Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Archives Of Irish America

The Archives of Irish America is a repository of primary research materials at New York University that aims to transform our understanding of the Irish migration experience and the distillation of American Irish ethnicity over the past century.[1] Sometimes, it is not obviously apparent how a university archive collection can help with genealogy, but searching through the catalog can reveal some hidden gems.

The oral history collection contains a large number of interviews with Irish-born immigrants and those who are descendants of Irish immigrants from previous generations. Some of the interviewees from Ireland were born in the 1930s and could possibly give an insightful understanding about coming to America and assimilating in the first half of the 20th century. Places of origin in Ireland and the names of parents and grandparents could also possibly be provided.

The Archives also houses the Gaelic Society of New York Collection and the John T. Ridge Collection, among many others. Both of these collections have documents and information from the 19th and 20th centuries. Many Irish immigrants joined fraternal, cultural, social, and political organizations in the U.S. These collections cans shed light on their involvement in such organizations and possibly provide pertinent genealogical information.

For a full list of the collections, click this link and select Archives of Irish America (AIA) Collection at the top of the page.


[1] New York University. Archives of Irish America. Year Unknown. www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/aia: accessed 7 May 2015.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

A New Genealogy Job

Later this month, I will begin working as a genealogist for Ancestry.com in Ireland. This, of course, means that my American adventure is coming to an end. It's been a great 5+ years in  New York City and Washington, DC. The buzz around genealogy, both as an industry for those who work in it and as a pastime for those who do family history research, has increased dramatically over that time. I'm still just a relative newcomer when compared to some of the pros who have been in this industry for decades, but the changes I've seen in the last five years alone have been phenomenal. The years ahead promise to be even better and I am really excited to begin working for the ProGenealogists group.  
                                                                                 
What does this all mean for Townland of Origin? Well, I absolutely intend to try and continue highlighting records and resources that can help people with their Irish genealogy research in the U.S. and Canada. I have made connections with some great people over the last couple of years because of the website. It's been really great getting to know you all. I hope that some of you have learned about new records, organizations, and groups for your genealogy research.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

NYU Radio Hour Interview

Last March, I did a radio interview with Dr. Miriam Nyhan at the Glucksman Ireland House at New York University. The focus was, of course, genealogy, and we discussed how I got into it, researching the Irish in New York City and the wider U.S., Irish research compared to other ethnicities, and research in Ireland.

This page will bring you to an archive of their shows. The relevant show is March 14th and my interview runs from 30:30 mins - 48:20 mins.