What's in a name? - at The Catholic Gene

"The job of a genealogist is much like that of a police detective. Success in both pursuits depends on searching predictable hidden places where evidence would be expected. A true detective genius, however, finds traces of clues out in the open – signs within plain sight yet invisible to the average eye."

So begins my first article at The Catholic Gene, the new blog dedicated to genealogy and the Catholic faith.  Stop on over to The Catholic Family Detective: Finding Clues in Given Names to read more.  I've shared some stories about the significance of many of the first names within my Catholic family tree.  I hope you'll be inspired to look at your ancestors' names in ways you never have before.

Celebrate Irish roots with GeneaBloggers Radio

The celebration of Irish heritage continues this St. Patrick's week as Thomas MacEntee's GeneaBloggers Radio presents Irish Roots – A St. Patrick’s Day Celebration! tonight from 10:00 - 12:00 p.m. Eastern.


Listen to internet radio with Geneabloggers on Blog Talk Radio
Special guest Brian Mitchell, author of a number of Irish genealogy reference books such as A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland, 2nd Edition will open the show.  He will be followed by myself and several other genealogists and family historians with a focus on Irish genealogy: Sharon Sergeant, Mary Ellen Grogan, Jennifer Geraghty Gorman and Deborah Large Fox.

I hope you'll take time to listen - and call in - to the show as we delve into various topics related to Irish research and heritage!

Irish genealogy: A wee bit of advice for the journey

Welcome to the 20th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture: "I Speak from Experience!" 

We are all at different stages of our Irish genealogical research.  Some just starting out, others well-seasoned in the search.  This short and sweet edition of our carnival focuses on tips and suggestions from submitters who have generously taken the time to write down what they have learned along the journey.  I hope you'll find some new information here that you can apply to your own search.  If you do, please take the time to comment and let us know.  We'll be happy to celebrate your successes with you!



Here are the suggestions from this edition's kind contributors (who hope to save you their mistakes and/or get you further down the road to Irish research):

Jennifer Geraghty-Gorman of 'On a flesh and bone foundation': An Irish History offers Irish researchers 13 Tips + 1 for conducting research in Ireland.  She wraps up her suggestions with one simple phrase:  "Be well prepared"."  Personally, I  appreciated her last suggestion (which you won't read in too many Irish genealogy how-to books): what type of pants not to wear if you're a non-resident researcher trying to avoid the tourist look.

Over at the Irish Family History blog, Rachel Murphy (a native of Ireland) shares her Top 10 Tips for Irish genealogical research, many of which can be applied to research into non-Irish branches of the family. Rachel's suggestions include ideas such as how to get your research organized properly, how to use your creativity to find success in genealogy, and more.

Donna Moughty's first "research" trip to Ireland from the United States found her at a loss for what information to search for at the National Library of Ireland - after spending two hours applying for a reader's card.  Visit Donna's Genealogy Blog for her suggestions on what to do Before You Go to Ireland, including her best tip: the most important piece of information to learn before you plan your trip.  Donna offers many other practical suggestions, including how to correspond with a Catholic church so that you receive all of the information within the records and not just what fits onto their standard response form.

Visit Cindy Bergeron Scherwinski's blog In My Life for a few tips on Irish research, including traditional Irish naming patterns and the surprising place to look for a child's birth record. Cindy writes so poetically about her "favorite brick wall" that you might just find yourself inspired to do a little Irish research!

Frances Ellsworth (aka Hummer) also mentions traditional Irish naming patterns on her blog article posted at Branching Out Through The Years.  Although she knows that her "quest is just beginning", she has a few suggestions, including the free online course on Irish research at Family Search. A great resource, Frances.  Thanks for suggesting it!

The ongoing search for his McFarland ancestors has kept Bill West busy for a long time.  In Searching for McFarlands on Record Search posted at his blog West in New England, Bill shares his latest update. Reading about his steps to success may aid your own personal Irish family research.

Every Irish genealogist hopes to eventually be able to visit Ireland and "trudge through muddy cemeteries in search of ancestors".  Geniaus has done just that, but without success.  On her blog, Geniaus, she tells briefly about her experience and gives perhaps the best advice we can take to heart while researching our Irish family history: be persistent!



Hopefully you will find some of the tips from this edition's contributors to be of use to you in your own Irish research, and that you can share your own wealth of experience with us for a future edition of the carnival. Want to delve a little deeper?  Visit the Irish genealogy how-to page here at Small-leaved Shamrock for more ideas.

Please plan to join us next time as a contributor.  For this upcoming edition - our 21st! - we will revisit the theme of our very 1st edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture: Irish Stories.  Stop by the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture blog for details.  The deadline for submissions is Sunday, August 22, 2010.

The key to Ireland: Genealogists seek out their Irish roots

Welcome to the 11th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. This edition will take us on a tour through Ireland and, perhaps even more importantly, through the research processes of a number of genealogists who are working to trace their roots back to specific counties and villages in Ireland. My hope is that through reading the stories of the discoveries of others, we would all be inspired to continue our efforts toward discovering the specific details of our Irish heritage.

A special feature of this edition is the interactive map created by Thomas MacEntee of Destination Austin Family. He has embedded links to each of our contributors' ancestral counties and/or villages within a Google Maps map of Ireland. Use the map below right now to find an area of Ireland that interests you, or come back to the map after you've read through the carnival's submissions for a visual summary of this edition.

