October is National Family History Month! Below, Irish Americans Kate and Mike Lancor share their exciting tale about discovering their families in Ireland.
Genealogy can be simply defined “as the study of tracing lines of descent for one’s ancestors”, but we hope to convince you that “chasing” your ancestors in Ireland is about much more than the dates and records you will find.
Yes, you will be searching for baptism, marriage, death, census, and land valuation records.
However, the “chase” should really be about finding out how your ancestors lived, why they left the beautiful Emerald Isle, who was left behind, how they traveled to their new homelands, and the discrimination and challenges they faced when they arrived in the U.S.
Some of Kate’s Irish ancestors came to America believing that the streets were indeed “paved in gold”. It must have been a rude awakening when they landed in New York harbor. Like most nationalities, many of the Irish who arrived in New York City in the mid to late 1800s fled poverty at home only to face dirt and disease in overcrowded tenements.
Fortunately, Kate’s ancestors made their way to Albany, NY where the Irish were welcomed. The city was going through a tremendous growth spurt and thousands of laborers were needed. The City of Albany and Catholic Diocese of Albany partnered to bring in Irish laborers and their families to fill the labor void.
Read more Irish genealogy stories on IrishCentral here
Mike’s Irish ancestors emigrated to the U.S. just before, during or shortly after the potato famine in the mid-1800s. They ended up in northwestern New York near the St. Lawrence River and entered the U.S. through New York City, Boston, and Canada. They brought with them their skills as farmers and laborers.
The Irish indeed benefited from chain migration. Wave by wave, the Irish came to the U.S., saved their money and sent it back to Ireland so more family members could come in the next wave.
The old Catholic cemetery in Kilmuckridge, Co. Wexford where Mike's Whelan ancestors lived is now located in a pasture. Indeed a beautiful resting spot for those souls buried within the cemetery's stone walls.
We have set the stage to help you “chase” your Irish ancestors back to their roots in Ireland. Hopefully, you have determined the names and approximate dates of birth for your immigrant ancestors, as well as the names of their parents and/or siblings. If so, then you have a good chance to find the townlands in Ireland where they lived. We will provide you with search sites and share with you our own experiences connecting with “long lost cousins” on the Emerald Isle.
There are several free Ireland search websites that are a must for anyone “chasing” Irish ancestors. They include Tithe Applotment Books (1823-37), Griffith’s Valuation (1846-1864), Catholic Parish Registers (National Library of Ireland), Census of Ireland 1901/1911 (National Archives), Irish Genealogy (Dublin, Kerry, and part of Cork counties), County Family History Centers, and Ireland Reaching Out. Family Search (free) also houses tons of Irish records.
Three excellent subscription websites are Roots Ireland, Findmypast and Ancestry.com. We will show you examples of records found on several of these sites as we tell you more about our own Irish ancestors.
Read more: Researching the mystery of my father in Ireland
Catholic baptism record from the National Library of Ireland showing the baptism of Kate's great grandfather Edmundum Regan on 7 January 1841 in Parish Kill, Co. Waterford.
Kate’s great-grandfather Edward Regan was an immigrant and the patriarch of her Regan and Harney ancestors. Roots Ireland records show that he was baptized on January 7, 1841, in Parish Kill, Co. Waterford.
His parents were James Regan and Catherine Walsh. Griffith’s Valuation shows James Regan living in Ballydurn in 1850. He lived next door to Margaret Walsh Harney who was Catherine’s aunt. The Tithe Applotment Books show Harneys living in Ballydurn in 1827.
Tithe Applotment Record in 1827 shows Michael Hartney (actually Harney) residing in Ballydurn, Co. Waterford on 135 acres of farmland.
In the 1860s James, his wife Catherine, and seven of their children all emigrated to Albany, NY. Nearly 200 years of Kate’s family history are held within these records. James was a tenant farmer who had a house with no land. Like most Irish farmers in the mid-1800s, James worked the land owned by his landlord while he and Catherine raised their children during the famine years.
We have visited Ballydurn on four of our trips to Ireland to walk the land where Kate’s second great grandparents lived and to spend time with two of Kate’s distant cousins.
Rainbow that miraculously appeared over the land where Kate's great great grandparents James Regan and Catherine Walsh lived in 1850 when Griffith's Valuation was taken. The "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" was 165 years of family history for Kate.
Mike’s second great grandmother Mary Whelan arrived in northern New York in 1856 with her children Matthew, Mary, and Bridget. Matthew fought in the U.S. Civil War and his pension documents state that he was from Littermore, Co. Wexford. Griffith’s Valuation shows a Mary Whelan residing in townland Litterbeg bordering townland Littermore.
Griffith's Valuation record in 1853 shows Mike's great great grandmother Mary Whelan living in Litterbeg, Parish Kilmuckridge, Co. Wexford. Mary's house was on landlord John Walsh's land.
