Tuesday, August 26, 2014

One Year Old Today

Townland of Origin was launched exactly one year ago today. With that in mind, I'd like to offer a reminder of what this blog is all about:

The primary focus of this blog is Irish genealogical research in North America. It is hoped that the posts will assist researchers in the hunt for their ancestors townland of origin in Ireland.

I try and do this in two main ways: firstly, by highlighting sources that contain the place of origin for Irish immigrants, and secondly, by writing about sources that can help get you a step closer to finding your townland of origin. This has been the theoretical principle that has guided my genealogy research over the last couple of years, and especially since I decided to write my first genealogy guidebook, Finding Your Irish Ancestors in New York City.

Being an Irish-born person in the North American genealogy community has been an interesting experience over the last few years. I have the luxury of knowing where my ancestors came from as I grew up with their stories and heard them in houses in those townlands. I didn't have to go searching in naturalization records, obituaries, and cemeteries for that elusive piece of information. Through Townland of Origin, the previous 125 articles have tried to help people find where they came from in Ireland in those same records, and more. So, if this blog has helped you with your research I'd love to hear about it, in a comment below.

To celebrate, I've created an  infographic with all the Townland of Origin facts and figures from the first year. Plenty more posts to write....


3 comments:

  1. Happy First Birthday, Joe! Townland of Origin is doing a cracking job of directing researchers to less obvious sources of material, and I'm sure many family historians have reason to be grateful for your work during the past year. Be sure to enjoy a slice of cake and a glass of fizz. You deserve it.

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  2. Many congratulations. I have your blog bookmarked and read every one. And I bought your book which I highly recommend. All the best from an Irish--by descent--New Yorker.

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  3. Claire and Virginia,

    Many thanks for your comments!

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