Non-genealogists need not bother reading today

Today after I got up, I went to the computer to check email and got a message that set the tone and activities for the rest of the day. There was a message from the genealogist at Carlow library. She had replied to my query about assistance with local searches, with examples of the specific names I was looking for.

Surprise! it was Bernie from Back to our Past - the conference in Belfast. She works at the Carlow and Gorey genealogy centres. We had spoken at some length last weekend. I now have an appointment for a consultation next Tuesday and this is why...

Bernie sent me transcriptions from Dunleckney parish records with the baptisms of most of the Mcdonald offspring that I've been seeking. Some of the names were new to me (yay!) and others confirmed what I'd already found (yay again). Of course, since some of the offspring had baptism records and were not found in Canada two decades later, I still have to find what became of Bridget and John.

So far the parents marriages are elusive but they might be found in another parish where the wife lived before the marriage. So, what parish might that be? One is obvious as it is adjacent. The townlands are just a few miles apart. Some discoveries were made and possibly I now have the names  of one more generation back. At this point, in my excitement, I had to remind myself that matching names in nearby areas does not necessarily mean you've found the right family members. But, it's a start.

This information dealt with, after corroboration of some of it on ancestry.com, I let my fingers wander to open my Facebook page. Ta-da - a post on a genealogy page from someone with a surname matching an in-law family, who was from the same townland as my Byrnes. More correspondence was exchanged. I was able to share some records and point to others. Now we both have fingers and toes crossed for more progress.

Still waiting to hear again from my local DNA match.

This evening I decided I simply had to go out, so I went to a local drama group's production at a nearby school auditorium. The play was a Neil Simon farce, Rumours. It was well done and was a great way to spend the evening. I didn't see anyone there that I knew at all.

Tomorrow, if the rain don't fall and the crick don't rise, I'll do a bit of driving around. Actually, I will likely go only as far as Altamont Gardens and hope that the carpet of snowdrops of all varieties are still showing off. That was snow DROPS not flakes. Flowers not frost. The camera and my legs are in need of a workout.

In the evening the storytelling session starts at 7 pm in the local library. For reasons unknown to me, it was moved up in time from 8 to 7 pm and to a different location than usual. But it's bound to be just as entertaining as ever.