Posted By:	Ralph Connors
	Email:
	Subject:	Re: Sullivan and Desmond Families in Allegany County, NY 1850s-1900s
	Post Date:	February 17, 2009 at 07:38:53
	Message URL:	http://genforum.genealogy.com/desmond/messages/563.html
	Forum:	Desmond Family Genealogy Forum
	Forum URL:	http://genforum.genealogy.com/desmond/

I research the Irish Family History Foundation's database. It contains 12,000,000 surviving rcds for abt 65% of Irish counties. Rcds are increasingly sparse B4 1840, rare B4 1800. Note 1 - Without a KNOWN parish, the chance of an ancestor's rcds NOT being in this database is AT LEAST 35%. Note 2 - Only 1/2 of Co. Cork's rcds are in this database. Note 3 - The RC church kept control over most parish rcds from Tipperary (north). These are ONLY available thru the Tipperary Family History Research center at a substantial fee (regardless of outcome). From many other searches and a quick check of the database rcds for the surnames Sullivan and Desmond, these are highly concentrated in Cos Cork and Limerick. Frequently I can't find Sullivan and Desmond rcds because the placename cited is in Cork south & west or Co. Kerry. Rcds for these areas haven't been digitized yet. Suggest you wait until they are. This may take some time. Your alternatives are either to contact the appropriate parish, if known, or hire a genealogist (expensive). Google the Foundation's name to lead you to this database. Register, opt to be notified as rcds are added and browse. Pls post your search results to my genforum msg. Hope this helps. Good luck.