Trying to trace family

I am coming to Birr on 19th August as this is the place my grandmother was born in 1912. Her name was Elizabeth Maria Leitita Ditta and her mother’s maiden name was Hillis. Her father is listed as Tekoo Ram Ditta.

I would be grateful if anybody could give me any advice as to where I should go to try and find any information on trying to trace the Hillis family.

Thank you

Rita

Hello Rita,

As your search is from recent history, the General Records Office (GRO) would be a perfect place to start. There is a wonderful Helpful Tips post here on the community that has some excellent information and a link to the GRO. Through these records, you should be able to find the birth information on Elizabeth which will then have details of her parents to trace the Hillis line of your family.

It may also be possible that during your visit to Birr, that there will be a graveyard that has some information too. Do you have the name of the church that Elizabeth was baptized in?

Martin

Hi Rita, 

Looking at Elizabeth's birth record which is available for free on www.irishgenealogy.ie, it appears that although her father was in India when she was born, she was born at The Glens, Birr, Co Offaly (then King's County).

I had a quick look at the 1911 census (www.census.nationalarchives.ie) and found a Hillis family living in The Glens at that time who I would think would be her mother's family. All the children were born in different counties so it would appear the family moved around the country a lot, probably for work.

I would recommend you contact or visit the rootsireland centre for County Offaly which may be able to tell you exactly where 'The Glens' was in Birr:

Irish Midlands Ancestry Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co. OffalyTel: +353 (0) 5793 21421. Email: info@offalyhistory.com

Best wishes, 

Gillian

Gillian Hunt
Research Officer
Ulster Historical Foundation

Thank you so much for your response.

This is the only record I have on my grandmother

It looks as though the Birr Golf Club sits on and around The Glens, Birr. 

Hope this helps pinpoint a few things. :-) Happy Hunting!

Also, the Birr Historical Society is active in Birr.  They are usually run by community members and meetings are held once a month, but not always in the summertime.  Don't forget to stop into Birr Castle for a wander around the grounds as it is one of our most important gardens and science centers in Ireland - www.birrcastle.ie They also have an event on the 19th of August for the In the footsteps of Otto Boeddicker, the astronomer that ran the telescope at Birr Castle, once the largest telescope in the world and they will be doing a walk around the town.  Heritage Week runs this year across the country from the 17-25th of August. Events will be happening everywhere.  Birr Historical Society also has a FB page. The walk and talk is the 19th at 7 PM.  You would meet a lot of people that may have more history and folklore for you to make your ancestry come alive. 

Enjoy Ireland! 
Ginger

Hi, Rita!

How are you?

I hope you had a great time in Ireland and discovered more about your family history!

How was your trip to Birr? Did you manage to get further along your family tree?

Best wishes!