How to Trace a Maternal Irish Ancestry

According to the 2000 Census, some 30.5 million U.S. residents claim Irish ancestry. From 1820 to 1920, more than 4 million people departed Ireland for the Port of New York to begin a new life in America. When exploring your Irish roots, you'll probably find it's easier to trace the males in your family line than the females. However, thanks to the availability of many online and paper records, you can employ a number of techniques to successfully trace your maternal Irish ancestry.

Instructions

1. Check sources at home such as family bibles, birth, marriage and death certificates, and photographs, or talk to living relatives to confirm or verify surnames, relationships and place of birth.

2. Find an immigrant's arrival date by searching the free Ellis Island Database (EIDB), or the pay-for-access immigration database on Ancestry.com.

3. Investigate census, immigration, vital and other records for the woman's husband, siblings, in-laws, friends, neighbors and associates. Pay close attention to witnesses to baptisms, deeds, naturalization papers and other documents, as immigrants tended to travel with and settle near people they knew from their town or village.

4. Search forward in time for a woman's descendants by checking census, probate and vital records, and city directories. Check online and print telephone directories and online message boards or social networking sites to connect with children and grandchildren of the immigrant.

5. Check FamilySearch.org to search the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Library catalog's vast collection of Irish records on microfilm and microfiche. You can then order films (for a small fee) for viewing at a branch Family History Center near you.

6. Write to archives, churches and repositories in Ireland, or hire a professional researcher to acquire baptismal, marriage and death records you can't get through the Family History Library. Consult the 11-volume "Manuscript Sources for the History of Irish Civilization;" Richard J. Hayes, for guidance.

7. Travel to Ireland to see where your ancestors walked, connect with family members still living in your ancestral town or village, and conduct research at records offices, churches, cemeteries and libraries.

Tips & Warnings

• Check for a woman under both her maiden name and married name.

• Try various spelling variations for first names and surnames when checking online databases and indexes, and use a middle name or initial (if known) to help narrow results.

• Learn about Irish history and geography to help identify the correct town or village of origin.

• Many Irish immigrants migrated to and from England for varying lengths of time, so research both locations.

• Not all records are online. Use a combination of Internet and traditional resources

• Common names, especially those of famine immigrants who arrived in the 1840s or 1850s, can complicate the research process.

References

• "Finding Your Irish Ancestors, 4th Edition;" Penelope Christensen; 2007
• "Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, 3rd Edition;" John Grenham; 2006
• "Manuscript Sources for the History of Irish Civilization;" Richard J. Hayes; 1965

Resources

• FamilySearch
• Ireland GenWeb Project
• UK and Ireland Genealogy