Women appearing as heads of households in Griffith’s Valuation were almost always widows. Her only refuge may have been to emigrate to the U.S. with her children. We will make our second trip to Littermore this coming May.
Historic map from Griffith's Valuation showing townlands Litterbeg and Littermore in Co. Wexford where Mikes's Whelan ancestors lived in 1853.
Mary Waters, Kate’s great-grandmother, was baptized in Templemore (address Pig Foot Lane), Co. Tipperary on March 8, 1831, as per FindMyPast. On our first of three visits to Templemore, we stopped into Town Hall to ask where Pig Foot Lane was located over 180 years ago. A most gracious town employee ushered us into a records room where we looked at land maps from the early 1800s.
Office staff in the Town Hall in Templemore, Co. Tipperary ushered Kate into the records room to look at maps from the early 1800s.
He then left Town Hall and walked with us to unmarked Pig Foot Lane to see the ruins of the stone hovels that lined the lane in the 1800s. He was like an angel put into our path by Mary herself. Mary emigrated to Albany, NY in the early 1840s and married Irish immigrant William Fitzpatrick.
Kate standing in front of the ruins of one room stone hovels that lined Pig Foot Lane in Templemore, Co. Tipperary where her great grandmother Mary Waters lived when she was baptized in 1831.
Richard Laide and his wife Johanna Sullivan, Mike’s third great-grandparents, emigrated from Dromatoor, Parish Ballyheige, Co. Kerry between 1845 and 1849 with seven children. They emigrated to Franklin County, New York and eventually found their way to Wisconsin. The 1901 Irish Census includes John Laide, his wife Johanna, and five children living in Dromatoor. John and his family were undoubtedly long lost relatives of Mike. We have visited Ballyheige on one occasion and were delighted to find gravestones for Laide relatives.
Richard Laide and Johanna Sullivan, Mike's third great grandparents emigrated from townland Dromatoor, Parish Ballyheigh, Co. Kerry in the late 1840s. A John and Johanna Laide and five children lived in Dromatoor when the Ireland Census was taken in 1901.
According to records held at St. Mary’ Church in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, Kate’s third great grandmother Mary McGuirk married Patt Byrne in 1825. They lived in townland Cloon where they raised six children before emigrating to New York harbor in 1854. Some of their children came to the Albany, NY area with them while at least one son emigrated to Australia. We have visited townland Cloon on four of our trips to Ireland and have spent time on each trip with the church historian who may well be a distant cousin to Kate.
Kate and her sister Marilee's distant cousin Patsy shares with them letters sent back to Ireland from ancestors who emigrated to Australia from Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow in the mid 1800s.
According to his family bible, Mike’s third great grandfather William Kennedy was born in Dunganstown, Co. Wexford circa 1826 and died in Pitcairn, NY in 1900. His death certificate names his parents as James and Mary Kennedy. Patrick Kennedy, the great-grandfather of President John F. Kennedy, was born in Dunganstown in 1823. William Kennedy was either the brother or cousin of JFK’s great-grandfather Patrick. We have been to the Whitechurch Graveyard and Kennedy Homestead twice and visited with Mike’s distant cousin Patrick Grennan.
Kennedy ancestors of President John F. Kennedy, as well as Mike's great grandfather William Kennedy, are buried in Whitechurch Graveyard near Dunganstown, Co. Wexford.
Each time we travel to Ireland and walk the land of our ancestors, we wonder just how bad things must have been for them to leave their beautiful homeland. We are at once sad for their parting Ireland, yet glad they found prosperous lives in America.
The historic Kilmeane Graveyard in Knockcroghery, Co. Roscommon is one of the many, many old and often neglected graveyards Mike and Kate have walked. One of their client's Jackson ancestors lived in the Knockcroghery area before emigrating to the U.S. in the 1840s.
You are now ready to “chase” your own Irish ancestors using the websites described in this story. Once you find the townlands where your Irish ancestors lived, then book yourself a flight to Ireland and soak in your own family history. We always start each day in Ireland with a simple prayer to our ancestors asking them to teach and show us what we need to know. And if you do the same, you will be amazed how your ancestors will guide you on your travels. We absolutely believe that those souls who have been lost in time want to be found and will open doors for you.
Read more: Archdiocese of New York digitizing records dating back to 1785
Kate and Mike Lancor live in Moultonborough, NH, and enjoy “chasing” their own ancestors as well as helping others “chase” theirs. They run a genealogy business and can be reached on their website www.oldfriendsgenealogy.com or by emailing oldfriendsgenealogy@gmail.com.
This month IrishCentral and The Genealogy Event in New York plan to inspire those who are on their journey to unearthing their family’s history and help our readers to reveal their own Irish family’s story and connect ever more deeply with their proud Irish roots.
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Each day in October IrishCentral will be publishing an article in the Genealogy section here. Stay tuned and happy hunting.
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