Want to know if my ancestor was 2nd or 3rd generation Irish or just born there whilst family was working abroad

Question

my 3rd great grandfather Matthew Clark said he was born in ireland in a time period which i am unsure but know it was between 1820 and 1830 and his parents were owen and mary with owen being born about 1790. matthew and his wife mary carter travelled through scotland into england from about 1850 and ended up on a boat to australia in 1863. i know everything about my family except from where matthew was really born , ireland or scotland and when and where his parents 'if they were indeed his parents  and not a relative taking care of him so can somebody please help

Answer 1

I'm assuming you have found Matthew in the 1851 and 1861 UK census, either in England or Scotland. Where does it say he was born? The 1841 census may also help somewhat because it will say if you were "foreign" born (Scottish or Irish). If the 1851 and 1861 have a town or parish mentioned, you will have to go back to the parish registers for a baptism. Try using FamilySearch, not just the collections that are online but go to the catalogue and borrow a film for the parish(es) you are interested in. If there's nothing there, then Scotland's People and some of the Irish family history sites are your best bet.

Answer 2

Hello anonymous,

It may be worth your while checking the details you have on the following two registry web sites for ireland & Scotland. For Scotland http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ it holds allthe digitzed records, BMD, census,wills, probate & so on. For Ireland it is http://www.rootsireland.ie/

All the best

Billy