How to begin researching your Irish American ancestors.

1. P R E S E N T E D B Y
E L A I N E J O N E S H AY E S
L A R A M I E C O U N T Y L I B R A RY S Y S T E M
Genealogy: Finding Your Irish
Ancestors

3. Irish Immigration History
American Colonial and Revolutionary Irish
Immigration:
According to the Dictionary of American History,
“approximately 50,000 to 100,000 Irishmen came to
America in the 1600s, while 150,000 more Irish
arrived in the 1700s.”
 A large group arrived between 1715-1775, many
were Presbyterians from Northern Ireland
(Ulster).

4. Irish or Scots-Irish?
 These early Ulster immigrants came to be known in
America as the "Scots-Irish". Many were descendants of
Scots who had been settled in Ireland by the British
government during the 17th-century.
 They at first referred to themselves simply as "Irish,"
without the qualifier "Scots." It was not until more than a
century later, following the surge in Irish immigration
after the Potato Famine of the 1840s, that the descendants
of the earlier Irish immigrants began to refer to
themselves as "Scots-Irish" to distinguish them from the
predominantly Catholic, new wave of immigrants from
Ireland.

5. Nineteenth Century Irish
Immigration
 Irish immigration greatly increased in the
1820s.
 From 1820 to 1860; 2 million Irish arrived in
the U.S. or Canada, 75% of these during the
Great Irish Potato Famine of 1845–1852.
 Of the total Irish immigrants to the U.S. in
this time period, many died crossing the
ocean due to disease and dismal conditions
of what became known as coffin ships.

6. The Irish Potato Famine
(1845 – 1852)
 Caused by “blight”
 Fungus from Mexico
 Destroyed the entire
potato crop
 Irish grew potatoes
because it was more
economical
 You could grow three
times more potatoes
than grain on the same
land

7. Effects of the Famine on the Irish
Population
 One and a half million died of starvation or
disease.
 Two million emigrated to the U.S. and Canada.
 The population of Ireland decreased by half
between 1845 and 1855.
 In 1910, there were more people in New York
City of Irish heritage than Dublin’s whole
population.
 A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at
11.9% of the total population—reported Irish
ancestry in the 2008 American Community

8. The life of Irish famine immigrants in
America:
Most Irish immigrants were unskilled laborers and worked
at jobs many Americans felt were fit only for servants or
slaves.
Because of the economic downturn of the 1850s their
presence was resented by Americans who felt they were
competition for scarce jobs and a burden on the
government/charities.

9. Review of Beginning/General
Genealogy
 Record What You Already Know.
 Start with yourself and work backwards.
 Begin Your Research at Home and Talk to Relatives.
 Look for Compiled (published) Information in Books
and Databases.
 Research Collateral Ancestors (the FAN club).
 Look for Original Records in the US and Canada:
 Census Records
 Vital Records
 Obituaries
 Social Security Death Index
 Land and Probate Records
 Military Records
 Church Records

10. Best Places to Start Your Ancestor
Search
Ancestry.com or Ancestry Library Edition
Heritage Quest (access through
laramiecountylibrary.org)
FamilySearch familysearch.org
FindaGrave www.findagrave.com
RootsWeb www.rootsweb.ancestry.com
USGenWeb usgenweb.org
Cyndi’s List www.cyndislist.com/uk/irl
U.S. National Archives www.archives.gov
Google.com www.google.com

13. What’s in a name?
Surnames:
– O’ and Mc’ could be dropped from or added to your
ancestor’s surname. Example: Connor, Connors and
O’Connor.
– As long as it is phonetically the same, it is probably your
surname. Example: Maher and Meagher.
Given Names:
Use a Google search for variants of given names.
Example: Delia and Biddy both nicknames for Bridget.
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlmayo2/name_variations

14. Place Name Spelling Variations
Place Name: Use www.seanruad.com to find spelling
variations of places.
– Fill in the county. Leave everything else empty.
– Then look for a place that phonetically matches yours
– If you still can’t find your place-name, try to find it using
Google.
Maps: Use Google and the words “Parish map County
……”
Examples:
Ballynocker or Ballynogher

