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An Introduction to Irish Genealogy

An Introduction to Irish Genealogy. History, Challenges and Methods. Source: Ireland’s History in Maps http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1300.htm. Key Dates in Irish History 1171 Norman invasion of Ireland w/ Henry II 1530 Henry VIII attempts to control all of Ireland

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An Introduction to Irish Genealogy

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  1. An Introduction to Irish Genealogy History, Challenges and Methods VT Genealogy Library

  2. Source: Ireland’s History in Maps http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ire1300.htm Vermont Genealogy Library

  3. Key Dates in Irish History 1171 Norman invasion of Ireland w/ Henry II 1530 Henry VIII attempts to control all of Ireland 1601 James II’s army defeats Spanish army and then Irish army 1607 “Flight of the Wild Geese” & Plantation of Ulster begins 1641-1649 Rebellion (period of Confederate Catholics) 1649-1653 Cromwellian Wars - 600K die from war, disease, starvation (of 1.4M total) - Penal Laws & extensive land confiscation 1710-1775 Catholic & Presbyterian emigration waves - 1739-1741 crop failure & famine in Ireland 1815-1841 Emigration resumes 1845-1852 Great Famine & massive Catholic emigration thru 1880s 1921 Ireland partitioned into the Republic and Northern Ireland 1922 Irish Civil War (over terms of the partition) - “Four Courts” fire destroys Public Records Office Vermont Genealogy Library

  4. Pre-Famine Immigration in the early 19th Century (1783-1845) • Scots-Irish (post-Revolutionary War) at 5,000 / year • many to Canada • continue to flow into PA, NC, SC but also KY, TN, OH • After 1800 Catholic migration begins again - both Protestant & Catholic emigrants are choosing to leave - reasonably well-off with the means to seek a better life - often bring valuable skills with them Extract from “Irish Emigration to North America: Before During and After the Famine”, Paul Milner, 7 Apr 2011 NERGC Vermont Genealogy Library

  5. The Great Famine (1845 – 1851) Potato crop fails 3 successive years Wheat crops were normal (exported) Several areas of Ireland hardly affected (no blight) - no system to move food to worst areas Results: 1 million die (starvation, disease) 1845–1855 est’d 1.5M leave Ireland Population 1841: about 8.2M 1861: about 5.8M 1901: about 4.4M Source: The Ireland Story, www.wesleyjohnston.com Vermont Genealogy Library

  6. Where the Irish Went By 1851 in Canada, the Irish now outnumber the British & Scottish, combined. Sources: The Ireland Story, www.wesleyjohnston.com and Paul Milner, “Irish Immigration to N. America” Vermont Genealogy Library

  7. Population Density of Irish Catholics in 1870 U.S. Census Source: Original Returns of the Ninth Census, 1872. Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection(wikipedia.org) Vermont Genealogy Library

  8. Reference Books: Tracing Your Irish Ancestors by John Grenham, 3d Edition, 2007 Richard Griffith & His Valuation of Ireland by James Reilly, 2000 Irish Famine Immigrants in the State of Vermont by Ron & Janet Murphy, 2000 A Guide to Irish Parish Registers by Brian Mitchell, 1988 A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland by Brian Mitchell, 2d Edition, 2002 A General Alphabetic Index to Townlands in 1851, Genealogical Publishing Co. A Guide to Irish Family History by Larry O’Keefe Tombstones of Ireland by Joanne Schmidt The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham-Smith In Search of Your British & Irish Roots by Angus Baxter A Guide to Your Irish Ancestors by J. Anderson Black Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors by William J. Roulston Databases on CD: Grenham’s Irish Surnames An Index to Griffith’s Valuation Vermont Genealogy Library

  9. Administrative Divisions of Ireland Vermont Genealogy Library

  10. Common Irish Placenames Vermont Genealogy Library

  11. Locating the Townland - Example • Question: Where was Patrick O’Donnell’s birthplace? • Born: Abt. 1832 “in Ireland” • No birth or baptism record • Married in Ireland (no record) • Religion - Presbyterian • Death certificate (Bridgeport, CT, 22 Feb 1893) has BOP as “Ireland” • CT Naturalization documents list BOP as “Ireland” Vermont Genealogy Library

