This is a quick guide to tracing your ancestors in Northern Ireland.

Initially it is important to discover as much as possible from talking to your living relatives and in particular the older ones. A family bible or other relevant photographs or old documents may be in the possession of an older relative, perhaps one you have never met, so it is important to make contact with them as soon as possible.

When you have assembled all the information you can reasonably expect to obtain from family sources, the next stage is to begin your research in the official archives. You should consider joining a local society where you can obtain advice and encouragement and the following may be helpful

• The North of Ireland Family History Society
• The Ulster Historical Foundation

The next stage is to search the civil register of births, marriages and deaths which extend back to the mid-1800s. To go back further it will be necessary to check parish records and here you will need to know the religious denomination of your ancestor and the townland or parish where they lived.

Census records are normally an important source for genealogists but in Northern Ireland few survive prior to 1901. Land and property records help to plug the gaps, especially Griffith’s Valuation for those living in the 1840s, 1850s and 1860s and the Tithe Applotment Books for those in the 1820s and 1830s.

Wills are also interest to family historians but virtually all the pre-1858 Irish wills were destroyed in a fire in 1922. Indexes and some copies and abstracts remain.

People of Northern Irish descent are found all over the world and passenger lists, letters home and other emigrant records may provide useful information.

There may be other sources that will be relevant to particular families. Hopefully this site will help you to identify the records which will be of use in researching your family history in Northern Ireland.

Good luck in your search!