Following a very successful personal foray into the amazing stock of microfilms on this source that the LDS London Family History Centre (LFHC) holds at their temporary home at the National Archives in Kew, I have been inspired to create a new set of pages under "A Banquet of Irish Archives", the first of which covers the Registry of Deeds.
However, I have some more good news to report on the subject, namely that apparently the LFHC received a major delivery of thousands of new microfilms I believe just before Christmas last year and these are only making their way on to the London catalogues slowly. These include Registry of Deeds microfilms currently not listed as available in London - I was delighted to be told that 5 more I wanted to view were all in the building! So, if you do find a film that you want missing from the London list, do ask the helpful LDS volunteers and you too may be lucky.
I did mention on the new page how curious I found it that the existence of this extensive set of records on microfilm is not more widely publicised. I do think that they are rather buried in the depths of the catalogue and you have to know they are there to find them if you know what I mean, but here's what John Grenham has to say briefly in the Registry of Deeds chapter of "Tracing your Irish Ancestors" 4th Edition (2012) - "Microfilm copies of both the Lands Index and the Grantors Index, amounting to more than four hundred reels, are available at NLI, PRONI and the LDS Family History Library." No mention of the 100's of films available of the abstracted memorials themselves and the fact that the whole collection amounts to over 2800 reels? Similarly, I attended a talk given by Fiona Fitzsimmons of Eneclann at the recent WDYTYA show in Birmingham, in which she waxed lyrical on how the deeds were a much overlooked yet richly rewarding genealogical source, but not once did she mention the existence of the LDS microfilms? Very odd. Ah well, so you heard it hear first then - be sure to spread the word!
However, I have some more good news to report on the subject, namely that apparently the LFHC received a major delivery of thousands of new microfilms I believe just before Christmas last year and these are only making their way on to the London catalogues slowly. These include Registry of Deeds microfilms currently not listed as available in London - I was delighted to be told that 5 more I wanted to view were all in the building! So, if you do find a film that you want missing from the London list, do ask the helpful LDS volunteers and you too may be lucky.
I did mention on the new page how curious I found it that the existence of this extensive set of records on microfilm is not more widely publicised. I do think that they are rather buried in the depths of the catalogue and you have to know they are there to find them if you know what I mean, but here's what John Grenham has to say briefly in the Registry of Deeds chapter of "Tracing your Irish Ancestors" 4th Edition (2012) - "Microfilm copies of both the Lands Index and the Grantors Index, amounting to more than four hundred reels, are available at NLI, PRONI and the LDS Family History Library." No mention of the 100's of films available of the abstracted memorials themselves and the fact that the whole collection amounts to over 2800 reels? Similarly, I attended a talk given by Fiona Fitzsimmons of Eneclann at the recent WDYTYA show in Birmingham, in which she waxed lyrical on how the deeds were a much overlooked yet richly rewarding genealogical source, but not once did she mention the existence of the LDS microfilms? Very odd. Ah well, so you heard it hear first then - be sure to spread the word!
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