My Key to Ireland Map

11th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture


View Larger Map

If you have trouble viewing this interactive map here for some reason, you can use this direct link to the carnival's My Key to Ireland map on the Google Maps website.

Special thanks to Thomas for creating this map. If you want to know how he did it, visit Thomas' article at the Facebook Bootcamp for Genea-Bloggers blog entitled Google Maps and Carnival Posts. Two of this edition's contributors, Donna and Julie, have also written about similar ways to use Google Maps.

Now, for the stories of our carnival's contributors... Enjoy your tour of Ireland!

***

Brian of Ancestors at Rest has written us a chronicle detailing the story of the discovery of his roots in Ireland. It is quite a page-turner of a blog story. In The Search for My Irish Roots, Part 1 (The Beginning) Brian tells the story of how he is surprised to learn that his family was Irish. Part 2 (We're Irish???) explains how thirty years of "flailing around" searching for the Irish origins of his Massey family finally begin to pay off. Part 3 (Then I got lucky) is about his discovery of his immigrant ancestor's origins in County Wicklow and the story of a very generous fellow researcher he meets online. In Part 4 (Sometimes you don't find the next clue, it finds you) Brian finds more clues pointing him to the village of his immigrant ancestor, but has no definitive evidence yet. In Brian's final installment of this series, Part 5 (The kindness of strangers), he explains what finally answered his questions. One of my favorite parts of his story is his explanation of his joy as a genealogist at finally learning the info that he had been seeking for so long: "I was so happy. For about 10 minutes. Then like a true genealogist I started to think about what I still did not know, and I realized my search will never be over..." You'll surely relate to this wonderful progression of stories as Brian shares his search for Irish roots. You might also enjoy visiting his genealogy website on which he includes an Ireland page with many helpful links.

Professional genealogist Donna Moughty can be found at Donna's Genealogy Blog. Her article My First Trip to Ireland details the story of she and her daughter's visit to Ireland and search for Moughty family records. In humorous fashion, she tells of her struggles with getting acquainted with Ireland, driving roundabouts, and spending two hours to get a "reader card" only to learn that she would not be able to find the records she was looking for at the National Library of Ireland but would have to go elsewhere. Her story is a reminder to all of us that we must "do our homework" before we can have success in Irish genealogy. It is also a reminder that details are important: the village she thought her family hailed from was only six miles away from the correct village (Aughnaboy in County Westmeath), but was actually in a different civil parish, registration district, and barony. Visit Donna's blog for encouragement in your search and for some Irish genealogy links to assist you in your efforts.

Geniaus shared the story of how a priest and a post office clerk in the tiny Irish villages of Ballyfoyle and Muckalee in County Kilkenny were able to give her access to family records and also directions to her ancestral home. Read My Key to Ireland to learn her story and view a photo of the home that is still in the family after over two-hundred years, complete with a table made by her great-great-grandfather.

Olive Tree Genealogy Blog is one of the online homes of Lorine McGinnis Schulze. In her article Carnival of Irish Heritage: My Key to Ireland, Lorine describes her quest for her McGinnis family and how she narrowed down her ancestral village to Katesbridge in County Down thanks to her brother's DNA test and the handwriting on the back of a family photograph. For more details on Lorine's Irish family tree, you might also enjoy reading Tracking the Elusive Fanny Downey McGinnis.

Not new to genealogy, but new to the search for the Irish roots in her family, Cindy of Everything's Relative found the 1911 British Census records (newly placed online) were a help in tracing her ancestors back to their Irish birthplaces in counties Fermanagh and Mayo, and the town of Drogheda in County Louth. Visit Where in the world is Drogheda? for a glimpse at Cindy's discoveries about her 3rd-great-grandparents using the census and the Family Search website.

Kathy Brady-Blake of Kathy's Genealogy Blog has many branches of her family with Irish roots. In My Keys to Ireland she details how she discovered her Bestick, McSorley, Whelan, Markey and Brady family origins in Counties Kilkenny, Longford, Meath, Tyrone and possibly Mayo, and the steps she has taken to confirm these findings with evidence. I especially liked the description one of Kathy's cousins gave to her regarding the ancestral village of her Whelan branch: "County Meath near the River Boyne, five miles from the sea." Wouldn't it be fun to go hunt down that little village?

The Educated Genealogist Sheri Fenley tells us the story of her 3rd-great-grandfather and her search for he and his wife's origins in Ireland at Daniel Derondo Delaney and My Key to Ireland. She discovered that they hailed from County Kerry and County Cork. Interestingly enough, after searching elsewhere for the information, Sheri finally found that Daniel's birth and marriage data were already residing in her files, and were written in Daniel's own handwriting! Read Sheri's article for the story of how she found her family's ancestral village of Buttevant, County Cork. You'll also enjoy the saga of Daniel's shortlived career as a Union soldier.

Since Colleen Degnan Johnson's heritage is almost purely Irish, she has much to talk about when it comes to Irish roots. In My Keys to Ireland at CMJ Office Blog she writes about her Degnan, Galvin, Finnegan/Finegan, Clune and Donahue ancestors from Counties Longford, Cork, Clare, Monaghan and Mayo. Close to her heart is the childhood home of her grandmother, which Colleen was able to visit, just down the road from the cliffs of Moher and Lahinch in Clouna, Russa and Cullenagh. A tip from Colleen for discovering clues to your family's ancestral homes in Ireland: she highly recommends ship and naturalization records. They have played a large role in her research.

