Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors

Book excerpt: An indispensable genealogy guide to the Northern Irish capital’s rich history and ancestral records. The city of Belfast has seen its fair share of history across the centuries. From its humble beginnings as a medieval settlement on the River Lagan, it grew into a corporation town in the seventeenth century and expanded dramatically when it became a city in 1888. Along the way it has experienced the darkest of times, including the Belfast Blitz and the recent Troubles, as well as some of the most enlightened developments across Ireland and the UK. In Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, genealogist and author Chris Paton returns to the city of his own birth, delving into its history and genealogical resources. Paton covers the city's most extensive archives, libraries and museums, and offers a detailed overview of the records generated by those who came before. He expertly steers the reader towards centuries of ancestral exploration, both through online resources and within the city of Belfast itself – and with a wee bit of craic along the way!