I think I Have an Irish Ancestor

If you have heard of or think you have an ancestor from Ireland but don't know when they came over or from where in Ireland, start here.

• Your initial goal will be to establish when and where your ancestor settled in America when they emigrated from Ireland in as much detail as possible.
• Your second goal will be to establish when and where your ancestor came from in Ireland using records from where they lived in America.

First determine when or about when your ancestor arrived or is first heard of in America and where that first known settlement location is. Then record any other location they may have lived (especially where they may have died) and in what period of time. This information defines the types of records in which you will do your research. Do a reasonably exhaustive search, meaning research every type of record which might be available for when and where your ancestor may have been or lived in America.

Hopefully you know what traditional records to research: family traditions and items held by you and other family or related members, census, church and civil vital records, bibles, obituaries and tombstones, wills and probate, passenger lists and port entry records (who they traveled with), naturalization's, biographies and county histories, military and pension records, photographs and online genealogies by others. If you haven't already fully researched them, do so... and proceed. Some may not exist of course depending on the time period.

• Note that obits can be potentially helpful because they may contain a reference to the immigrant's point of origin (emigrated from or place of birth) depending on who supplied the information.

If you find a mention of where they came from in any of these records... don't stop. Keep researching! What you found may not be correct or too general. Confirm and refine by continuing.

The not so traditionally researched records can be many and very worthwhile. Those include: church confirmation and membership, court records (name change, guardianship, adoption, suing or being sued by, criminal, divorce, and any civil records), funeral home records, letters/post cards, origin of spouse, where neighbors and other family (siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles) came from, and newspapers (local and nearby, ethnic). Look for any and all records your ancestor might have left behind.

Recommended guides for finding out more about your Irish ancestor in the US:

• FamilySearch Wiki for Irish records in the US
• Marie E. Daly's book Genealogist's Handbook for Irish Research (see the Books page for a full reference list) is written from a US researcher's point of view and has good recommendations for records and research techniques to identify where your ancestor came from in Ireland. See Part 2.