Tag Archives: Irish Americans

Irish American Passenger Lists in Old Newspapers

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I love it that the Irish Nation newspaper routinely published lists of all arriving passengers from Ireland. These lists gave the names of the passengers, where they were from in Ireland, and where their destination was in the United States.

This is an excellent resource to find what often can be a very difficult piece of Irish genealogy information: where in the Old Country your Irish immigrants came from.

In this example the newspaper published the lists of passengers from 11 ships that arrived that week.

Arrivals from Ireland, Irish Nation newspaper article 29 April 1882

Irish Nation (New York, New York), 29 April 1882, page 7

There is no other source for this information. These are the only passenger lists that include the names, home towns and destinations for arriving immigrants.

It is an essential tool for Irish American genealogists.

What Counties & Towns in Ireland Did Our Ancestors Come From?

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Genealogists know the frustration of tracking down your Irish immigrant ancestor’s birth, marriage or death certificate, hoping that it will be the document that finally tells you where in Ireland your family came from—only to be disappointed once again.

Irish American death certificates

Irish American death certificates

So many census registrars simply wrote “Ireland” on the form, giving no additional clues about the town or county. This practice can present a challenge to those of us seeking to locate the towns or counties in Ireland where our Irish immigrant ancestors came from.

You can see this problem in the 1892 New York state census, which is online. Here is a typical entry, for the Scully family. The census tells us that the family members were born in “Ireland” and now live in Albany, New York.

1892 New York Census: Scully

1892 New York Census: Scully

Credit: “New York, State Census, 1892,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X366-VPR. Accessed 21 Mar 2013, Kate Scully, 1892.

How are we going to find out exactly where in Ireland the Irish family members were born? Irish American Newspapers!

It has been my experience that Irish American newspapers are the genealogist’s most reliable source for finding information about our Irish ancestors’ birthplaces. Will every Irish obituary or marriage record give these details? No—but many of these old Irish American newspaper records do.

Let’s turn to historical Irish American newspapers to try and find the birth place of the first Scully member listed in the NY census.

Searching GenealogyBank for references to Catherine Scully of Albany, I found her obituary published in the Irish World News (New York City, New York), 2 December 1893, page 5.

Catherine Scully obituary, Irish World News newspaper article 2 December 1893

Irish World News (New York City, New York), 2 December 1893, page 5

Bingo. This old newspaper obituary tells us that she was born in Ballingarry, which is in County Tipperary, Ireland.

And there are more genealogical clues…It tells us that:

  • She died 3 November 1893 at her home in Albany, New York
  • She was a widow—her husband was Andrew Scully
  • Her maiden name was Hayde
  • She was a Catholic, and was buried at St. Agnes’ Cemetery
  • Her four surviving children were: Ellen, John, Lawrence and Patrick
  • She was a member of the Ladies’ Catholic Benevolent Association, Branch 25

Now that we know she was born in Ballingarry, County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1846, we can look for images of the Irish town from 150 years ago.

The search for images of Ballingarry was easy: Wikipedia has an engraving of a street scene from the town in 1848.

What a treasure to have an image of this Irish town from the time when she was born!

illustration of Ballingarry, Ireland

Illustration: Ballingarry in 1848. Credit: Wikipedia.

Hey—could that be her on the right side of this image standing with her father?

Every genealogist wants to know exactly where in Ireland—or any country—their family came from.

Newspapers are a great resource for finding those family facts. Dig into GenealogyBank’s newspaper archives online and find the details and stories of your ancestors’ lives.

Irish Trivia Quiz – Test Your Ireland IQ

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What do you know about your ancestors from Éire? Are you as cute as the fox of Ballybotherem? Put your Irish ancestry prowess to the test. Take this Irish trivia quiz and provide answers to these 10 questions about Irish family history, counties in Ireland and other fun facts about the Old Country now!

Irish Trivia & Family History Quiz

Irish Heritage & Family History Quiz

Click Start below to begin.



