This Irish Genealogy site offers the Irish descendant (from New York, Canada, UK, Australia...) the chance to trace their Irish family tree and search for their surname origins and the records of their Irish ancestor's birth, marriage or death.

Kyle J. Betit is a professional genealogist, lecturer and author residing in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kyle specializes in Irish and immigration research. Kyle Betit is Research Director of ProGenealogists, Inc., in Salt Lake City and the author of the Irish Genealogy Pages at http://ireland.progenealogists.com
 

Question and Answer: Austin Surname
© Kyle J. Betit, 2007

Question: Hi Kyle,

Just wondering if you can give me some direction. I am trying to find out where in Ireland my great x4 grandfather, James Austin, would have originated (1760 - 18??). I know only that he was born in Ireland c. 1760 and then ended up a few years later in North America fighting in the British Legion under Lt. Tarelton. I understand that the British Legion started as the 17th Light Dragoons which had been stationed in Cork, Ireland from about 1765-1775. Therefore, I am wondering if James Austin was actually from the Cork area. I can't seem to find any records to substantiate any Austins in Cork though. Also, perhaps he was from elsewhere in Ireland, but ended up travelling to join the Dragoons before they set sail for America. Is this likely?

The other reality could be that he immigrated to N. America and then joined a loyalist regiment that was later absorbed into the British Legion. However, I can't find his name on any of the online lists of loyalist regiments. One other clue, his family was Presbyterian after he finally settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolution. However, that may be solely due to the fact that that was the only church option in the area where he settled in Nova Scotia.

Any ideas where to take my research from here? There aren't many Austins in Ireland and this seems to make the research very hard.

Thanks,

Andrew Austin

Answer: Andrew,

Thank you for your inquiry. I am a genealogy expert and consultant for IrishAbroad.com, and I work as a professional genealogist for ProGenealogists, Inc., based in Salt Lake City.

At the time of Griffith's Primary Valuation of Ireland (early 1850s for County Cork), there were about 14 Austins listed in the county/city of Cork (see www.ireland.com/ancestor/). So the name was present in Cork at that point, as well as spread throughout Ireland.

British military records tend to be very informative. Have you tried finding records such as enlistment registers and pay lists? These can be accessed at the National Archives at Kew, England, and many are also available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (www.familysearch.org).

I also think it is important that you try to identify exaclty when and where he died, because often records were created at the time of death that include information about birthplace, parents, or other relatives. Civil registers of death, church burial registers, newspaper death notices, cemeteries and tombstones can all be sources of excellent information. It would be helpful to confirm whether he was actually born in County Cork or not, and then you could research the Austins in Cork more extensively.

I hope that this was helpful. We would be glad to assist you with some professional genealogical research time if you would like. Research regarding 18th century Irish immigrants can be quite difficult, but we have a lot of experience in this area.

Best wishes,

Kyle

Kyle J. Betit
ProGenealogists, Inc.