  12. Locating the Townland - Example • Question: Where was Patrick O’Donnell’s birthplace? • Born: Abt. 1832 “in Ireland” • No birth or baptism record • Married in Ireland (no record) • Religion - Presbyterian • Death certificate (Bridgeport, CT, 22 Feb 1893) has BOP as “Ireland” • CT Naturalization documents list BOP as “Ireland” • Note: Family lore has him coming from “Ballybotree” or “Ballybofey” Vermont Genealogy Library

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  16. Locating Your Family Surname from Census Extracts Grenham’s Irish Surname CD Statistical frequency of surnames pulled from: - 1851 Griffith’s Valuation - Matheson's “Special Report on Surnames in Ireland” (published in 1894) Demonstration Vermont Genealogy Library

  17. Additional databases at our library for Irish Research VT-FCGS Vital Records of Parishes in the Vermont Catholic Diocese (unique DB) - over 40 volumes (and growing) - over 50,000 Irish names - Baptisms, Marriages and Burials Library subscription to AmericanAncestors.org - B/M/D records for Irish & others in MA, CT, RI - Irish research aids - Ireland specific databases Ancestry.com “Library Edition” w/ access to Ancestry-World Deluxe Databases Vermont Genealogy Library

  18. Part 4: Tips for Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Origin • Difficulties: • In 19th Century U.S. records – often required only country of origin • Irish had common surnames (with many spellings) • Naming patterns for first names were repetitive • Stated port of embarkation often given to answer “where from?” • Immigrant Irish in U.S. were very mobile – moved to the work • Advantages: • Mostly came as families • Had friends & relatives as local sponsors in U.S. • Chain migration continued for decades • Surnames often closely linked to specific location - Barony Clan Local Surnames • Irish were “joiners” – so lots of associations to search for mention • The records are in English!! Vermont Genealogy Library

  19. Considerations With Irish Surnames In 19th Century Ireland illiteracy was prevalent - surnames were not spelled consistently Some names had multiple acceptable versions - Kilfoyle, Gilfoyle, Guilfoile - McGuire, Maguire, McGwire, MacGuire Gaelic spellings sometimes included in the mix Surnames beginning with “O’” often also appeared without it. - O’Reilly, Reilly, Riley, Riely - O’Brien, O’Bryan, Brien, Bryan, Brian Note: use of Mc & Mac denoted “son of” (Mac=Scottish; Mc=Irish not a good rule) use of O’ denoted “grandson of” the Norman “Fitz” prefix is similar & derived from “fils de” (For more on surnames see: www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Irish-last-names.html) Vermont Genealogy Library

  20. Considerations With Irish Given Names Up until the 20th Century the following naming pattern was widely used: For sons The 1st son was named after the father's father. The 2nd son was named after the mother's father. The 3rd son was named after the father. The 4th son was named after the father's eldest brother. The 5th son was named after the mother's eldest brother. For daughtersThe 1st daughter was named after the mother's mother. The 2nd daughter was named after the father's mother. The 3rd daughter was named after the mother. The 4th daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister. The 5th daughter was named after the father's eldest sister. This convention clearly creates over-use of the same first names in a family/clan. However, knowing the unique names repeated in an extended family can also help when trying to determine if this family is connected to the pattern in descendants. Vermont Genealogy Library

  21. Summary • Finding your ancestors in Ireland depends on finding your immigrant’s origin • Finding that place of origin depends on understanding: • Irish history as it affected emigrants & records • The impact of multiple Irish migrations to North America • Surnames & their link to location • Naming patterns • Administrative land divisions over time • Where to find key resources (& how to use them) • Techniques to locate that key piece of data Vermont Genealogy Library

  22. Coming Up Irish Genealogy – Online Databases for Vital Records (17 Nov 2012) Ancestry, FamilySearch, AmericanAncestors Irish Family History Foundation (rootsireland.ie) IrishOrigins (www.irishorigins.com) National Library Ireland (www.nli.ie) Irish Genealogy – Online Searches of Griffith’s Valuation (15 Dec 2012) Understanding Griffith’s Valuation Ordnance Survey Maps Using onlline DBs with Griffith’s IrishOrigins.net AskAboutIreland.ie Vermont Genealogy Library

  23. Upcoming Classes Vermont Genealogy Library

  24. This concludes the presentation. Thank You Questions? Vermont Genealogy Library

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