familytreemagazine.com 65For many other European ancestries, the earliest you’re likely to be
able to trace ancestors with written records may be the 16th century.
In 1563, the Council of Trent decreed that Catholic priests should
note baptisms, marriages and deaths in their parishes. This rule was
widely ignored, however, requiring a papal reminder in 1595.
On the other hand, some places were early adopters, even before the
Council of Trent. Nearly 40 Spanish parishes have pre-1500 records,
for instance, with the earliest known Spanish church records dating
from 1394 in Solsona.
There’s one other possibility, though. In the 17th century, Bishop
James Ussher calculated the date of the biblical creation event. He
determined the world was created in 4004 B.C., with the birth of
Adam only a few days later. In 1 Chronicles, the genealogical “begats”
list a lineage for Hebrew peoples all the way back to Adam and Eve.
If you could prove a connection to some fi gure in the list, you could
claim ancestry back to the dawn of creation.Q
I’m searching for my great-great-grandfather’s place
of birth in Ireland. All I know is that his oldest children
were born in Cincinnati in the early 1860s. Any suggestions as
to where I should start?Y
our date range puts your quest before the Irish civil registration
system (1864), so you’ll have to rely on church baptism records
to fi nd your ancestor’s birth. That likely requires fi guring out his
place of birth. Start with home sources, searching for clues in letters,
family Bibles and other old documents. If your ancestor left a will or
you’ve found other probate records, it’s possible these might list his
birthplace.
Unfortunately, pre-1906 naturalization records and early passen-
ger lists seldom give a specifi c place of birth, instead stating only
“Ireland.” And your ancestor would’ve been too old to have been
recorded in WWI draft registration cards, which might list a specifi c
birthplace.
You could try church or local histories here in the United States, as
well as newspapers that might include such details about a parishio-
ner or resident.
Your best bet in Irish records is Griffi th’s Valuation, which you
can fi nd indexed with images in several places including Ancestry. A
census substitute, Griffi th’s Valuation records about 1 million people
who occupied property (leased or owned) in Ireland between 1848
and 1864. It helpfully links an individual to a specifi c townland and
civil parish, which can lead you to parish records of births as well as
marriages. David A. Fryxell
is the founding editor of
Family Tree Magazine. He
now writes and researches
his family tree in Tucson.