Donegal Grand Jury records online

Donegal County Archives have just dropped a nice announcement online - they have digitised the county's Grand Jury records and placed them online at http://www.donegalcoco.ie/culture/archives/donegalgrandjurydigitised/. They are mainly financial records, but name rich.

Here's the announcement from the Donegal County Archives Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DonegalCountyArchives/posts/1743996555757783):

As we celebrate Heritage Week 2020 we are delighted to announce that the rest of microfilms of Donegal Grand Jury archives are now online to view along with a PDF of the Catalogue (list of items). This Collection is our oldest public collection and dates from 1753 to 1898. It is of great importance for local, family and academic history. The Grand Juries of Ireland were the predecessor bodies of modern local authorities and the records reveal much of the social, political and economic history of 18th and 19th century Ireland.

And details on the collection itself:

Donegal Grand Jury 1753 - 1899

Grand Juries were in existence since Norman times. Landowners made up the Grand Jury itself, selected by the Sheriff of the County. Grand Juries had no corporate existence, they were discharged by the Judge of Assize. Before the assizes, presentment sessions were called in each of the six baronies of Donegal, where proposals for work to be done were considered and submitted to the Grand Jury for ratification. Services provided and paid for by Grand Jury Cess, a rate payable by occupiers, included making, and repair of roads and bridges and construction of courthouses, levying for support of district hospitals, schools and prisons. Records of the Grand Jury of Donegal, including assizes, general information, treasurers' accounts; other financial records; resolutions; minutes of meetings; correspondence; and memoranda.

*Most items have been digitised, but the catalogue does indicate where digitisation has yet to take place.*

Covering dates: 1753 - 1899

Extent 50 items, incl files

The records are not indexed, so this is a go-in-and-do-it-the-auld-fashioned-way record set. Have fun!

(With thanks to Audrey Wyper via Facebook)

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course starts August 31st - see https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.