Start

Irish American Genealogy & Family History Facts Infographic

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Irish American Genealogy & Family History Facts Infographic

In celebration of Irish Heritage Month, here are some interesting facts about Irish ancestry in America.

Irish American Population Statistics

  • There are 34.5 million people who claim Irish ancestry in America
  • Approximately 11% of the total United States population is Irish American
  • There are over 7 times more people of Irish descent in the United States than the entire population of Ireland

History of Irish Immigration to America

There were 2 major waves of Irish immigration to America.

  1. The first immigration period was in the Colonial era of the 18th century. These people set sail from the northern provinces of Ireland looking for new lives as American pioneers. The migration consisted of approximately 250,000 Scots-Irish who were predominately Protestant. The major ports of entry for these incoming Irish immigrants were in New York and Philadelphia.
  1. The second wave of immigration was between 1846 and 1900. During this period approximately 2,873,000 people fled to America from the southern provinces of Ireland. This was primarily due to the Great Irish Potato Famine, which caused poverty and starvation throughout Ireland. These new arrivals were predominately of Catholic denomination. The major American ports of entry were in New York and Boston. The Irish also arrived on trains and ships from Canada, which was then called British North America.

Origins of the Saying “Luck of the Irish”

During the 1848-1855 California Gold Rush many Irish immigrants headed out West to mine silver & gold. Many Americans said the immigrants’ mining success was due to luck, not skill—hence the saying “Luck of the Irish.”

Common Irish Surnames

Here is a list of the top 10 most common Irish last names and their meanings:

  • Murphy – Sea Battlers
  • Kelly – Bright-headed Ones
  • O’Sullivan – Hawkeyed Ones
  • Walsh – Welshmen
  • O’Brien – Noblemen
  • Byrne – Ravens
  • Ryan – Little Kings
  • O’Connor – Patrons of Warriors
  • O’Neill - From a Champion, Niall of the Nine Hostages
  • O’Reilly – Outgoing People, Descendants of Reilly

Percentage of Irish Americans by State

The Northeastern United States has the highest concentration of Irish Americans. The following 9 states all have more than 15% Irish ancestry in their total populations. The states are listed in descending order from highest to lowest total Irish population percentages. Massachusetts has the highest percentage in the United States with 22.5% of its residents claiming Irish ancestry.

  1. Massachusetts
  2. New Hampshire
  3. Rhode Island
  4. Delaware
  5. Connecticut
  6. Vermont
  7. Pennsylvania
  8. New Jersey
  9. Maine

The following 9 U.S. states also have high Irish American populations of 12-14%. Montana has the highest in this range with 14.8% of its population claiming Irish ancestry.

  1. Montana
  2. Iowa
  3. Nebraska
  4. Wyoming
  5. New York
  6. Missouri
  7. Ohio
  8. Colorado
  9. Illinois

11% to 11.9% of the residents in the following 7 states claim Irish ancestry.

  1. Oregon
  2. Maryland
  3. Kansas
  4. Washington
  5. Minnesota
  6. Nevada
  7. West Virginia

The remaining states have less than 11% Irish ancestry in their total populations.

Famous Americans Who Are a Wee Bit Irish

From presidents to outlaws, there have been many famous Irish Americans throughout U.S. history. Here are a few of them:

  • John F. Kennedy a.k.a. JFK: 35th President of the United States
  • Henry Ford: Founder of Ford Motor Company
  • Barack Obama: 44th President of the United States
  • William Henry McCarty Jr. a.k.a. Billy the Kid: Outlaw
  • Judy Garland: Actress & Singer
  • Bill O’Reilly: TV Host & Political Commentator
  • Conan O’Brien: TV Host & Comedian
  • Grace Kelly: Actress & Princess of Monaco
  • Walter Elias Disney a.k.a. Walt Disney: Film Producer & Co-founder of the Walt Disney Company
  • Danica Patrick: NASCAR Driver
  • Eddie Murphy: Actor & Comedian
  • Mel Gibson: Actor & Film Producer

Top Irish Genealogy Records

The top genealogy records to trace your Irish roots are:

Did You Know?

