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.
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