I have been trying to trace back lineage prior to my ancestor, Richard Phalen b. 1800 in c Kilkenny, Ireland.
I have found on previous threads that many of the church/parish documents were not preserved and lost prior to 1820s.
However, I found an interesting historical document and tried to follow it up: Papers of Kate Phelan and her family of Butler House, Ballyragget, County Kilkenny; letters, accounts, last will and testament, provisions for minors at the National Library of Ireland website:
http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000281748I cannot find copies online or at a local library, but wondering if anyone else can? I also found this very interesting book: The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory, Volume 2 which you can view on google scholar:
http://books.google.com/books?id=L4UNAAAAYAAJ&dq=Butler+...Does anyone know the history of the Phalen/Phelans at Butler House?