15. Finding Your Irish Immigrant Ancestor's
Place of Birth in Ireland
Ask Relatives and search through Diaries, Letters, Family Papers
Vital Records - Especially Death Certificates and Probate
Records.
Obituaries and Tombstone Inscriptions
Naturalization Records and Immigration Passenger Records
Biographies in County Histories
Church Records & Biographies in Church Histories
Military Records (including WWI Draft Cards)
Social Security SS-5 Application Forms

16. Irish Census Records
 Census from 1821-1851 were largely destroyed by
fire.
 Census from 1861-1891 were pulped by the
British government to save space during World
War I.
 Those from 1901 and 1911 have survived and can
be searched on websites such as The National
Archives of Ireland
www.census.nationalarchives.ie.

17. Other Ways of Finding Your
Ancestor’s Birthplace in Ireland
Boston Pilot Missing Friends Database
infowanted.bc.edu and Ancestry.com/Ancestry
L.E.
Griffith's Valuation of Ireland
www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation
Surname Distribution
www.irishtimes.com/ancestor
Tithe Applotments
www.familysearch.org

50. Finding Records in Ireland
You need to do all your U.S. research first to find what
county, parish or townland your ancestors were from.
You’ll need to know at least the county of origin and at least
two surnames. Names of other family members will help
narrow the search and give you collateral ancestors to
research.
Some knowledge of Irish history will help narrow your
search. You will likely need to search both British and
Irish Archives for records especially pre-1922 records.
Check the national archives/public records offices in Dublin
and Belfast along with local county and/or church archives.

51. Irish Research Websites
Irish Genealogy www.irishgenealogy.ie
Irish Heritage Centres www.irish-roots.net
National Archives of Ireland
http://www.nationalarchives.ie
UK National Archives
www.nra.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra
Cemeteries in Ireland
www.historyfromheadstones.com
Public Records Office of the Republic of Ireland
http://www.proni.gov.uk
General Registers Office Ireland
http://www.groireland.ie

52. Free Websites for Finding Irish
Ancestors
Irish Genealogy Toolkit www.irish-genealogy-
toolkit.com
Ellis Island www.ellisisland.org
Castle Garden www.castlegarden.org
Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild
www.immigrantships.net
GENUKI www.genuki.org.uk
Townlands Database www.seanruad.com
Failte Romhat www.failteromhat.com
Ireland & UK GenWeb www.iukgenweb.org
Republic of Ireland BMD Exchange
vicki.thauvin.net/chance/ireland/bmd

53. Not Free Irish Ancestry Websites
FindMyPast (available in the LCLS library)
Irish Origins www.irishorigins.com
Irish Times www.irishtimes/ancestor
RootsIreland www.rootsireland.ie
Ancestry (available in the LCLS building)
Irish Townland Maps
www.pasthomes.com
Irish Newspaper Archives
www.irishnewsarchive.com

54. Books Available in the
LCLS Genealogy Collection
 The Famine immigrants : lists of Irish immigrants arriving at the port of
New York, 1846-1851. GEN 929.3415 FAMI V.1-7
 Ireland : 1841/1851 census abstracts. GEN 929.3417 MAST CENSUS 1841-
1851
 Irish emigrants in North America. Author: Dobson, David. GEN 929.3415
DOBS PT.1-3
 Irish passenger lists, 1841-1871: lists of passengers sailing from Londonderry
to American on ships of the J & J. Cooke Line and the McCorkell Line. GEN
325.24160973 MITC
 Irish pedigrees : or, The origin and stem of the Irish nation GEN 929.3'415
OHAR V.1 -2
 Ships from Ireland to early America, 1623-1850 GEN 929.3'415 DOBS V. 1 -3
 Ulster sails west: the story of the great emigration from Ulster to North
America in the 18th century… GEN 939.3416097 MARS
Search the WYLD catalog at wyld.state.wy.us/larm and refer to my Irish

55. Consider Visiting the Places
Your Ancestors Lived

56. Thanks for Attending
 Consider:
 Researching in the LCLS Genealogy Collection
In books, microforms and Ancestry Library Edition
Ask a Genealogy Volunteer or LCLS Reference
Staff for assistance
 Checking out a Genealogy How-To Book
Dewey Decimal Call Number 929
 Searching Heritage Quest online through the LCLS
website at laramiecountylibrary.org.