Londonderry, Northern Ireland Genealogy

County Londonderry or County Derry (Irish: Contae Dhoire) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland in the province of Ulster in Ireland. It was named after its main town – and later city and administrative centre – Derry (Londonderry), which lies in the north-western corner of the county. It is one of four counties in Northern Ireland which presently has a majority of the population from a Catholic community background, according to the 2001 census.

The highest point in the county is the summit of Sawel Mountain (678m) on the border with County Tyrone. Sawel is part of the Sperrin Mountains, which dominate the southern part of the county. To the east and west, the land falls into the valleys of the Bann and Foyle rivers respectively; in the south-east, the county touches the shore of Lough Neagh, which is the largest lake in Ireland; the north of the county is distinguished by the steep cliffs, dune systems and remarkable beaches of the Atlantic coast.

The county is home to a number of important buildings and landscapes, including the well-preserved 17th-century city walls of Derry; the National Trust-owned Plantation estate at Springhill; the Mussenden Temple with its spectacular views of the Atlantic; the dikes, artificial coastlines and the noted bird sanctuaries on the eastern shore of Lough Foyle; and the visitor centre at Bellaghy Bawn, close to the childhood home of Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney. In the centre of the county are the old-growth deciduous forests at Banagher and Ness Wood, where the Burntollet River flows over the highest waterfalls in Northern Ireland.

As with the City, its name is subject to the Derry-Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists. The name Derry is used in the Republic of Ireland, it also has a mixed usage in Northern Ireland, depending on the source; while most of the British authorities prefer to use the name Londonderry.

History

Unlike the town, governmentally there was not a preceding administrative area called County Derry: it was established in 1613 by the government combining the former County of Coleraine with small parts of Counties Antrim, Donegal, and Tyrone at the behest of the London Livery Companies and the Irish Society (hence, London-Derry) so that they could control both banks of the mouths of the River Foyle and the River Bann and have access to sufficient wood for construction.

Administratively, the city became a separate county borough, so from the establishment of Londonderry County Council in 1899 until its abolition in 1973, the town of Coleraine was the official County Town of County Londonderry with the county council's headquarters.

Source: Wikipedia

County LONDONDERRY,

Northern Ireland

Surnames

The following are surnames of persons, found within our databases,

as having been either born, married or died in this location.

McVicker; Moreland; Pinnell; Scruggs and allied families

Robertson; Royston

Bozarth; Peiffer; Quigley; Rhubart and allied families

Dellinger; Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar and allied families

To find out more about each surname listed above click on the corresponding LINK.

Additional information regarding these surnames may also be found at:

Surname Locator Resources

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County LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland

Ancestral

GenSite(s)

Coleraine

Coleraine

LOCATION: Coordinates: 55° 7′ 58.8″ N, 6° 39′ 39.6″ W; Decimal: 55.133, -6.661

Map Links

DESCRIPTION: Coleraine (from the Irish: Cúil Raithin meaning "Ferny corner") is a large town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland near to the mouth of the River Bann. It is 55 miles (88.5 km) northwest of Belfast and 30 miles (48.3 km) east of Derry.

FAMILY HISTORY NOTES(s): Rebecca Royston was born at Coleraine. She most likely married James Robertson here about 1711. Their five known children John, Matthew, James, Elizabeth and our 6^th great-grandfather William Robertson (1720) were born here between c. 1712 and 1720.

INTERNET WEB LINK(s): Coleraine - Wikipedia; Coleraine Borough Council; River Bann, Ireland

LOCATION:

Map Links

DESCRIPTION:

FAMILY HISTORY NOTES(s):

INTERNET WEB LINK(s):

LONDONDERRY,

Northern Ireland

List of Localities

The list below will assist in your research regarding the matching of your ancestors birth, marriage, death dates and in what locality of this county these events may have occurred. Source: Wikipedia

Intermediate settlements (population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census)

· Culmore; Dungiven; Eglinton; Maghera; Newbuildings

Villages (population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census)

· Ballykelly; Bellaghy; Castledawson; Castlerock; Claudy; Draperstown; Garvagh; Greysteel; Kilrea; Moneymore; Strathfoyle;

Small villages or hamlets (population of less than 1,000 at 2001 Census)

· Articlave; Ballymaguigan; Ballyronan; Clady; Desertmartin; Feeny; Lettershendoney; Macosquin; Swatragh; Tobermore; Upperlands

Website Resources

We recommend that you use the following search engine and

external-links to obtain additional knowledge about this place.

General

· Website & Webpages We Like

· United Kingdom and Ireland - rootsweb.com

· GENUKI: UK & Ireland Genealogy

· UK Genealogy - The Portal for UK Family Research

· Street Map UK

· The Gazetteer of British Place Names - Main Page

· Ordnance Survey, Britain’s national mapping agency

· Cyndi’s List - United Kingdom & Ireland Index

· IGI Batch Numbers-British Isles & North America

· Genealogy SiteFinder: United Kingdom

· A vision of Britain (on-line library for local history)

· UK Genealogy Archives, Heraldry and Family History

· List of places in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

· Directory of Cities and Towns in United Kingdom

Locality Specific

· County Londonderry - Wikipedia

· History of Derry

· County Londonderry/City of Derry

· Derry, Northern IrelandGenWeb Project

LONDONDERRY,

Northern Ireland

Image Gallery

During our research we have collected images and photographs that are of general interest to a variety of localities. Some of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of our ancestors past lives.