Kathryn Kahumoku resides online at the blog entitled For My Ancestors. Kathryn's father was born and raised in County Leitrim and only emigrated after his daughter was born, so Kathryn had much verbal family history to get her started on her quest for her ancestors. In her article My Key to Ireland, she details the counties and parishes where she has found records for her ancestors, including the parishes of Aughavas and Cloone-Clonmaicne in County Leitrim (her Kiernan family), and the parishes of Abbeyleix, Aghaboe, Durrow and Mountmellick in County Laois (Nolan, Muldowney, Horan and Connor families). You'll enjoy viewing the maps that Kathryn has created highlighting the location of each of her families' parishes. Kathryn reminds us not to forget reading local histories. She made a fascinating discovery about her grandfather and his brother (and their time as prisoners in 1921) by reading one such book. Kathryn thinks that she has exhausted all the records available to her (without making a trip to Dublin, that is) and is hoping for more records to be made available online or through her local Family History Library. While you're visiting For My Ancestors, check out Kathryn's list of online Irish resources on her links page.

As is appropriate for a Graveyard Rabbit, M. Diane Rogers has told the story of her ancestors using photos and information about a gravemarker on her blog The Graveyard Rabbit of British Columbia, Canada. Diane began her search for Irish roots after a trip to Ireland where she and her mother made "an obligatory wave to the family roots" without much knowledge about them. Once back home she began her research into her Irwin and Moffat families and eventually found roots in County Cavan, instead of County Armagh, which she had originally thought in error. Visit Irwin and Moffat: County Cavan for Diane's story about her search for Irish roots and her discovery of the grave of James and Mary Jane Moffatt Irwin in Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada. Diane's tip for Irish researchers: "Always look for collateral relatives, especially brothers and sisters of your direct ancestors."

Sharing wonderful portraits of her great-great-grandparents that many of us will envy, Paula Ausmus Moore tells about the Irish roots in her family tree at her blog A Passage in Time. With family hailing from Counties Cork (her Kirwin line) and Roscommon (her Noonan family - or is it Noon?), Paula plans to continue her search for the origins of her Irish ancestors who immigrated to Chicago, Illinois in the mid-19th-century. Read more at Paula's My Key to Ireland.

Julie Cahill Tarr has found two of her family ancestral counties in Ireland (Kilkenny and Tipperary), but still has more work to do to find specific locations. Read Finding My Irish Roots at GenBlog for details about how Julie found those counties and her plans for further Irish research.

In My Key to Ireland: Unlocking Family Mysteries Thomas MacEntee of Destination Austin Family introduces us to the area in Ireland where cousins tell him that his family hails from: County Monaghan. Like many of us, he has more research to do in order to get further details about his family. Read Thomas' blog for an introduction to the McEntee/MacEntee surname and his family's Irish roots.

Bill West of West in New England writes out his detailed plans to search for information about his two great-grandfathers with probable Irish heritage. Using city employment records, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority records, and Boston Archdiocese Archives records he hopes to find the keys to "open the door" to his Irish roots. Visit Bill's article: My Keys to Ireland.

Jessica Oswalt of Jessica's Genejournal describes her discovery of a Scottish birth certificate that gave information about the previous generations' birthplaces in Ballymena, County Antrim. On her blog she explains her plans to seek out information about her Scotch-Irish great-grandfather's family at My Scotch-Irish Ancestors: My Key To Ireland?.

I've shared my personal discovery of my great-great-grandfather's birth in County Tipperary on my blog A light that shines again. After celebrating my Irish heritage for as long as I can remember, it was a happy moment to finally be able to pinpoint Tipperary as the place of my ancestral roots. At In search of Irish roots: A long and winding road I explain what finally led me to Patrick Tierney's birthplace and list the other branches of the family that need my attention before I can make that long-awaited trip to Ireland.

***

I hope you've enjoyed this edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture and that it has inspired you to dig further into your own Irish roots. Ireland is not a large country, but it can seem daunting to the son or daughter of an immigrant (particularly several generations down) who desperately wants to find their ancestral village but whose research is at a standstill in Canadian, American or Australian records.

For help with getting started finding your own Irish roots, you might enjoy Getting to the roots of your Irish family tree, Part 1 here at Small-leaved Shamrock. This first installment focuses on finding the county of your ancestors in Ireland. The second part, Getting to the roots of your Irish family tree, Part 2, focuses on searching for more specific information: villages, parishes and townlands in Ireland. You might also benefit from a refresher course in Irish geography. Visit Irish Geography 101 over at A light that shines again for a little review (or an introduction if you're new to research within the Emerald Isle).

Join us for the parade!

No matter how your Irish research is going (or even if you have no Irish roots to speak of), please plan to join us for the upcoming 12th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. This will be our 2nd annual St. Patrick's Day parade edition and if last year's is any indication, it will be loads of fun. Come one, come all - Irish roots or not! All you need is an appreciation of Ireland and its culture. Read details at the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture blog: Join us for a St. Patrick's Day online parade!

Image thanks to kaboodle.

Central Pennsylvania marriage records online

Those of you researching ancestors in central Pennsylvania might want to take advantage of some marriage record data that has just newly arrived within the World Vital Records online database.

Central Pennsylvania Marriages, 1700-1896 is normally accessed online by paid subscription, but will be available free for the next ten days. The records consist primarily for Union and Snyder counties and contain names of approximately 15,000 brides and grooms.

How wonderful if you could find just one of those couples on your family tree!

Thanks to the Pennsylvania History blog for the update.

