The Dusty Genealogist
Irish Ancestry –
Are You Really
Related to Everyone
in the Parade?

Congratulations to all of you who are working on your family lines. Thank you to everyone who has sent e-mails to me about your accomplishments. I am proud of all of you. For those of you who gave up working on your genealogy for Lent, I can understand that you need a break.

We are so fortunate in the Buffalo, NY, area to have such a rich Irish heritage and the equally important rich resources of Irish ancestry and genealogy. There are several Irish genealogy experts in this area, who are not only expert in researching but who are willing to teach and encourage researchers at all levels.

I want to remind all of my readers that there are many resources for specific nationality research here in Buffalo. A reminder that the Church of Jesus Christ Later-Day Saints Family History Centers are a rich resource for research and for connections to those individuals who specialize in specific nationalities research. In addition, there are local Irish organizations that have many resources to help you. Information about these groups with phone numbers and points of contact can be obtained from the Buffalo Library, Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, and Family History Centers. Just call and ask for the information. There are several Internet resources.

For those of you who have seen the movie “The Gangs of New York” - a powerful movie about the Irish and their struggles in early New York City – you might not know that the movie arose out of research about the cemetery that you see at the end of the movie. If you remember, the lead character is standing over some gravestones, and the camera pans back to see the cemetery decline over the years and almost disappear. That was an Irish cemetery. Those head stones were found and one of the ancestors started researching their ancestors and their stories. From there came the story behind the movie.

I attended a local genealogy seminar where I met several marvelous Irish ancestry researchers who were so helpful with guidance for Irish research. Many had tips and insights into what works and what doesn’t. My husband once said to me that his family couldn’t research more than four generations back because all of the records were in Gaelic. Today, there are people who are able to, and probably already have, translated those records into English. Copies of the biggest share of these records are available locally.

I have met several people who have told me that they traveled to Ireland to do research. They were amazed to arrive in Ireland to review records, only to find that these were the same records that were available locally. If you want to visit Ireland, go for it. I believe that it is wonderful to walk the ground that your ancestors have. I think it gives you more of a sense of what they saw, smelled, maybe experienced. My husband, who has been to Ireland, tells me that a rainy day in Ireland is like no rainy day anywhere else.

A few years ago, my husband informed me that I had been invited to dinner in Pennsylvania in order to discuss Irish genealogy research. I protested and offered the names of several local Irish specialists whom I had met through the Family History Center and the Irish groups. It turned out that this was specifically for his family who had discovered an entire group of relatives, literally on the other side of the mountain.

There are big mountains in Pennsylvania and a branch of my husband’s family had migrated around to the other side for more land. Somewhere over time, they had lost track of each other. My husband’s oldest brother was dabbling at doing some family history and bumped into someone who happened to be researching the same person at the same time in the Irish center. Cousins were discovered. He had no idea that there was such an extensive group of the other branch of the family. He remembered, as a child, hearing rumors that “there might be some family over the mountain.” If you remember rumors or stories about family in some area, research it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Just a reminder about Boy Scouts: If you have a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or the younger Scouts, in your family, there are many scout Merit Badge requirements that ask the Scout to interview a relative, or some other person who may have specific knowledge about some area. (No, that does not necessarily translate into old) Most of my readers have some knowledge that would fit into those requirements. Support your young Scouts in your family by offering to help them with a short interview. If you can work with a Scout on a specific merit badge, that becomes a part of that young Scout’s family history.

Many of the Family History Centers have someone who is qualified and wiling to work with your Scout on the Genealogy Merit Badge. Wouldn’t it be fun to work with one of your grandchildren on a merit badge that gave you an opportunity to tell them stories about their family and help their ancestors come alive for them?

By Marjory Regan