From E.C. Benson, a FamilySearch Blog contributor
If you are like many people who know your ancestor was from Ireland, but you don’t know where, according to the late Irish researcher, Jim Hennessey, you’re looking for the straw of hay in the stack of needles. So, what does it take to be successful in finding the Irish origins of your immigrant? Generally, you need to know the following:
If you are like many people who know your ancestor was from Ireland, but you don’t know where, according to the late Irish researcher, Jim Hennessey, you’re looking for the straw of hay in the stack of needles. So, what does it take to be successful in finding the Irish origins of your immigrant? Generally, you need to know the following:
- Name of immigrant
- Place of birth or marriage in Ireland—at least a county, but if you know a town or parish that’s even better
- Names of immigrant’s family in Ireland—e.g., parents, siblings, spouse, and/or children (if they married or had children before they emigrated)
If the children of an immigrant couple were born in Ireland, that can be especially helpful. Often, we tend to focus on the end of the line, not realizing that coming forward a generation can solve our problems. For example, the baptisms of a couple born in 1810 in Ireland might not be in Roman Catholic parish registers, because often these registers started after 1810. However, if they had a child born in 1840, there’s a significantly higher chance that the parish registers in the area had started by then, and you might be able to find that child’s baptism. Plus, because you can use the names of the parents as a matching point, you can make sure you found the right baptism. Once you find the baptism, you have a place in Ireland to start searching for the rest of the family.
There might be more hope than you think for finding the origins of your Irish immigrants. FamilySearch offers several lessons including a series of three free classes that will help you learn what to try next. Just Click Here, then choose "Ireland" out of the alphabetical list on the left. Then choose Ireland Beginning Research Series Immigration Parts: 1) "Strategies," 2) Famine and Post Famine Sources, and 3) Ulster and Scots Irish Sources. Also notice that handouts are downloadable and/or printable. You should also see five additional lessons to investigate.
Hopefully this will get you started. Remember that you can come into the St. George FamilySearch Library to get individual help. Check our calendar for our hours. This article is in response to several of our readers. We are sorry to say that we will not have an Irish Research class until next year when we are in our new facility, but we hope this information will help you along.
Dick Eastman offered some additional information to those working on Ireland.
"The General Register Office in Dublin has implemented new rules about General Searches and has increased the number of uncertified copies (photocopies) it allows each researcher to obtain on a daily basis from five to eight for those undertaking a General Search." Click Here for more information. Please notice that the information's source is CIGO - The Council of Irish Genealogical Organizations. It would be good to bookmark this site. The link takes you to the recent article, but searching the site might be valuable to you. This is a good source for what is and has been made available to make research among Irish sources more efficient and doable.
The St. George FamilySearch Library Blog group extends appreciation to E.C. Benson of FamilySearch Blog, Family Search and Dick Eastman who made the information and sources available to us.