I am often asked for information about books on certain topics and where they may be found. On this page I am happy to list books that I have come across that provide information. I would, however, make a distinction between historical information and data that might be useful to a family history researcher. Once we get back before the era of mandatory public registers of births, marriages and deaths (1837 England and Wales; 1845 Protestants in Ireland and 1864 for Roman Catholics; and 1855 in Scotland) there has to be reliance on other sources. Here is a short bibliography of books that are about Presbyterians, the Covenanters and the Ulster Scots.

Im afraid there are no easy answers nor many easily accessible books to pluck of the shelf to answer questions about your personal ancestry. The trick is to find the shelf on which a book may be sitting. If it is Scotland you are interested in, the National Library of Scotland has an on line catalogue at www.nls.ac.uk. Books can be ordered in advance for viewing in the Reading Rooms of the Library in Edinburgh.

The computer age has created a new type of researcher who becomes accustomed to finding his or her wants on the Internet. There is nothing wrong in making use of any such information with the usual caveat about verifying data. It is increasingly apparent that people make `leaps of faith` connections - so just be cautious about what you accept. That said, an increasing source for information are the likes of Ancestry.com who have a wide selection of CDs and other publications available as well as a very substantial database. There are a number of specialised publishers of old and difficult to find books such as the Genealogical Publishing Co in Baltimore. Books Ulster is an excellent site for old books on Ireland. Many of the Universities in the USA and UK are beginning to make very old documents and books available

Sources with very early data ( before the mid 1700s) in them are relatively few and often located in major national libraries and archives - which require personal attendance to view. For the serious in depth researcher modern books often have substantial bibliographies and sources which can be followed up. For detailed works within a locality or region, it is always worth visiting the site of the local Family History Society or Societies to see what they have available on their publications list. A starting point for locating societies is Genuki and the Federation of Family History Societies. Several of the major genealogy societies have substantial publications listed for sale The FFHS, the Society of Genealogists, the Ulster History Foundation and the Scottish Genealogy Society.

Library Catalog of the LDS

An under used resource is the Library Catalog of the Latter Day Saints (the Mormons). The LDS church not only filmed the birth christening and marriage records but in many cases filmed local estate documents, pedigrees, local history papers and so forth which are otherwise only available from the source archives. The Catalog is on CD at Family History Centres and on line : it is well worth a look, and its free.

The list below is therefore mainly historical information; where some data is given I have indicated what it is.

Migration and emigration.

"The Scottish Migration to Ulster in the Reign of James I "
M Perceval Maxwell. Pub. by Routledge Kegan Paul, 1973.
The definitive work with some data of the major land holders, not the ordinary tenant or small farmer.

"The Plantation of Ulster "
Philip Robinson. Pub Gill & MacMillan,1984. By Ulster Historical Foundation 1994.
A definitive history of the Plantation of Ulster (1610 - 1630). Many appendices with data of major land holders and the many estates where eg the Scots went to. Again, no information about the common tenants.

" Ulster Emigration to Colonial America 1718 - 1775 "
R. J. Dickson Ulster Historical Foundation 1966
A definitive history of the movement of the Ulster Scots to the American Colonies. Has appendices with data of ship movements, but not passenger lists.

"Irish Emigration and Canadian Settlement, Patterns, Links and Letters"
Cecil J Houston & William J Smyth. Published. University of Toronto Press, 1990.
A detailed history of Canadian settlement post the American Revolutionary War with correspondence between some families.

"Botany Bay - the story of the convicts transported from Ireland to Australia 1791 - 1853."
Con Costello. Published Mercier Press, 1987.
An interesting book with some names illustrating events. A good bibliography including State Papers references.

"Convicts & the Colonies - a study of penal transportation from Great Britain and Ireland to Australia and other parts of the British Empire "
A.G.L. Shaw. The Irish Historical Press, 1966 Reprint 1998.

Scotland

" A history of the Scottish people 1560 - 1830 "
T.C.Smout. Published 1969, Reprint Fontana Press 1998.
A standard reference work for the period, about the people in general and the times they lived in.

" A century of the Scottish people. 1830 - 1950 "
T.C.Smout. Pub. 1986 Reprint Fontana Press 1997.
The follow up to modern times of the people of Scotland.

IOrr Data

" Ulster Pedigrees, descendants in many lines of James Orr and Janet McClement who emigrated from Scotland to Northern Ireland ca 1607" Ray A. Jones, Published by the author 1977. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 77-82468.

This is the major source for the Ulster Orrs and contains the genealogy compiled by Gawin Orr ca 1836. It has over 2,800 connections with the Orr line. A list of the surnames of persons who married an Orr is here.

I have the full pedigree on a database and will search it on request.

"Remembering All the Orrs "
R. H. Foy. Published Ulster Historical Foundation 1999. www.ancestryireland.com .

This is a detailed history of the Orr familes in the south of Co. Antrim. This includes William Orr (" Remember Orr" ) who was executed in 1797; Samuel Orr who married Mary Redmond and had six children who went to America; and William ("Rebel Orr") who was transported to Australia but after an eventful escape he eventually returned to Ulster.

MY BOOK : " ORR-SOME "