Civil registration in Ireland didn’t begin until 1864, although some non-Catholic marriages were recorded as early as 1845. Fortunately for genealogists, Irish American newspapers routinely published the news of Irish births, marriages and deaths for more than half a century before Ireland started recording them.

Got a little Irish in you? Discover your Irish American ancestry at http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/ethnic/irish_american/

Follow GenealogyBank on social media with hashtag #IrishHeritage for more Irish American genealogy facts throughout Irish Heritage Month.

Sources:

http://www.biography.com/people/groups/famous-irish-americans

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb13-ff03.html

http://www.edwardtodonnell.com/

http://www.energyofanation.org/waves_of_irish_immigration.html

http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/The-10-most-popular-Irish-last-names-2-133737553.html?page=3

http://names.mongabay.com/ancestry/st-Irish.html

http://www.udel.edu/soe/deal/IrishImmigrationFacts.html

http://www.wikipedia.org/

Irish American Newspapers Collection Online

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Irish American newspapers are a great source of the genealogical information we need to document our family trees back to Ireland.

Part of GenealogyBank’s 6,500 newspaper archives is a special collection of 8 Irish American newspapers, providing coverage from 1810 to Today. These historical newspaper archives contain exclusive genealogy records that cannot be found anywhere else online, including 1800s Irish vital records that predate Civil Registration in Ireland.

GenealogyBank's Irish American newspapers search form

GenealogyBank’s Irish American newspapers search form

Use this search page to search all of our Irish American newspapers at one time.

You can also search each paper separately. Here is a quick list of the individual search pages for each of the eight Irish American newspaper archives:

Exile (New York City, New York) 1817

Irish American Weekly (New York City, New York) 1849-1914

Irish Citizen (New York City, New York) 1867-1868

Irish Nation (New York City, New York) 1881-1883

Irish Voice (New York City, New York) 2006-Present, Obituaries only

Irish World (New York City, New York) 1890-1905

The Shamrock, Hibernian Chronicle (New York City, New York) 1810-1817

Western Star (New York City, New York) 1812-1813

Do You Know Where in Ireland Your Ancestors Came From?

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Finding the town or county where your family came from in the “Old Country” can be difficult. That’s where Irish American newspapers can really help you locate your ancestor’s place of birth when researching your ancestry from Ireland.

For example, look at this 1859 obituary from an old Irish American newspaper:

Ellen O’Brien obituary, Irish American Weekly newspaper article 29 January 1859

Irish American Weekly (New York City, New York), 29 January 1859, page 3

This typical historical obituary, although short, gives us plenty of family history information:

  • Name of deceased: Ellen O’Brien
  • Name of spouse: Lawrence O’Brien
  • Date of death: 15 January 1859
  • Where she died: at 63 Montgomery Street in New York City
  • Age at death: 68th year—so, she was born about 1791
  • Where she was born: she was a native of Drinaugh Parish, County Cork, Ireland

Note: Drinaugh Parish is spelled Drinagh today.

Wow.

It took me decades to find the townland in Ireland where my family was from.

We found her birthplace with just a few clicks of the mouse in GenealogyBank’s Irish American newspaper archives.

We now know where to look to learn more about her life growing up in the late 1700s in Ireland.

We could check and see what old church records the Roman Catholic Church in Drinagh has on file.

photo of the Roman Catholic Church in Drinagh Parish, County Cork, Ireland

Photo: Roman Catholic Church in Drinagh Parish, County Cork, Ireland. Credit: Panramio.

Click by click we can piece together the documentation and the stories about the scenes that she likely saw growing up in Ireland, as we document, preserve and pass down her story to the rising generation of the family.

It’s a great day for genealogy!