Sometimes I dismiss announcements about releases of historic records, particularly when the records just don't sound that significant. Lesson to be learned: one should look at ALL possible record sources.

Back in August 2013, Findmypast launched online access to Irish dog license registers. The first dog licenses were issued in 1866, and Findmypast's first installment of records included 550,000 records for 1866-1913. Another 3.6 million records were released last week. There are now over 6 million dog license records available to search on Findmypast with more records due next year. I've ignored all announcements on the subject. MISTAKE! Today blogger Claire Santry writes about finding a clue in dog license records. When she followed up at the GRO research room, she confirmed that it was, in fact, her 3rd great-grandfather Patrick Tierney who'd registered his dogs - and that he'd died of influenza just a few weeks later. An even more interesting result was that Claire learned how old Patrick was. She'd assumed his age based on the birth year of his first son. This was a bad assumption. Patrick's widow reported his age on the death record, and Patrick was actually born about 20 years earlier than Claire thought.

More information about Findmypast's dog license registers can be found at http://www.findmypast.com/articles/world-records/full-list-of-the-irish-family-history-records/institutions-and-organisations/ireland-dog-licence-registers. If you're a dog-lover, you'll also enjoy reading about dog breeds and dog names common at the time.