RSS
News


Home Page > News > New Irish roots information for Obama, Walt Disney, JFK

New Irish roots information for Obama, Walt Disney, JFK

Digitized records reveal pre-Famine ancestors in Ireland

By
MOLLY MULDOON,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 7:05 AM
Updated Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 7:34 AM

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail
comment on article 8 Comments
 

`
President Barack Obama has Irish roots
Photo by Google Images


Visit our special St. Patrick's Day section

Read more: Big boost for ancestral family research as Irish archives go on line

Read more: 1901 Census records are truly historic, says Irish Minister for Culture

Newly digitized pre-Famine records have revealed fascinating information about President Obama’s Irish roots, as well as information on other famous people such as Walt Disney and President John F. Kennedy.

The new information on Obama, Kennedy and Disney and authors Oscar Wilde and CS Lewis  all feature in the new online collection of historical Irish records which date back to the 19th century. It is being released in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

Disney’s great-grandfather Arundel Elias Disney was born in Kilkenny in 1801 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1834, travelling with his brother Robert and their families from Liverpool to New York.
Three of Disney’s other Irish ancestors are buried in Clonmelsh graveyard at Ballyloo, Co. Carlow.

The new online records show the tithes, comprised of more than 600,000 Irish land tax records, one of which reveals information on Obama’s great great great grandfather who was living in Ballgurleen, Co. Tipperary in 1829.

Details of Obama’s ancestors are also featured in Griffith’s Valuation of Ireland which was dated from 1848-1864.  The records feature more than 2.5 million names and addresses in land tax records.

The records have particular historical significance as they cover a period prior to the Great Famine.

The Griffith Valuation shows that Oscar Wilde’s father William resided at Westland Row in Dublin, where the renowned author was born in 1854.

Speaking about the new online database, the website's international content director Dan Jones said, "The new collections will be hugely relevant to anyone with Irish ancestry as they may hold the earliest or final record of their ancestors' existence during these tragic yet nation-defining years in Ireland's history.

"The Irish Potato Famine was a significant event in world history which caused a huge spike in international emigration from across Ireland -- meaning today, people from every corner of the globe may find they have Irish ancestry."

Visit the website here www.ancestry.com.

Visit our special St. Patrick's Day section

Read more: Big boost for ancestral family research as Irish archives go on line

1 2 Next page >
​
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


8 Comments

See all comments

JimMcGarity | Mar 25, 2011, 10:27 PM EDT
Wow now he's Irish. I guess he isnt American then.

Report abuse

srdools | Mar 16, 2011, 08:30 PM EDT
obama part Irish...well if that doesn't give you a warm and fuzzy feeling then what the hell will?

Report abuse

Towngate | Mar 16, 2011, 10:30 AM EDT
THE BRITISH were never driven out - they knew the sooner they went, the sooner you traiterous prats could start shooting up your own sorry internicine arses!

Report abuse

sirpeter | Mar 15, 2011, 10:43 PM EDT
Yeah Creaky..Until we dropped the auld pike, and got a few guns and the brits ran away.

Report abuse

Towngate | Mar 15, 2011, 09:12 PM EDT
CITIZENWHY: No need. ~ Her people owned the whole place until a few years back.

Report abuse

PolinDeB | Mar 15, 2011, 06:55 PM EDT
It's a pity these aren't free.. but on a subscribed site... if your looking for Clare Records, they're all for free on Clare Library...

Report abuse

CitizenWhy | Mar 15, 2011, 02:59 PM EDT
What about doing the Irish roots of Queen Elizabeth?

Report abuse

ronnie4u2o | Mar 15, 2011, 02:05 PM EDT
5 yrs, ago I Did a family history trace. my mothers people were German, My Fathers Grand parents were Irish German, French, but old Land Tax & church records show his grand parents were born & came from county Cork Irland and his great great grand parents lived in Mayo

Report abuse

 


IrishCentral logo
"Like" IrishCentral
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or Sign-Up directly

Already Registered? Sign-In!

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Already Registered? Sign-In!
Forgot my password

Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password
Not a member? Register Now!
submit to reddit
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail