FAMILY HISTORY 

FAMILY HISTORY SEARCHES

As St Matthew's is one of the oldest Churches in Belfast we are inundated with requests for family history searches. As we can only look up these in our spare time (very limited!).

Our records date back to 1841.  They are Sacramental records of Baptism, Marriage, Confirmation and some burial records.  We do not keep school records.

Our records are not open for public viewing

In order to facilitate a successful family search, it is vital that we have clear and concise information, but the following details are imperative....

For Baptism Certificate - full name at time of Baptism, date of Birth, father’s name and mother’s maiden name.

For Marriage Certificate - full names of both parties (bride’s maiden name) date of Marriage Ceremony.

We do not undertake any seach without dates; regrettably few of these searches turn up the required information and take up valuable time in searching through old record books and registers.

Therefore due to the volume of requests and time limitation we can only search two years either side of the dates provided.  We only accept enquiries in writing, preferably email:  st.matthews@btconnect.com  Please note: To be fair to everyone who applies we keep the requests in a queue order. 

Nominal fee per enquiry applies ( Proceeds to Church funds)

For more information contact the Parish Office on 028 90 457626.

GENEAOLOGY LINKS

The National Archives of Ireland have put the census for 1901 and 1911 online and it costs absolutely nothing to search and browse.  See your ancestors actual census form!  This site gives a vast amount of information.  Start searching for exact names or browse streets or counties by clicking the link below (This part of Belfast is in County Down and to search the old streets in the area you need to look for " Ward name: Pottinger part of" when searching).

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/

Click the link below to the Ulster Historical Foundation who conduct Irish genealogy searches.

www.ancestryireland.co.uk

Click the link below to PRONI (Public Records Office of Northern Ireland)

http://www.proni.gov.uk/

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