Thursday 29 November 2012

Genealogy is the reason for most visits to PRONI

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has published some interesting statistics on the year just past.

Here are some of the findings:

Overall visitor numbers have been maintained above the 17,000 mark and some 5,700 of those that visited were making their first trip to PRONI.

Visitors came from England, Scotland, Wales, the USA and as far afield Australia and New Zealand. 61% were from Northern Ireland. Just 6% were from the Republic

By an easy majority (73%), the majority of visitors were researching family history and genealogy.

The most accessed documents were:
  • Graveyard inscriptions - Presbyterian Church, Ballyclare, County Antrim, c.1755-1865; Shankill Road cemetery, Belfast, c.1707-1949; Jewish cemetery, Belfast, c.1874-1954; Holy Trinity cemetery, Lisburn, c.1875-1955
  • Note books giving marriages, births and deaths of various families of Carnmoney Presbyterian Church.
  • Passenger book - Londonderry to Philadelphia, New Orleans, Quebec and St. John [277 pages].
  • First Newtownards, Presbyterian - Index to Baptisms (1831-1921) and Marriages (1833-1921).
  • Three documents comprising Register of Baptisms of Carnmoney Presbyterian Church, 1708-1800
  • Valuation Records, Annual Revision Lists - Electoral Division of Banbridge.
  • Register of baptisms, 1830-1874 and of marriages, 1830-1845, of 1st Ballymoney Presbyterian Church
  • Register of baptisms, 1812-18, and marriages, 1813-17, of Killinchy Presbyterian Church, Co Down
  • Indexed note book giving marriages, births and deaths of various families of Carnmoney Presbyterian Church
  • Register of baptisms and marriages of Killinchy Presbyterian Church.
In 2011/12, there were 42,318 documents produced.

You can download the full digest of statistics here.