A Holy Grail: The McCabe List

Genealogists are always on the hunt for more sources that contain the names of their ancestors. We just can't get enough. When looking at an obscure or little know record set I immediately scan the names to see if it can be of benefit to Irish researchers. In the 1980s the northern Irish genealogist John McCabe found such a list while researching at the National Archives in London.

A section from the McCabe List

This source, which is simply known as the "McCabe List", contains the names, place of origin and other information for almost 700 Irish emigrants who settled in the Ottawa Valley in the late 1820s.

This source, albeit containing less names, is up there with the New York Emigrant Savings Bank records for the amount of brilliant genealogical information it contains. It's an absolute must for anyone who has Irish ancestry from the Ottawa Valley area.

You can view a transcription of the "McCabe List" here, and read more about it here.