More of the Irish census online: Counties Antrim, Down & Kerry

A little over a year ago Small-leaved Shamrock shared the news that the National Archives of Ireland was beginning digitization of the 1911 and 1901 censuses of Ireland. The process started with Dublin and a schedule was posted for the planned digitization of the rest of Ireland.

I am happy to share that you can now search the National Archives of Ireland website for 1911 census records for counties Down, Kerry and Antrim in addition to Dublin.

Me, personally, I'm looking for Tipperary and Cork in particular. Hopefully we'll see those counties and more online within the new year. Thanks for putting in the effort to get this data online, folks at the National Archives of Ireland!

Thanks to the Irish Family history blog for sharing the news.

Here's hoping: The quest for access to the 1926 Irish census

Doing genealogy in Ireland? Join the campaign to request access to the 1926 census of Ireland. Originally scheduled to be released one-hundred years after its creation, there is hope that it might be made available to researchers in the near future.

The Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO) is calling for signatures on a petition to request access to these records immediately, instead of after the currently required one-hundred year waiting period. According to their website:

"CIGO is not alone in regretting that the State’s [Ireland's] access policy to census records does not follow the U.S. model, which releases records after seventy years rather than one hundred. This approach appears to work well and is generally accepted by U.S. citizens."

The census is of interest to many researching the genealogy of their Irish families, and both Irish and non-Irish citizens are requested to sign the petition. As CIGO states on their webpage explaining the value of the census data, "a very large percentage of the people enumerated would have been born before civil registration began in Ireland in 1864." The 1926 census was the first one taken in the Irish Free State.

Sadly, Irish researchers will find that Ireland's census records available for research are few and far between. The 1910 and 1911 census returns are currently in the process of being digitized by the National Archives of Ireland. However, Ireland's censuses for the years 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 were destroyed by fire in 1922 during the Irish civil war. Censuses for the years 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 were destroyed because of a bureaucratic oversight.

For more details about the 1926 Irish census visit CIGO's webpage Current Campaigns - The 1926 Census or go directly to sign the petition to open access to the 1926 census of Ireland.

Thanks to Margaret Jordan's Cork Genealogist for sharing the news about the petition.

Top of the class: Family historians set goals for Irish research

Ring-a-ling!

The school bell is ringing for the 8th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. This is the "Back to School" edition, so get your pencils sharpened and put your thinking caps on as we scroll through the research plans and to do lists of others seeking to get a better grip on their Irish heritage and/or to learn a little more about the culture of Ireland.

Why would you want to read through an assortment of other people's to-do lists? Why, it’s fascinating reading! (After all, there is even a popular blog that is devoted solely to To-Do Lists.)

Let me give you a few reasons why you might want to spend time reading through the assortment of to-do lists and itemized Irish genealogy plans that make up this edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture:

1. To be inspired in your own research by seeing what others are trying to accomplish
2. To gather ideas for your own research and/or gain interesting perspectives on the quest for your personal family history
3. To be introduced to resources you might not be aware of
4. To help keep these family historians accountable to the goals that they have set
   

If you are working on your own to-do list of Irish genealogy and family history tasks and don't currently manage a blog of your own, please use the comment section at the end of this article to share your goals. We hope you’ll join us: the more the merrier!

The bell has rung and it’s time to begin, so without any further ado let’s get on task and scroll through our submissions.

Colleen Johnson is on a mission to seek out her roots in County Monaghan and possibly County Mayo. As she shares on The Finegan/Donahue Quest, two branches of her family are the focus of her plans this year. She hopes to find the original Irish townland for the Finegan family and to learn all she can about the Donahues, working at least once a week on both family lines. As Colleen puts it, “I’m such a Type A personality. I better not fail.”

Apple’s search for her Irish ancestry takes her back to Ireland during the 18^th-century. She plans to work further back in her family tree on the following lines: Carlisle (of Massachusetts), Graham (of Virginia) and Kelly (of New York and Ontario). She will also focus on learning about the history of Ireland during that time period. Read Irish Homework posted at Apple's Tree to see the detailed “assignments” that she has laid out for herself, broken down by fall and spring semesters.

First-time carnival contributor Melody LaSalle is not new to Irish genealogy. She has done much research in the past on her family tree, but still finds that she is stumped on several lines. As Melody puts it, she “has her work cut out for her”. When she found herself at a “brick wall” in the past for one particular family member, her approach was to search for every known document for that person. Her persistence paid off when she discovered a probate file with the names of many family members from various branches. Check out Melody’s plans to search for information on her elusive Kelly and Dolan ancestors of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and California at Getting My Irish Ancestors Back to Ireland posted at The Research Journal.

Julie Cahill Tarr is another first-time contributor to our carnival. Her quest is to find the home county in Ireland of her great-great-great-grandparents, Michael and Anne (Hale) Cahill. Julie outlines what she knows about later generations of the Cahill family and lists the resources she plans to use to make further progress, including a nice assortment of Michael O’Laughlin’s books. Julie also plans to focus on learning more about Ireland’s history using some popular history books. Read more at GenBlog: Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture posted at GenBlog.

Bill West of West in New England shares his goals at "BACK TO SCHOOL" ON MY IRISH GENEALOGY. He is focusing on searching for information about one couple in his family tree: John & Anna (Kelley) McFarland. Bill hopes to learn about his great-grandparents using archived newspapers, passenger lists, vital records, employment records, and records from the Archives of the Archdiocese of Boston when they open again in 2009. He also plans to contact some older relatives in the family for more information.

