The obvious search for our ancestors began with the name.
On the Hero's and my mom's side of the family there were many Irish names to look for.
This is my entry in Smallest Leaf's 20th Edition of Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture "I Speak From Experience" Smallest Leaf has so much Irish information and books listed on her blog. It is wonderful to stop by and browse. Click here to see her blog.
To continue with the subject of the carnival. I will show what I have been doing as I study the Irish in America.
I started with making a note of all the names I was looking for variants of the names and places the names were found. For example: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fianna/surname/index.html
MacGiolla ancient of Magill,
Gill
McGill
O'Shaughnessy
Sandys
FURLONG Wexford
FURLONG Wicklow
O'AHERN, Cork
O'Echtighearn
Ahern
O'DWYER Tipperary
Dwyer Lemerick
Dyer Sligo
O'Breen
O'Brien
I have toyed with learning Gaelic, but I really haven't gotten that far yet.
Besides knowing the surname, I discovered that the old Irish had a subtle naming pattern. Most but not all used it.
I have posted on this before, if you will click here, then you can read that post and then click back to return.
An excerpt from an Illinois Death Certificate
If there was money enough, their birth country was displayed on their gravestone. Here is an example of this:
My Irish quest is really just beginning as I am preparing to leap across the pond to Ireland, where wars have ravaged the records and people have lost their families who left for a far off land. I have been visiting sites such as Smallest Leaf's watching how they find records in Ireland, talking to people who have UK experience in searching, and taking the Free course on Irish Research on Family Search. If you click on Irish Research in the previous sentence, it will take you to the course.
There is something so exciting in searching for families that have been apart for years and reuniting them. I love genealogy research and have been excited to share how to research and source with the upcoming generation to get them involved in their history to know their ancestors.
BTW I am looking up the Irish Gravestones I have found and am posting them on Tombstone Tuesday. If you know the names, pass the info on to those who can use it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words about Small-leaved Shamrock. I'm so glad to have you as a reader and fellow genealogy blogger. You've shared some good ideas. Best wishes on your Irish research!
ReplyDeleteLisa
100 Years in America
Small-leaved Shamrock
A light that shines again
Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture