It’s St. Patrick’s Day, a religious and cultural holiday celebrated on March 17 which honors the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, and commemorates his bringing Christianity to Ireland. The day is often observed with parades, festivals, wearing green clothing, and enjoying Irish food and traditions.
St. Patrick’s Day always makes me think of my own Irish heritage. My grandmother, Mary Anne (Mollie) Hamilton Frost, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1911 after hearing missionaries preach about baptism for the dead on a street corner in Belfast. After immigrating to America, she was the secretary of the “Genealogy Committee” in her branch in Newport, Rhode Island. The written records she left behind have helped me as I have continued to do Irish research.
Mollie was the only one of her family who immigrated, but through letters she remained close to her brothers and sisters. Only one of her siblings had children, so my father had four Irish cousins, with whom he corresponded through the years. In 200?, my sisters and I and our husbands traveled to Northern Ireland and met Dad’s four elderly Irish cousins and their families. What an experience! They drove us past old houses and lands that had belonged to our ancestors in County Down and told us fascinating family stories—one of our ancestors was a “water dowser.” They showed us the amazing Inch cemetery where our Cochrane relatives were buried which was located next to the ruins of the Inch Abbey which had been built in 1100’s. We also visited the cemetery and church in Saintfield where our Hamilton relatives had worshipped. One of the highlights of the visit was a reunion with all of our Irish relatives, young and old. The visit made me even more committed to researching my Irish relatives!
Irish genealogy can be challenging. Most of Ireland’s 19th-century census records and many church records were destroyed in a fire at the Public Records Office of Ireland in 1922. Luckily, because of the internet, many different records are now available and indexed, and they can help us find our Irish ancestors—if we just know about them.
RootsTech this year had the theme of “Remember.” I was excited that I could look for and remember my Irish ancestors by using the information I found in several online classes helpful to Irish researchers:
- “Beginning Irish Research” discusses using civil registration, available census records, parish records, and Griffith’s Valuation and wills.
- “Coming and Going: Tracing Your Irish Surname History” explains that a big clue to your Irish connections may come from a surname in your family tree. The class highlights how you can tell if a surname is Irish and where Irish surnames come from.
- “Reconstructing the Lives of Our Female Irish Ancestors” explores sources, the historical context, and social history resources specific to women.
Additional “In Person” classes at RootsTech had syllabi available with information that anyone can download. Here are a few of the best:
“Irish Genealogy Debunked: Busting Common Misconceptions”
“Getting Started With Irish Civil Registration”
“Unraveling Irish Roots: Tracing Ancestry in the Land of Saints and Scholars”
You won’t need lucky charms or “the luck of the Irish” if you investigate these resources! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
– Marianne Bates, Consultant, Granite FamilySearch Center