Her Scotch-Irish branch of the family is one line that Jessica Oswalt has not yet focused on since she began writing about her personal search for family history at Jessica's Genejournal. She plans to familiarize herself with Scottish and Irish records and use the British census along with probate, vital and other records to pinpoint her family’s history in the United Kingdom. Read more about her plans at Searching For My Ancestors: My Research Plan and Goals For My Ancestors Born in Scotland and Ireland.

A collection of family photographs dating from 1850 is the focus of M. Diane Rogers’ project related to her Irish genealogy. At CanadaGenealogy, or, Jane’s Your Aunt she writes IRWIN and MOFFAT, County Cavan, Ireland - 8th Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture and shares a beautiful portrait of James and Mary Ann (Moffat) Irwin who immigrated from County Cavan, Ireland to western Canada. Diane plans to scan and organize all of the photos in her collection related to this couple and their descendants. She shares a book written by a relative on the history of the Irwin family and provides a nice list of links relating to County Cavan, Ireland. Diane is another first-time contributor to the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. Thanks to all of you for joining us!

Donna Pointkouski found that in doing research for others on their 19th-century Irish immigrant ancestors she may have found a more difficult type of “genealogy coursework” than that of researching her more recent immigrant ancestors of the early 20th-century. She has worked back through several generations of her niece’s Irish ancestors in America: the McGeehan and Lee families. Donna details the work she has done thus far using census and vital records, and shares the difficulties that she ran into looking for accurate information on these American immigrants that arrived before the days of consistent vital records and comprehensive passenger lists. Read The Challenges of Researching Irish Ancestry posted at What's Past is Prologue.

When lost in the assortment of notes, documents, and other family history information that I've accumulated, I've found that the best way to refocus has been to create a family timeline for the ancestral branch that troubles me. That is at the top of my priority list as I revisit some of my Irish family lines that have been elusive lately. Visit Filling in the gaps on the Irish side of my family tree here at Small-leaved Shamrock for an introduction to my search for the Cowhey, Foley and Donnelly families of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

I often receive carnival submissions that are not quite within the realm of the topic covered by the current edition. They are sometimes items that I’m interested in sharing, but because they don’t fit with the theme, I have chosen not to include them in the past.

This month, since the scope of our "Back to School" edition has covered the “study” of all aspects of Irish heritage and culture, I’ll include the additional submissions that I received on Irish topics.

Smoky Mountain Family Historian Lori presents a review of a children’s book dealing with an Irish family’s heritage in Review: St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh. She suggests it as a reminder to families to tell their own stories. I wholeheartedly agree.

Peter presents a gallery of photos he has taken on his travels by motorbike throughout Ireland. See we overstep for a photo tour of the Emerald Isle.

Kerry Dexter of Music Road shares the story of Cathie Ryan: Irish and American. The daughter of Irish immigrants living in Michigan, Cathie's love for Celtic music eventually led her back to Ireland. Cathie is a singer and songwriter (the lead singer for Cherish the Ladies) and as Kerry puts it, "builds bridges between Ireland and America, between past and present, and between the stuff of daily life and the spiritual and emotional dimensions that give that day to day another dimension".

Thanks for reading this, the 8th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. We hope it has inspired you to join the class and get to work on your personal Irish heritage & culture coursework!

For a little fun and a break from your serious studies, plan to join us for the upcoming 9th edition to be hosted by Bill West. See The luck of the Irish: Superstitions and the Irish people for details.

Have Irish roots but can't get yourself to Ireland?

Then get yourself to New York, at least!

The New York Irish History Roundtable will be holding a seminar on Researching Genealogical Resources in Ireland Long-Distance. The event, to be held the afternoon of Sunday, September 28, is open to the public.

This announcement from the New York Irish History Roundtable's Vice President for Family History, Jim Garrity, includes all the details:

The New York Irish History Roundtable will present the only New York City area appearance of two internationally-acclaimed experts on genealogical research in Ireland—Dr. William Roulston, Research Director of Ulster Historical Foundation in Belfast, and Dr. Brian Trainor, the Foundation’s retired Research Director and the former Director of the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. They will present an information-packed afternoon on researching genealogical resources in Ireland long-distance. The seminar is open to members of the New York Irish History Roundtable and the public.

Drs. Roulston and Trainor will give four lectures that focus on genealogical resources in a variety of repositories in the thirty-two counties of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. They will introduce attendees to many lesser-known resources. The afternoon will begin with a general introductory lecture, followed by specialized talks: "Introduction to Irish and Scots-Irish Family History Research," "The Three Cs: Church Registers, Census Records and Civil Registration Records," "Gravestone Inscriptions," and "Not Always at the Bottom of the Pile." Time will be allotted for questions after each lecture.

The seminar will take place on Sunday, September 28th, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the McNally Amphitheatre of Fordham Law School at Lincoln Center, located at 140 W. 62nd Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues. Take the A, B, C, D, or 1 subway line to 59th Street-Columbus Circle. The price of admission is $15 for members and $20 for non-members.

Ulster Historical Foundation, established in 1956, is one of the principal genealogical research agencies in Ireland and a leading publisher of quality historical, educational, and genealogical books.

For more information about the seminar, check out this webpage. You might also be interested in taking a look at the New York Irish Roundtable Weblog.

Pennsylvania's 2nd annual Genealogy Day

The State Library of Pennsylvania has announced its second annual day Genealogy Day: Saturday, September 20, 2008.

