Government Consultation on 2031 Census

Additional Lecture Date for Your Diaries – 13 January 2026
I would like to notify you of an additional talk this season. The main NIFHS website has recently been upgraded and has a considerable number of new facilities. We intend to provide a Zoom presentation about it given by Linda Kirby on Tuesday 13th Jan 2026 at 20.00. Linda is NIFHS Publicity officer and she will demonstrate the website and try to answer any questions you may have. The talk is likely to last around 25 minutes. Note that the talk will be by Zoom only (so no meeting in the Sandel Centre that evening). We will send out a reminder about this event in early January together with the Zoom link.

Elwyn Soutter
Branch Secretary

We have added the following records to our database: Croaghmore Presbyterian Church – Baptisms – 1853 – 1900.

Andrea Orme

We have added the following records to our database:  Ballywillan Presbyterian Church – Marriages – 1862 – 1900.

Andrea Orme

We have added the following records to our database:  Ballywillan Presbyterian Church – Baptisms – 1862 – 1900.

Andrea Orme

We have added the following records to our database:  Ballycastle Presbyterian Church – Baptisms – 1829 – 1867.

Andrea Orme

We have added the following new records to our database: Ballykelly Presbyterian Church – Baptisms – 1699-1900.

Andrea Orme

We have added the following new records to our database:  Moneydig Presbyterian Church – Baptisms – 1857-1923.

Andrea Orme

We have added the following new records to our database:  791 records for Limavady Workhouse.  These records are from the Masters Journal and cover the period 1844-1864.  They can be found in the Records menu and are searchable by Surname.

Andrea Orme

Our Annual Summer Outing this year will be on Saturday 17th June 2023.

The trip will go to 2 destinations.

Firstly, the Ballance House near Glenavy. This is the restored former home of John Ballance the 14^th Premier of New Zealand, and is now owned by the Ulster – New Zealand Trust.

Secondly, we will go to the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland Museum at Whitehead.

Please use our ‘Contact Us’ link for further information and for details of how to book your place on the outing.

Andrea Orme

We have added the following new records to our database:  2nd Kilrea Presbyterian Church – Baptisms – 1842-1900.

Andrea Orme

Another 700+ links for local entries in the Registry of Deeds have been added to the website. Apart from one ‘stray’ the rest cover the years 1839-1844. For your information: MP = Member of Parliament; NP= Notary Public; Ces vies is my shorthand for cestui que vie. It is a legal term and you will find the definition if you search on-line.

Kathleen Connolly

Another 2 sets of headstone inscriptions added to the ‘Gravestone Inscription’ section. These are over 500 from Granaghan RC and nearly 200 from Craigavole RC, both in the Swatragh area.

Kathleen Connolly

Thanks to one of our members – he’ll know who he is – I have been able to add more than 150 new records to the Gravestone Transcriptions on our web-site. There are photographs to go with most of them, so if you would like a copy, just ask, giving all the relevant details: your name, membership number, Graveyard and photo id. They are for Holy Trinity, Killaloo Church of Ireland Graveyard. If you are not sure where it is see the section ‘Mapping our History’

Kathleen Connolly

Another 100+ early deed links have been added for the period 1704-1833. Also 1,000 + deeds for the years 1834-1838. Some Belfast, but mostly north Counties Antrim & Londonderry. Note that the comments are just an in-depth search list of names and addresses included in the deed and can not be read as the deed itself. For that you need to click on the link. You may need to set up a free Family Search account if you do not already have one.

Kathleen Connolly

RC Baptismal Index from about 1825 up till 1864.

16,700 entries have been added to the members’ area of our web-site. ‘Records’ then ‘ Assorted records’ scroll down to find ‘RC records at NLI’. These include most of the Parish Groups in the Causeway Coast and Glens area. Some of these are indexed elsewhere, but don’t seem to be complete. The Index includes the date of Baptism, Forename, Surname, Father’s Forename and the Mother’s Surname and Forename. In some cases it is not clear whether the mother had the same maiden name as her husband so be careful. The writing is difficult and spelling variations very wide, so you need to use your imagination when searching. Some Mc names are Mac and others Ma even for the same family. The Index also includes the Parish, film and page number on the National Library of Ireland web-site where you can see the full entry. The entries are not always in date order which makes a search even more difficult.

The National Library of Ireland site is: https://registers.nli.ie/about

Kathleen Connolly

A interactive link to nearly 3,000 records from the Registry of Deeds has been added. This data-base link is provided as a follow-up to the talk given, to members, earlier this year by Brian O’Hara.

You can search by name or townland. Often neighbours and tenants are mentioned or servants/labourers have witnessed deeds so it is not just the wealthy who are mentioned. This index only covers the period 1708-1832.

Kathleen Connolly

Bonamargey Friary records have been up-dated thanks to help from Frances. This includes amending many of the records already there and adding quite a few new ones.

Not all surnames are recorded or recorded in full, so the supplementary search using a known fact or just Bonamargey should return all records.

To aid research these are the last records added so with any name they will show up as the final entry. E.g. enter Anderson and you will have 242 results returned over 13 pages. Bonamargey is on page 13. This shortcut is only relevant till more graveyards are added.

Kathleen Connolly

Another 600+ early marriages have been added to the web-site. Maghera Church of Ireland 1798-1845. There are quite a few question marks as the original as filmed is very difficult to read, however being so early they are still a welcome addition. There was in fact an earlier transcription which was a great help, but that may have led to duplication of some of the records.

Kathleen Connolly

Maghera Baptisms from 1785-1892 – 3851 entries. Between the difficult writing and poor quality reproduction this has been a difficult task. We have persevered, though there are a lot of question marks (?), but even so it is very worthwhile.

Kathleen Connolly