Irish Emigration Database On DIPPAM II: Place Of Origin Information

Read part one of this series by clicking here, or scroll down if on the homepage.

To review: DIPPAM (Documenting Ireland: People, Parliament, and Migration) is an online virtual archive of documents and sources relating to the history of Ireland, and its migration experience from the late 18th to the 20th centuries. In this series I am focusing on one part of DIPPAM, the Irish Emigration Database (IED).

Examples of Irish place of origin information can be found in many types of documents on the IED, across the 18th and 19th centuries.  As all the information in the IED has been transcribed, a researcher can quickly enter the names and places that are of interest to their research. Many of the transcriptions contain a modern fixed spelling of  a word in parenthesis beside the original, or a full spelling of an abbreviation, for example Pensylvania [Pennsylvania?][1] and Anthony McClean, near Letter Kenny,[Letterkenny,?] Co. Don.[Donegal?][2]. This can help with searching the database, but as with all transcribed records, caution should be taken and, if possible, the original viewed to get all possible information from the document.

Screen shot of a entry in the DIPPAM Irish Emigration Database

Three examples, from across the centuries show the potential in this database. Firstly, this newspaper article from 1762 discusses the findings of a group of men who inspected land in Nova Scotia, Canada. Seventeen Irish immigrants are listed, along with where they are from in Donegal, Antrim, and Derry/Londonderry.[3]Another example is the reporting of deaths of Irish emigrants, of which there are hundreds. In this short notice, the death of a Fermanagh man in Canada in 1835 is reported in the local newspaper in Ireland.[4] Lastly, 1897 probate information for a Tipperary woman who died in California mentions where she came from in the county and the name of her sister.[5]

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[1] DIPPAM. Declaration of Committee of Immigrants to Nova Scotia.  http://www.dippam.ac.uk/ied/records/28069: accessed 20 August 2014. Document ID 305015. Originally from The Belfast Newsletter, 11 March, 1762.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] DIPPAM. Death notice of Michael Graham, Monaghan, Upper Canada.  http://www.dippam.ac.uk/ied/records/51766: accessed 20 August 2014. Document ID 9408370. Originally from The Enniskillen Chronicle, Thursday, November 5, 1835.

[5] DIPPAM. Estate and Effects of Mary Treacy.  http://www.dippam.ac.uk/ied/records/53220: accessed 20 August 2014. Document ID 9410121. Originally from Estate and Effects of Mary Treacy at Public Records Office of Northern Ireland.