According to the press release, the "free event will bring together genealogists from throughout Pennsylvania for a day of learning and independent research". Make plans to attend for info sessions on various topics and an introduction to historical societies that will be in attendance in the exhibit area.

For more information, contact Marc Bender of the State Library of Pennsylvania, take a look at the library's genealogical holdings or search its catalog online.

What's in an Irish surname?

If you have Irish surnames in your family tree and are interested in your heritage, there is one 20th-century Irishman's work that you absolutely must know about. Although born in England, Edward MacLysaght (1887-1986) eventually came to Ireland where he developed a deep love for his Irish heritage. Eventually elected to the Senate of the Irish Free State, elected to the Royal Irish Academy, and appointed Chief Herald of Ireland, he was busy within the Irish government for many years, including time spent as Keeper of Manuscripts at the National Library of Ireland and Chairman of the Irish Manuscripts Commission.

In his role as one of the foremost genealogists of twentieth century Ireland, he expanded upon the work of Patrick Woulfe published in 1923 (Irish Names and Surnames - click on the link to read it within Google Book Search). MacLysaght's resulting compilations of the history of surnames in Ireland are a treasure for any Irish family historian. His book The Surnames of Ireland is a detailed guide to over 4,000 Gaelic, Norman and Anglo-Irish surnames and serves also as a type of index to two of his other works: Irish Families: Their Names, Arms & Origins and More Irish Families.

It was on a used book sale table at a genealogical library where I found my 1957 copy of Irish Families. Heading out the door that day, I couldn't pass by the little table without just a quick look. I spotted the title Irish Families and thought it looked interesting enough to justifying paying a few dollars in order to take it home to read. What a treasure I had found!

Read my post entitled Victorious! to learn the story of my long search for the uncommon Cowhey surname and my discovery of its origins within MacLysaght's Irish Families book thanks to that used book table.

Anxious to research your own Irish family surname within MacLysaght's books? Check out the genealogical collection at your local library or purchase a copy for yourself. You can also check out the Irish Family History blog's ongoing series on Irish surnames. The author is in the process of highlighting the top twenty most common surnames of Ireland using MacLysaght's surname histories. Odds are one branch of your family tree may be there!

Everybody needs a little elf

I've written previously about leprechauns, but this is the first time I've written about an elf. Let me let you in on a little secret: I love my elf!

I had heard about this little fellow quite a few months ago, but never took the time to get acquainted. You see, I was busy with other things and didn't think I had time to intoduce myself. Now that I have, I see that we should have met much earlier. This little elf saves me time. I don't know what I did without him!

The elf I am speaking of is Library Elf. This "little fellow" is a godsend to someone like me who loves to read. You see, I love my local library and visit often. Not only am I a card-carrying member, but I also carry the local library cards of my children as well as my cards for various other local and not-so-local libraries. It seems I am always finding the need to search for a book that is not at my own neighborhood branch and often not even in my library system. That's why I've accumulated various cards and visited many, many libraries.

Library Elf, helpful little fellow that he is, helps me keep track of my various materials on loan from different libraries by consolidating all the due dates, holds, etc. into one email message sent at whatever intervals I prefer. The message he sends includes links to the libraries' websites for easy renewal and makes it easy on me to remember to turn materials in on time and therefore avoid late fees.

Visits to libraries have become a regular part of my life and that of my family. We frequent our local branch and many of the staff members there have become like family. On trips I often find myself working in a visit to a library. I have even benefitted long-distance from a few libraries, such as the wonderful help I have received from several in towns that hold my ancestors' records. And of course I would be remiss if I forgot to mention the amazing benefit that I've received from my local Family History Center which has brought microfilmed records from the Family History Library within my reach.

If I had to choose a favorite in library-land, however, it would have to be the New York Public Library at 5th Avenue & 42nd Street (particularly its Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy). Who couldn't love a library guarded by Patience and Fortitude?

Now to go check and see if I've gotten today's message from that little elf...

Thanks to Lori Thornton of Smoky Mountain Family Historian for suggesting a post about libraries during this week's celebration of National Library Week.

PA records access: not the good or bad, but the ugly

With my genealogical research focusing in on only a few key states in my family history, I don't have experience with searching for vital records and other documents in too many states around the nation.

In light of my resulting tunnel vision, I found it interesting to read Craig Manson's post over at GeneaBlogie entitled "Open" State Vital Records: The Bad and the Ugly. A law and public policy professor as well as a genealogist, Craig has written several posts about open government laws and genealogy. His post on states with limited vital records access listed 15 states as "bad" (including a couple from whom I need records for my 100 Years in America side of the family) and 7 as "ugly" (including Pennsylvania, the home state of Small-leaved Shamrock history).

Yikes!

Genealogy is tough, tedious work, fellas. Can't you give us a hand?

If you have an interest in improving access to Pennsylvania's vital records, don't forget to visit the website of PaHR-Access (People for Better Pennsylvania Historical Records Access) and see what you can do to help.

November 1892: PA train explosion makes NYC headlines

I thought I had found all the newspaper accounts of the Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania train accident that killed my great-great-grandfather. But I'd never thought to look as far as the New York Times.

Thanks to a heads-up from Colleen of the The Oracle of OMcHodoy and thanks to GenDisasters transcriber Linda Horton, I learned that the fateful explosion that took the life of William Cowhey and four other men that day made news as far away as New York City.

GenDisasters, a site started last October, is a forum for sharing and finding newspaper articles on "events that touched our ancestors' lives". The site has a handy search feature and can also be browsed by state (or Canadian province), year or type of disaster. You can also add comments or more information to the articles posted.

