How can I find evidence of one James McAlister born in the latter part of
the nineteenth century lived in Granard Co Longford Ireland served in
the Irish Guards in WW1

---

Clarification of Question by elbanna-ga on 20 Oct 2002 05:44 PDT

I think he was born around 1891

Dear elbanna,

After very extensive research, I came to the conclusion that no
records of this particular James McAlister are available online yet.
However, I was able to collect addresses of establishments that will
without any doubt help you obtaining detailed information about
McAlister.

I assume that James McAlister did not only live in Granard, but also
that he was born there. Since all of Ireland was still part of the
United Kingdom in that time, he was born a British subject and under
British laws.
These laws demanded since January 1, 1864 that all births, deaths and
marriages with no exception had to be recorded officially. Therefore,
James McAllister's birth must be included in the Civil Registration
records, as well as a possible marriage and his death.
Granard, County Longford, is part of the Republic of Ireland today.
All civil records up to the year 1922 are maintained by the Registrar
General of Ireland in Dublin. Certificates based on this data can be
obtained from the Irish General Register Office for a fee. In case you
do not have all information that is generally regarded necessary for a
certificate application, establishing contact with the Register Office
first might prove helpful in order to avoid problems. You might want
to use the certificate application forms provided on the office's
website under "Apply for cert".
For Irish Civil Records certificates, please apply to:

Office of the Registrar General
Joyce House
11/13 Lombard Street East
Dublin 2
Ireland
Phone: +353 (01) 635 40 00
Fax: +3531 (01) 6354440
Website: http://www.groireland.ie/

For information connected with James McAlister's service in the
British Army, you have several options. But please be aware that the
service records for soldiers of World War I are far from complete. The
chance of finding files on a special person is small, not better than
10 percent. Also, application for a record search is subject to fees.
Nevertheless, you can try contacting these institutions:

Army Records Centre
Ministry of Defence (CS(RM)2b)
Bourne Avenue
Hayes
Middlesex UB3 1RF
United Kingdom
Tel: 020 8573 3831
Fax: 020 8573 9078
(Postal enquiries only!)

Public Record Office
Ruskin Avenue
Kew
Richmond
Surrey TW9 4DU
United Kingfom
Tel: 020 8878 8905
Fax: 020 8878 8905
E-Mail: enquiry@pro.gov.uk
Website: http://www.pro.gov.uk

Sources:

The Genereal Register Office of the Republic of Ireland
http://www.groireland.ie/

All About Irish: Finding Irish Civil Registration Records, by Pat
Friend, 2002
http://allaboutirish.com/library/gen/civreg.htm

Fianna Study Group Guide to Irigsh Genealogical Research: Finding and
Using Irish Military Records
http://www.rootsweb.com/~fianna/guide/military.html

British Army Records Centre: Officers and other Ranks 1914-1921, by
the Army Museums Ogilby Trust, 2002
http://www.armymuseums.co.uk/botha.htm

Public Record Office: The National Archives, by Her Majesty's
Government, 2002
http://www.pro.gov.uk/

Search terms used:
"civil registration records" ireland:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22civil+registration+records%22+ireland&meta=
"irish guards" records:
://www.google.de/search?q=%22irish+guards%22+records&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&meta=
"British Army Records":
://www.google.de/search?q=%22British+Army+Records%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=

Hope this helps!
Regards,
Scriptor

Please note though that many records were lost during the irish war of
independance and civil war.

my great-grandfather is James McAlister born on 4th of may 1892 in
Granard, Co. Longford Ireland to Randolf/Randal/Randol McAlister and
Catherine Cassey. he was baptised 4 days later in St. Mary's Church
granard. At some point he went to England and married a widow, my
great-grandmother, ALice Maud Bacon. They had 3 children, Micheal
McAlister, Barbara McAlister and my grandfather, Peter McAlister. He
served in the irish guards in WWI and was wounded. He died in 1934(by
my calculations). my grandmother and i have been searching for years
to try and discover James mcalisters brothers and sisters. i would
very much appreciate ANY information you can give and i would be happy
to check with my grandfather for the bits of information i have left
out.
Thankyou