Last week, the Irish news website, The
Journal.ie, had an interesting story about a new historical collaboration
between societies and colleges in Wexford,
Ireland and Savannah, Georgia (Waterford Institute of Technology, Irish
Emigrant Experience Centre in Wexford, Georgia Historical Society, and Center
for Irish Research and Teaching at Georgia Southern University). Named the Wexford-Savannah Axis, the project
aims to “reveal many stories linking Wexford and Ireland’s ‘sunny southeast’
with Savannah.”[1]
Throughout the 19th century, a large number of
Wexfordians left Ireland for Savannah, GA. The Graves Shipping Company was
based in New Ross, Co. Wexford and they opened an office in Savannah. This led
to many Wexford natives settling in the southern city.
A project such as this has obvious benefits to genealogists.
An advertisement for the project outlines that “much migration research focuses
on what happens once settlers arrive in the new country, but our
Wexford-Savannah Axis initiative explores matters holistically.”[2]
Therefore, it is hoped that an analysis of these migrants will include
genealogical and biographical research to link them back to their townlands of
birth in Ireland. This is definitely a project to keep tabs on.
Watch out for the next blog post, where I will discuss one
resource that they will almost certainly use, and how it can be of benefit when
looking for the place of origin in Ireland.
[1] Author Unknown. Wexford Savannah Axis (Project Advertisement).
2014. Available online at http://research.georgiasouthern.edu/blog/2014/03/19/685/:
accessed 22 March 2014.
[2] Ibid.
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