Searching For Sgt Dorris: New book delves into Tyrone genealogy

AN intriguing book, which will prove to be of great interest to those who study local family history or those who love stories from memory lane, has been released by a talented Omagh author – and there are only 200 copies up for grabs.

Written by Ralph Freeman, ‘Searching For Sgt Dorris’ contains the entire genealogy for the Dorris families of Ireland, which includes the more recognisable local spellings of surname; Doris, Dooris, Doorish and Tourish.

With almost 1,000 other surnames also recorded in the book, hundreds from the Tyrone and Fermanagh areas where many Dorris families can trace their roots, this remarkable genealogical work has been described as ‘a treasure just waiting to be explored’

Inspired by his investigation into the death of his maternal grandfather, Sgt Charles Dorris, who was killed in Normandy in 1944, the book took Mr Freeman him 17 years to research, and ten years to write, in what he describes as ‘a labour of love’.

During his extensive research, he did more than simply wonder who he was: He started his journey in a battlefield graveyard in France , and from there, cast his genealogical net across every continent and followed the fortunes and tales of the Dorris families and all whose family surname could be a derivative of the name.

After gathering together thousands of parish records and collecting oral family history from all over the world discovering over forty different spellings of the surname, it is a work that every Dorris will wish to consult.

And with more than six hundred pages, containing nearly 6,000 historical records, dozens of maps and photos, not only from Ireland but the British Isles, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada, he manages to bring more than four centuries of history together.

ENCOUNTERS WITH OUTLAWS

Within its pages, you will find wonderful stories; encounters with the famous outlaw Ned Kelly, battles with the Maori in New Zealand, their exploits from the Napoleonic Wars and the Irish rebellion; emigration; shipwrecks; and the unimaginable courage of wives and mothers.

It also tells the stories that would otherwise have been lost forever: RIC men and soldiers, evictions, sheep-stealing, robberies, and even the occasional murder. Incredibly brave wives and mothers, blacksmiths, gardeners, farmers and weavers, their stories are all told.

With the doors to the past thrown open, the infamous characters and goings-on brought back to life and all their exploits, good and bad, gathered together, the result is an impressive genealogical history of Dorris families worldwide, and an incredible reference for all genealogists. With historical facts laid out, you are left to decide who really was Sgt Dorris, and who were the Dorrises of Ireland

l For more information, please click here.

Copies of this much-sought after publication can be ordered by email at: sfsdorris@gmail.com