Irish Roots ~ Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland

We know that my maternal grandfather was Irish. Both of his parents families were from Ireland.

His Mother's ACHESON family came from Ireland by ship in 1850. This is documented in a small booklet compiled and published by his relatives and published in 1951.

The family was from Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland.

The Watergate at Enniskillen Castle

Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Image © Copyright Raymond Millar and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

"Built in 1611 by Sir William Cole. Described at the time as a ‘fair and strong wall’ twenty-six feet high, ‘newly erected’ with flankers, parapet and wall walk. An impressive building with twin cor belled turrets projecting so as to give protection to the wall on two sides."

'Enniskillen Round, River Erne, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland"
SOURCE: Image released into the public domain by its author. June 2007. Biglobiglo





I haven't spent a lot of time on these sites, but thought they looked like they could be useful for general interest as well as genealogy research.

The Enniskillen Castle Museum has an extensive with with an Image Gallery and a Download page with several PDF downloads available.

Ireland Roots has some resources and a large Message Board.

Irish Roots Cafe has been online since 2006. Resource for "Irish Family History, Genealogy, Song and World Wide Heritage."

 "Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Volume 4: Parishes of County Fermanagh 1 1834-5; Enniskillen and Upper Lough Erne; (Illustrated.)



Descriptive history of northern half of  Ireland just before the Great Famine. Includes Enniskillen eight parishes of  Upper Lough Erne. Unique details of people and everyday life.




  
"The Book of Irish Families, Great and Small (Third Edition, Expanded); by Michael C. O'Laughlin. This edition has several very good reviews.

The Enniskillen Castle, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

The Watergate at Enniskillen Castle

Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Image © Copyright Raymond Millar and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

"Built in 1611 by Sir William Cole. Described at the time as a ‘fair and strong wall’ twenty-six feet high, ‘newly erected’ with flankers, parapet and wall walk. An impressive building with twin cor belled turrets projecting so as to give protection to the wall on two sides."

My maternal grandfather, George Albert JOHNSON/JOHNSTON, was Irish. Both his mother's and his father's families emigrated from Ireland in the mid 1800's.

The 1851/1852 Census Canada record shows that George's paternal grandparents, John JOHNSTON and Catherine RUTLEDGE, emigrated between the birth of two children, born 1836 and 1838.

A small family book written and self-published in 1951, indicated that his mother's parents sailed from Ireland in the Spring of 1850, a 28 day voyage.

"It was on a day in Spring, April 14th, 1850, that William ACHESON, accompanied by his brother-in-law John RUTHERFORD, bid a last farewell to old Ireland, and set forth to seek his fortune in Canada, the great new land of promise."

Later in 1850, Christina (FALLIS) ACHESON and her sister, Mary (FALLIS) RUTHERFORD, sailed from Ireland to Canada to join their husbands in Canada.

According to this family book, George's grandparents, William ACHESON  and Christina FALLIS, were born near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

A family committee was struck to begin the research in 1940, after an uncle's death bed request for someone in the family to begin their history while it was still possible to gather information from the elder members of the family.

Although it took ten years to complete, the book was published in 1951, just shortly after the 100th anniversary of the arrival of one of two brothers who left Ireland for the land of promise ~ Canada. (The elder brother, George ACHESON, had arrived a year or so earlier, in about 1849.)