Common Irish Holiday Traditions
By Sarah Stevens on December 11, 2018
Does your family take part in any Irish holiday traditions? Find out if these common traditions can be traced back to your ancestors!.. (Read More)
Tag: Ireland
Where in Ireland Are Your Irish Ancestors From? Search Newspapers
By Thomas Jay Kemp on March 18, 2015
Newspapers recorded every day of our ancestors’ lives – and that is a good thing for genealogists. Time and time again old documents, from death certificates to the census, simply state that someone like John Clifford was born “in Ireland” – and never tell us where in Ireland. Often it is newspapers that are... (Read More)
Free Guide for Irish Genealogy to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
By Tony Pettinato on March 17, 2015
Got Irish roots? Since March is Irish American Heritage Month and we are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today, everyone is feeling a wee bit Irish this time of year. For Irish Americans, however, that sentiment is year-round, as feeling connected to Ireland is part of their family history. Have you been tracing your Irish... (Read More)
An Irish Immigrant’s Obituary Tells Her Coming to America Story
By Thomas Jay Kemp on March 6, 2015
Ellen Canning O’Rourke (1910-2011) was born in Anskert, near Mohill in County Leitrim, Ireland. She died in Hamden, Connecticut, on 16 December 2011 at age 101. As a little girl she lived through the “Irish Troubles” in County Leitrim, and had keen memories of those events – and her coming to America and finding... (Read More)
GenealogyBank Is the Only Source of This Irish Passenger List Information
By Thomas Jay Kemp on February 4, 2015
I am just amazed every time I see these Irish American passenger lists in GenealogyBank’s online newspapers and see that they tell me where these new arrivals had lived in Ireland, and where they were going to live in America. That information is NOT in any other passenger list source. How in the world... (Read More)
Trace Your Immigrant Ancestors with Newspaper Passenger Lists
By Thomas Jay Kemp on June 12, 2014
Be sure to check passenger lists that were routinely printed in newspapers—they have critical genealogical information about your immigrant ancestors that you need for your family history research. Look at this typical example, published in the Irish Nation newspaper in New York City. This passenger list reports on the Irish passengers who arrived in New York... (Read More)
Free Guide for Irish Genealogy Research
By Tony Pettinato on March 27, 2014
Got Irish roots? Since March is Irish American Heritage Month and we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day last Monday, everyone is feeling a wee bit Irish this time of year. For Irish Americans, however, that sentiment is year-round, as feeling connected to Ireland is part of their family history. Have you been tracing your Irish genealogy,... (Read More)
DNA Testing & Genealogy: Is It Working for You?
By Thomas Jay Kemp on October 25, 2013
Clearly DNA testing is revolutionizing 21st Century family history research. DNA Testing Helps Orphan Find His Family There are heartwarming stories about successful DNA tests—like that of 80-year-old Patrick J. Holland, who was raised in an orphanage and through DNA testing finally found his family. Here is the full report on this touching family... (Read More)
Where to Put That Old Family Journal Online?
By Thomas Jay Kemp on July 11, 2013
Do you have an old family journal or diary from your ancestor? What are you doing with it? Curt Balmer transcribed his great-grandfather’s journal. The old journal is a record of John Balmer (1819-1898) and Margaret Ann (Carey) Balmer (1831-1890). The Balmers were born in Ireland and moved to Ontario, Canada. John’s journal recorded... (Read More)
