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County Derry (Londonderry)
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Our volunteer team are currently in the process of updating our County Derry/Londonderry pages, including expanding our listing of church & cemeteries to cover the county. If you have a little free time and would like to help (perhaps concentrating on a parish in which you have some ancestral interest?), then please don't hesitate to get in-touch using the contact link at the foot of the page.
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"Londonderry, a county of Ireland, province of Ulster, 40 m. long and 31 broad, bounded W by Donegal, N by the ocean, S and SW by Tyrone, and E by Antrim, containing 511,688 English acres, divided into 31 parishes. It sends 4 members to parliament. 1/4 seems to be bleak mountains and glens, and 1/2 of the remainder is mountainous. Potatoes are the principal crop; and in some parts oats, barley, flax, and rye, and some wheat are cultivated. Chief rivers, the Foyle or Green river, the Bann or White river, the Faughan, and the Roe. The linen manufacture flourishes through every part of the county. Pop. 194,099."
[From The New London Gazetteer (1826)]
"COUNTY LONDONDERRY, a maritime county in the province of Ulster, Ireland, bounded on the N. by Lough Foyle and the Atlantic Ocean, on the S. by Tyrone, on the E. by Lough Neagh and the county Antrim, and on the W. by the county Donegal. Its greatest length from N. to S. is 40 miles, and its greatest breadth from E. to W. is 34 miles, comprising 518,493 acres, of which about 318,282 are under cultivation, 180,709 uncultivated, 7,718 in plantations, 10,327 under water, and 1,559 in towns and roads. According to Ptolemy it formed part of the country of the Darnii, or Darini; hence the modern designation of Derry. It was chiefly the territory of the O'Nials, O'Loughlins, O'Donnels, and the O'Cahans, or Kanes. Derry was seized by the English towards the close of Elizabeth's reign, so as to check the power of O'Nial and O'Donnel; and when, in 1607, the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel fled, nearly all the six counties in Ulster were confiscated. King James sold the county, with all the forfeited territory, in 1609, to the twelve London companies of Clothworkers, Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Grocers, Haberdashers, Ironmongers, Skinners, Mercers, Merchant Tailors, Saltern, and Vintners, who undertook to establish there a Protestant colony, and to expend £20,000 on the plantation, in return for the grant of extensive privileges.......More " [Description from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2018]
"COUNTY LONDONDERRY, a county, of the province of ULSTER, bounded on the south and south-west by the county of Tyrone; on the west, by that of Donegal; on the north-west, by Lough Foyle; on the north, by the Atlantic Ocean; and on the east, by the county of Antrim. It extends from 54° 37' to 55° 12' (N. Lat.), and from 6° 26' to 7° 18' (W. Lon.); and comprises an area, according to the Ordnance survey, of 518,423 acres, of which 388,817 are cultivated, 119,202 are mountain waste and bog, and 10,404 are occupied by water. The population, in 1821, was 193,869, and in 1831, 222,012.....More" [Description from A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland - Samuel Lewis - 1837 Mel Lockie ©2013].
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- Derry Central Library.
- County Derry/Londonderry Genealogy Centre, 10-16 Pump St, Derry City, Co Londonderry BT48 6JG. Tel: + + 44 1504 260329
- Derry Cemetery Records - on IGP
- Derry Headstones, photos - on IGP
- Cemetery Inscriptions, list - on fianna
- List of County Derry cemeteries on the Find-A-Grave website.
- Dunboe Parish - 1831 Census Transcription by Dan Wilson.
- Derry Census Records - on IGP
- Derry Census Substitutes - on IGP
- National Census/Substitutes, list - on fianna
- 1911 census county Derry FHLC numbers - on fianna
- Derry Church Records - on IGP
- Roman Catholic Records - on Irish Ancestors
- Derry, Church of Ireland Parish Records. Parish, dates, location - on fianna
- Derry, Presbyterian Records. Parish, dates. location - on fianna
- Derry, Roman Catholic Parish Records. Parish, dates, locations - on fianna
Derry Vital Records - on IGP
- NI Tourist Board's Exploring Derry.
- Derry and Donegal Gateway - Business and Tourism
- Derry on wikipedia
- The transcription for this county from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.
