Moneymore, Draperstown, etc. (although most records currently will probably be from the Garvagh-Kilrea-Maghera Triangle at the moment). We see ourselves as a 'sister' site to the excellent 'Bann Valley' site and there will be a certain overlap, but we will also stray away from the banks of the Bann.. visiting the Moyola, Sperrin Mountains etc.
Most of these records are contained in spreadsheet form. You can either just open the file to view the records or download them for further offline perusal.
This site is a platform for the sharing of knowledge.. both Genealogical and local, because as each generation passes, a little more knowledge gets lost. I hope, through this website, to preserve and pass on this local knowledge. Unlike many Genealogical websites ran purely for profit, this is a contributory site. Put simply, this is a site for the amateur genealogist or anyone with an interest in the local area who wants to make this knowledge available to anyone interested.. and this knowledge is freely given..so all input and information submissions are welcome and after verification, will be included on the site!
Naturally, as your genealogical research progresses, it should be apparent that genealogy CAN be expensive. Not all information is available locally or at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) (i.e. FREE information); And if you don’t live in Northern Ireland, access to these records becomes the issue rather than cost. Some records can be obtained from the General Register Office of Northern Ireland (GRO) but at a cost. Currently these costs are £14 per certificate ($22 US / €16.50) (halved if you happen to know the Registry district, volume and page number of the entry) which can certainly mount up if you want to try to find Birth, Marriage and Death certificates for a number of ancestors. Here at this site, we will try to save you some money (and time) by listing as many church and other public records from this area as possible. We have spent many hours deciphering and transcribing old church records and other official documents such as the 1831 Census for inclusion on this website. In addition, other sources of genealogical information, such as grave stones have been photographed and, where possible, transcribed. It has been noted that some websites charge €20 (£17 / $28 US) for the information on EACH gravestone. We will endeavour to provide this kind of information for FREE!
In conclusion, we hope to be able to provide as much information as possible. However, since this IS an amateur genealogy site, we are limited by both time and financial constraints. The contributors to this site give their time freely to further the research and make knowledge more readily available to the world. As mentioned earlier, some records cost money (as any of the transcribers will tell you) .. this website costs money to host, to obtain information for, etc.. so, if you find some useful information here.. or we can help you in any way.. we will be happy to help.. but, naturally, all donations to continue the work will be appreciated and most useful! |
