Tracing birth family

I would like to find out what happened to my birth mother.  She was born in 1923 and I was born in 1951, when she was 28.  Her age in itself would seem unusual to me.  I know who her parents were and that she moved here to London in 1959 and was here in 1962.  After that I cannot find nothing.  I am struggling to find any siblings she may have had.  As census information is not available after 1921 this is proving difficult.  Any suggests would be gratefully received.  

Hello Carol,

Thank you for reaching out! I do hope that you find more answers about your birth mother.

You are right, there wasn't a census in 1923 that would have easily recorded your mother's birth. That said, if you happen to know where in Ireland she was born, then you may be able to search locally for civil and parish records. Unfortunately, while this may help you learn more about your mother's place of birth, it will not list her siblings. Other resources, like Roots Ireland, may be similar in that regard.

But that doesn't mean that there aren't records to be found! In fact, I'd recommend checking out ship records, to see exactly when your mother travelled to London and if it was possible that she was travelling with someone.

I do hope these resources help!

~Rochelle

Dear Rochelle,

Thank you for this.  My mother's name was Frances Mary Daunt and she was born on the 16th March 1923 in Carrigaline.  I will have a look at the shipping link, this may give me some further clues.  

Kind Regards,

Carol

Hi Carol, 

Although birth records are only available up to 1922 on the free website www.irishgenealogy.ie, if your birth mother was a younger sibling, you may find the names of her older siblings there. You should also find the marriage record of her parents on the website which will give you a better idea of where she was in the birth order. 

Once you have found any siblings' names who were born up to 1922, you can also use the same website to look for their marriages (up to 1947) and any deaths of her siblings or her parents (up to 1972). These later records will give you townland or street addresses so you could then contact local newspapers to place an advertisement once you had a relatively recent address and names of your wider family. 

For births after 1922, marriages after 1947 and deaths after 1972 you will need to contact the GRO Ireland. 

Best wishes for your search, 

Gillian