Step 1 – Guidance for collecting essential material prior to commissioning your Family History Report
The success of your application for a Family History Report depends greatly on the amount and accuracy of the information supplied by you and the availability of records relating to your enquiry. The Mayo Family History Centres recommend that you collect as much of the following essential material prior to commissioning a Family History Report.
Ancestor’s Death Record
In several countries, including the U.S.A, death records contain the names of the parents of the deceased. Death records also give an indication of the year of birth of the deceased. Occasionally such records indicate a date of birth, but these are often inaccurate.
Newspaper Obituaries
Some biographical details on your ancestor, including the names of surviving brothers and sisters, may be published in a local newspaper obituary shortly after your ancestor’s death.
Ancestor’s Marriage Records
Your ancestor may have two records of marriage, a Civil and a Church record. Each may contain different details so it is worth checking both records.
Oral Family History and Family Documents
Check with older relatives for information that might prove of value. They may have some useful documents including memorial cards, correspondence from relatives in Ireland, a family Bible or Missal containing important family dates or other information or documentation.
Census Returns
In most countries a census was taken every ten years. Occasionally, relatives of your ancestor who also emigrated from Ireland may appear on such records providing valuable clues to locating details of your ancestor’s relatives in your country and in our sources.
Army/Navy/Convict/Naturalisation Records
If your ancestor served in the services or was transported, or naturalised, biographical details such as place of birth, year of birth, parents’ names etc., may appear on such documents.
Will and Deeds
If your ancestor held property or made a will, these may contain addresses useful in checking census records or the names of relatives remaining in Ireland.
Burial and Cemetery Records and Gravestone Inscriptions
These may contain additional information to that which appears on the death record.
Step 2 – An Assessment
Upon receipt of your completed application form and assessment fee of euro95.00, the research department will assess the information provided by you and then proceed with a preliminary search of all our sources for records relating to your ancestor’s family.
The results of the assessment will be sent to you in a document which outlines the research carried out on your behalf and indicates whether records relevant to your ancestor were located. Where records are found, we will quantify the amount of genealogical and other information available and quote you a price to prepare your Family History Report.
In cases where records are not found, we will offer all the professional advice and suggestions that we can.
Please allow six to eight weeks for delivery of the results of an assessment.
Step 3: Preparing Your Family History Report
A Family History Report is a compilation of all the relevant genealogical records found and a wealth of intriguing information about your ancestors lives in Mayo. The attractively presented report also incorporates all available facsimiles of the various genealogical documents pertaining to your ancestors and maps which often show the location(s) where they resided. Each and every Report compiled by our research department is individually researched and can only be price after an Assessment.
As a guideline, the additional cost to you for commissioning a Family History Report will normally be in the region of euro225.00 – euro375.00.
Extra copies of the report can be purchased at the special price of euro60 per copy.
Please Note:
All genealogical records discovered as a result of an assessment are provided in your Family History Report only.
The success of an application depends greatly on the amount of details that you provide and the availability of records.