Check out the transcription of the New York Times article on the November 14, 1892 train explosion that took William Cowhey's life at the GenDisasters' webpage Pottsville, PA Locomotive Boiler Explosion, Nov 1892. Here is the text of the article:

FIVE KILLED BY AN EXPLOSION.

ENGINE ON THE READING RAILROAD TORN TO PIECES.

POTTSVILLE, Penn., Nov. 14.---On the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad at 2 o'clock this morning, at Conner's Crossing, a short distance north of Schuylkill Haven, the boiler of Mogul Engine No. 563 exploded, killing five men and probably fatally injuring another.

The killed are:
HENRY C. ALLISON, engineer, residing at Palo Alto; leaves wife.
WILLIAM MACKEY, fireman, Port Carbon; leaves wife and one child.
WILLIAM COWHEY, an engineer, on way home to Mount Carbon; leaves wife and ten children.
WILLIAM KENDRICK, conductor, of Port Carbon; leaves wife and four children.
WILLIAM MOYER, Cowhey's fireman, Palo Alto; single.
Michael Dobbins of Mount Carbon, a brakeman of Engineer Cowhey's crew, was badly scalded, and will probably die.

Engine No. 563 was north bound with a heavy train of empty cars. William Cowhey with his crew had brought up a train of empties, and, after running them into the Cressona yards, boarded Engine No. 563 at the Mine Hill Crossing with the intention of reaching their homes in that way, and as is customary took possession of the cab. Dobbins, who escaped instant death, was sitting on the tender.

The men had been on the engine barely two minutes when, without any warning, the terrible explosion occurred. The boiler and firebox were blown off the tracks, and the tracks were so badly damaged that traffic was considerably delayed. The north and south bound midnight Buffalo trains were compelled to run via the Little Schuylkill branch from Tamaqua to Port Clinton.

It is learned that the train had come to a standstill because of the lowness of steam and the blower had been on. It was during this process that the boiler exploded.

Company officials thoroughly examined into the cause of the accident, and this was made plain this afternoon when they loaded up the crown sheet and sent it to Palo Alto. On the crown sheet is unmistakable evidence that the explosion was caused by low water, as the iron is badly burned a deep blue color and the marks show just how high the water was. All railroad men after seeing this acknowledged that there was no other cause.

The New York Times, New York, NY 15 Nov 1892

I've posted the following on the GenDisasters page using the comments feature:

William Cowhey, the engineer on his way home at the time of the November 14, 1892 explosion mentioned in this New York Times article, was my great-great-grandfather from Mount Carbon, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. A Union veteran of the Civil War active in the Grand Army of the Republic's Gowen Post, his tragic loss must have been greatly mourned by his wife Margaret (Foley) Cowhey, his many children and the citizens of Mount Carbon and Pottsville.

For more on William Cowhey and the history of his family see my blog Small-leaved Shamrock. For more specifics about the fateful accident, including similar articles about the disaster in Schuylkill County newspapers, see the post entitled Riding the Rails.

I know that train accidents at the time were nothing new, and these men were certainly not celebrities. Was it just a slow news day that caused the New York Times to post this article back in November of 1892?

Whatever the reason, the article provided some new information on this sad day in the history of my family. I'm thankful to have found it.

Source: Linda Horton, “Pottsville, PA Locomotive Boiler Explosion, Nov 1892,” transcribed February 1, 2008, Gendisasters: Events That Touched Our Ancestors’ Lives (Gendisasters, 2008) [“Five Killed by an Explosion: Engine on the Reading Railroad Torn to Pieces,” from The New York Times, November 15, 1892], <http://www3.gendisasters.com/pennsylvania/5006/pottsville,-pa-locomotive-boiler-explosion,-nov-1892>, accessed February 26, 2008.

Ready for battle: history for kids

I contacted one of my cousins a few months back to let him know that I was writing a blog about our shared family history. In the process of our correspondence via email, he told me about his young sons' interest in his wife's Revolutionary War heritage. The boys often played "war" and acted out what they knew about their family's involvement in the conflict that resulted in the birth of our nation.

Eager to compete with his wife's pedigree, my cousin asked me: "Do we have anything like that on our side of the family?" I was happy to be able to tell him of my discovery of the part that William & Thomas Cowhey played in another defining conflict in our nation's history: the Civil War.

I can only imagine the decision-making process of these two little boys now when faced with some free time to play. I would love to be there to hear their "historical" discussions. To play "Civil War" or "Revolutionary War"? How to decide?

One of the joys of discovering my family history and sharing it (through this blog and through other avenues) is the knowledge that the lives and stories of our ancestors will not be lost but will be passed down further through the generations. It is important to me that my children, nieces, nephews, second cousins, etc., etc. know and take pride in the story of their heritage, and have an appreciation for the sacrifices of those who lived before them.

I appreciate books and other resources that work to bring history alive to young people. On the Related Reading sidebars here at Small-leaved Shamrock and over at A Light That Shines Again and 100 Years in America I've included not only books that adults would find interesting to read, but also an assortment of children's books on related subjects.

There are so many amazing books related to Pennsylvania, the railroads, coal mining, the Civil War, and of course, all things Irish. Picture books like Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story, S is for Shamrock, Look What Came From Ireland and Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato can be enjoyed by all ages. Chapter books great for relatively new readers include the Magic Tree House series' Civil War on Sunday and Viking Ships at Sunrise. More advanced young readers will enjoy the Bantry Bay series, Twenty Tales of Irish Saints or the classic Across Five Aprils. Students of Pennsylvania history will enjoy the photographs and true stories in Growing Up in Coal Country. And what lover of Irish heritage (no matter their age) could resist Color Your Own Book of Kells?