- The transcription for this county from A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland - Samuel Lewis - 1837 Mel Lockie ©2013].
GENERAL
- Home Towns Of Ulster Families, 1691-1718 1691-1718 - on IGP
- Various records specific to county Derry - on fianna
- The Ireland Genealogy Project's County Derry (Londonderry) page, and its listing of the Project's available Derry Records.
- The Irish Ancestors website (subscription) has the following types of records: State Registration of Births, Marriages & Deaths, Census returns, Land records, Church records, Genealogical Office records, Gravestone inscriptions, Directories, Newspapers, Wills, Deeds, and Occupations.
- Irish Ancestors' extensive County Derry (Londonderry) website.
- The LDS FamilySearch Wiki's Ireland Online Genealogy Records.
- The Fianna website's pages for County Derry provide important addresses and extensive information about online and other genealogy resources.
- Roots Ireland (subscription) "offers access to a unique database of more than 20 million Irish records". Its Derry/Londonderry coverage includes Baptismal/Birth Records, Marriage Records, Burial/Death Records, Census Records, Gravestone Inscriptions, Griffith's Valuation (Free Access), and Census Substitutes.
- WorldGenWeb's - Londonderry page
RESEARCH GUIDES
- Researching Your Ancestors in the North of Ireland: County Derry/Londonderry: A NIFHS 56-page A5-size booklet identifies the types of records that are available for the county and where they can be found
MAILING LISTS:
For instructions on how to subscribe to these lists, please read this file.
- NORTHERNIRELANDGENWEB-L[at]rootsweb.ancestry[dot]com is open to anyone with genealogical interest in any county in Northern Ireland, run by Carol Hepburn.
- NIR-DERRY-L[at]rootsweb.ancestry[dot]com is open to anyone with genealogical interest in any county of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, run by Carol Hepburn.
Civil Parishes
- A map of the parishes within county Derry
- Derry civil parishes - on Irish Ancestors
- County Doire/Derry page on logainm.ie which has links to its civil parish pages
Townlands
- List of townlands in county Londonderry on wikipedia
Place Names
- "The Placenames Database of Ireland was created by Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge in collaboration with The Placenames Branch (Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht). This is a comprehensive management system for data, archival records and placenames research conducted by the State. It is a public resource for Irish people at home and abroad, and for all those who appreciate the rich heritage of Irish placenames."
- History of Derry - NI Tourist Board
- Tithe Applotment Books for County Londonderry and its parishes are held at PRONI in Belfast.
- Griffiths Valuation entries for County Tyrone on the AskAboutIreland website.
Registry of Deeds:
- Description of the documents held at the PRONI.
- Registry of Deeds Index Project, Ireland - hosted by Nick Reddan
- Transcripts of memorials of deeds, conveyances and wills, 1708-1929 online at Familysearch.
Derry Military & Constabulary Records - on IGP
Surnames Derry 1100 thru 1600 - on IGP
Derry Newspaper Records - on IGP
Local Newspapers;
- Derry Journal
- Coleraine Chronicle (see below)
- Coleraine Constitution
- Londonderry Chronicle
- Londonderry Guardian
- Londonderry Journal (Continued as Derry Journal)
- Londonderry Sentinel (see below)
- Londonderry Standard (continued as Derry Standard)
- Derry People and Donegal News - Internet edition
- An Phoblacht/Republican News - Internet edition
North of Island Family History Society Publications:
- The Coleraine Chronicle: CD with details from two newspapers: The Coleraine Chronicle: Births, Marriages and Deaths 1844-1869 and The Ballymoney Herald: Births, Marriages and Deaths 1860-1863.
- The Londonderry Sentinel: CD containing Births, Marriages and Death entries from 1829-1869.
Derry Obituaries - on IGP
Annual Migration to Harvest from Aghadowey - 1830's era - on IGP
From Fianna:
- Ardmore Journal (annual),
- Benbradagh (annual), Mr. Hassan, Dungiven Magazine Committee, Ardnagrann, Dungiven, Co. Derry
- Irish Times Index of Journals
Derry Wills - on IGP
Protestants in favour of Catholic Emancipation 1812 (Colerain) - on IGP
Derry photos - on IGP
Derry photos - on IGP