My interest in who went before me was sparked after the death of my mother in the mid 1990s. Amongst her papers was a copy of a small Whelan family history document compiled in 1976 by my father's cousin Eileen for the occasion of my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. I had not previously been aware of the document. It seems likely that the material Eileen had gathered was by word of mouth; but Eileen and most of those who contributed to that material are gone, and the knowledge they had is lost forever.

This website contains a summary of some of my family history.  The Whelan, Hildebrand and Ballantyne lines are on my father's side; the Williams line is my mother's side. Click on one of the family group links above to read more. Genuine family history researchers wishing to know more about a family group should email me (see below for email address).

If you have a query I will respond to your email promptly. You may like to include a phone number so I can call and have a chat if that seems appropriate.

Enquiries: history AT tonywhelan DOT net

Search Tony Whelan's cemetery records at by entering a surname and clicking search: This contributor's records All of Find A Grave (162.4 million names) Restrict search to Surname