Websites that are designed to introduce children to various aspects of history and culture are always appealing to me. I've enjoyed the Pennsylvania State Archives' Doc Heritage website. The site uses images of actual historical documents to give students a perspective on the timeline of Pennsylvania history. In the Industrial Ascendancy segment of the site, for example, young readers are given glimpses into railroad riots, the struggle for women's suffrage, the plight of the Mollie Maguires, and the Great Depression, all through actual primary sources.

The Library of Congress' America's Story from America's Library is a great starting place (for those of all ages) to gain an understanding of our nation's history. Young websurfers can click on a state of their choice for a little history lesson in story form. Pennsylvania's includes a segment on the Civil War along with a link to an image of the earliest known draft of Lincoln's famous Gettyburg address. New Jersey's gives a look into how Irish heritage plays a role in the state via "pipers piping" Irish tunes. New York's section has a page focusing on early 20th-century immigrant life in New York City.

So many great history resources for kids - so little time.

How to choose?

Maybe the best place to start is just to get down on the floor with them, prepare for battle and then ask the question:

"Who wants to be the general?"

Image of Civil War lithograph "Battle of Lookout Mountain" courtesy of Towne Square Antique Mall.

On "poor Pat" and his emigration from Ireland

You may have read about my recent discovery of the passenger list of the ship William on which Patrick Cowhey traveled to America from Ireland. I was thrilled to find that document and receive a little glimpse into the travels of my 15-year-old immigrant ancestor back in 1823.

How surprised I was shortly after that to find a poem/song entitled "Poor Pat Must Emigrate". Published by A.W. Auner in Philadelphia (date unknown), the song details the sorrows and struggles of "poor Irish Pat" as he makes plans to emigrate from his native Ireland.

Here's a small excerpt:

Where is the nation or the land
that reared such men as Paddy's land?

Where is the man more noble
than they call poor Irish Pat?

...

But why should we be so oppressed
in the land of St. Patrick blessed.

The land from which we have the best,
poor Paddy must emigrate.

Part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, "Poor Pat Must Emigrate" is only one of a handful of vintage songs and poems on their website written by and about the Irish of the 19th century. Check out their Poor Pat Must Emigrate: 19th-Century Irish Immigration webpages for more on the history of the Irish in the commonwealth, where Pat Cowhey finally made his home. Chances are he faced similar trials and pains as "poor Irish Pat" did, though he left the old country a few decades earlier.

More good stuff on Irish genealogy

If you've exhausted the good ideas on Irish family history research that were posted on January 1st, 2008 as part of our 2nd edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture, here's another suggestion for you:

Check out the March 2008 issue of Family Tree Magazine for a nice assortment of tips, resources and links to aid you in your Irish family history research. Sharon DeBartolo Carmack's article, entitled "Irish Blessings", is a well-researched guide any Irish family historian will find valuable. It is complete with a map of Irish counties, a timeline of Irish history, a boatload of weblinks, and a 7-step guide to tracing your Irish genealogy. If you're the type of Irish genealogist who is in it for the long haul, you won't want to miss this one.

Happy reading!

Pancakes, candlelight and Irish family history

I've been enjoying reading a new blog whose focus and title is Irish Family History. Begun just last month, the authors of this blog have faithfully written a post a day and covered everything from holidays (like Shrove/Pancake Tuesday, Candlemas and St. Brigid's Day), to Irish naming patterns, to reviews of websites, to how to make a successful genealogical visit to a cemetery.

Stop by today to brush up on your knowledge of Shrove Tuesday, the last day before the season of Lent begins, and get a little headstart on some ideas for what to give up during the Lenten season.

One thing I don't plan to give up is reading this new blog's informative posts.

Welcome to the web, Irish Family History authors!

An Irish cruise - but far from the Irish Sea

Interested in spending some time focusing on Irish genealogy and taking a nice vacation at the same time? The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) is planning several such trips, and you're invited!

One of the trips is an Irish genealogy seminar via cruise trip. No, it's not being held near the coast of Ireland, but in the Caribbean. The cruise, which will depart January 10, 2009 from Florida, will provide sessions with speakers well-known for their presentations at national genealogical conferences.

If you are interested in attending and receiving the current discounted rate, you'll need to register by February 3, 2008. For more information see Dick Eastman's article for more details or access the cruise webpage itself. Just for fun, you might want to view RootsTelevision's Genealogy Cruisin' video and get a glimpse into a previous genealogy cruise.

Happy travels!

What's on your genealogy bookshelf?

You may have noticed the Related Reading sidebar that I placed on Small-leaved Shamrock months ago. It provides links to the current books in my Small-leaved Shamrock Library Thing account that relate to Irish genealogy, Pennsylvania, coal mining, railroads, the Civil War and similar topics.

Library Thing has given me a nice way to keep track of books with a focus on these subjects, and to find other books on similar topics that I may be interested in reading.

Now I've discovered another new online "toy" for readers: Goodreads. It is a site that takes the idea of Library Thing one step further. Through Goodreads I have just set up a genealogy group to list and discuss books on subjects related to family history.

Interested in participating? Take a break from those good family history books you're reading and click on this link to join us. I'm looking forward to hearing about what's on your bookshelf.