William Quigley born abt 1824

Looking for help finding where my ancestor was from in Ireland. William Quigley born abt 1824. Immigrated to Massachusetts around 1864. All his records in the USA state born in Ireland but no further information. Thanks

Hello Eric,

It's lovely to hear that you are tracing a family ancestor!

Before 1864 records were kept in the form of church and parish records so this may be a place to look. The National Library of Ireland have a website where you can start to look for any records they have. This would be a long process if you do not know which county to start to look in.

There is also the Irish Genealogy website that has some information on church records and how to search online.

The John Grenham website on surnames has some information on likely locations for the Quigley surname.

There is an existing post by Brian Mitchell on tips to find ancestors which may be helpful, as Derry~Londonderry and County Donegal are popular places for Quigley's, this may be a place to start!

Hopefully, our members and partners may be able to help.

Thanks for the suggestions this will be a big help. The problem is I don’t know what county he is from. But this gives me some ideas on how to research. Did Ireland keep any exit immigration records? Who left Ireland during the potato famine and where they went? Again thanks for your help. Eric

Hi Eric,

Official outbound passenger lists from Ireland exist from 1890 onwards. Before this year, you would be more likely to identify passengers at their ports of arrival and might wish to search for records in the National Archives and Records Administration in the USA.

The Irish Genealogy website advises that many of the passenger lists have been published or digitised and recommends the following two online resources:

Irish Passenger Lists Research Guide
Stephen Morse's composite search site for all North American records

Furthermore, I recommend reaching out to the free genealogy advisory services provided by the National Archives and National Library of Ireland. I hope these organisations will be able to point you in the right direction! Best of luck for your search! ☘️

Rebecca

Thanks for your suggestions! Eric