Kilrea Civil Parish, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland Genealogy

Ireland County Londonderry (Derry)  Kilrea Civil Parish

The following information is a starting point for records about the civil parish of Kilrea. The information is based on locations and records before 1922.

History
At the time of the Ulster Plantation in the very early 17th century, this parish and area was granted to the London company of Mercers. A wonderful little history of the parish of Kilrea is found in:


 * Kernohan, J.W., M.A. The Parishes of Kilrea and Tamlaght O'Crilly: a sketch of their history, with an account of Boveedy Congregation. Coleraine: by the author, 1912; reprinted 1993. FHL book 941.62/K1 H2kj. Its appendix includes a muster roll of 1631 of British men on the Mercer's estate, the Hearth Tax list of 1663, and a list of Protestant householders in the parish in 1740. There is also a list dated about 1745--as a result of the rebellion in Scotland--of men who pledged themselves to oppose all attempts to return a Popish king to the throne.

Some notes from the history:

The Mercer's lands included a thick forest which they soon went about having cut down and exported until it was no more.

During and following the seige of Derry (city) in 1641, much of this parish was laid waste and burned.

At the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th, about 50,000 people came to Ulster from Scotland seeking cheap land and opportunites for trade. One result was that landlords raised rents. Eventually, due to the hardships of high rents, exaction of tithes, and religious persecution, many people from Kilrea and area emigrated to America. In the summer and autumn of 1718 five ships left for Boston. The years 1720-1740 saw crop failures, depressed economics and trade, and near famine conditions that drove more people to emigrate.

According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs, there were only 13 families in Kilrea in about 1736, while by 1836 there were 191 houses.

At the beginning of the 19th century the land in the parish was barren of trees, of poor quality and contained several bogs which, when reclaimed, were found to contain the remains of fir, oak, yew and hazel trees, some very large and long.

The history contains short biographies of the ministers which include notes on the progress of the parish over time.

Localities
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Maps and gazetteers
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Cemeteries
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Census
The purpose of a census was to gather information about people who lived in an area. While the government began census taking in 1821, only fragments exist before 1901. Censuses for 1901 and 1911 are available. Read more about the records in the Ireland Census article.

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Church records
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Catholic
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Church of Ireland
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Presbyterian
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Methodist
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Society of Friends
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Others
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Civil Registration
Government registration of births and deaths began in 1864. Registration of Protestant marriages began in 1845, with all marriages being registered by 1864. Go to the Ireland Civil Registration article to read more about these records.

Land records
The Registry of Deeds started in 1708. Land transactions were recorded, including immovable property passed on in a will and property given to a daughter at her marriage. Read more about these records in the Ireland Land and Property article.

Probate records
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School records
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Tax records
The valuation of property for tax purposes was started in the 1840s by Richard Griffith. A tax paid to the church, call Tithe Applotments, began in the 1820s. Read about these records in the Ireland Taxation and Ireland Land and Property articles. Add records for this parish that you know about.

Web Sites
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