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New England Historic Genealogical Society

9 Jun By Leave a Comment

The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS): www.americanancestors.org in Boston is a treasure trove of records and assistance. This is the oldest and perhaps most prestigious genealogical societies in the country founded in 1845. While their main focus would be the New England states, their collections are by no means limited to that area. They have material on Virginia, Canada and of course Ireland.

Their library collection consists of over 12 million books, manuscripts, family papers, Bibles, electronic resources, photographs and artifacts documenting some four centuries. The expert staff can consult and assist with many ethnic and geographic regions. Among these are New York, French and Atlantic Canada, African American, English, Irish, Scottish, immigration, Native American, military and New England. All of these have some application to your Irish research.

Of particular interest for Irish Studies is their Irish collection of books, microfilm and digital resources. They have an interest in the Scots-Irish as the first wave of Scots-Irish to the colonies came from the Aghadowey Presbyterian Church in County Londonderry. These immigrants left in 1718 and founded Londonderry, New Hampshire. The NEHGS library has a transcript of the Session Minutes from the congregation 1702-25 which documents many of these early immigrants.

The society also publishes several top quality publications. These include The New England Historical and Genealogical Register; the American Ancestors, and American Ancestors.

For your New England and your Irish research, do not neglect the NEHGS collections as a major resource. In fact, they are certainly worth joining as membership will provide you will online access to their large collection of indexes and databases.  My personal favorite is the “Search for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements, 1831-1920” (from a Jesuit newspaper) which I use on a regular bases.

Those Irish Theosophists

21 May By Leave a Comment

Within Ireland has always been a class of educated intellectuals who actively explored mysticism in both the Eastern and Western Occult traditions. This class often overlapped into commonly known poets, painters, Irish Nationalists and profound thinkers in Irish culture. The Theosophical Society (TS), as a non-sectarian organization was attractive to this group of seekers.

The TS is part of the occult tradition. In this sense, occult is used in its original meaning as “hidden.” It’s the opposite of apocalypse, which means “revealed.” The TS was founded in New York City in 1875 by Russian mystic Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-91), American Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907), and Dublin born immigrant William Q. Judge (1851-96). Blavatsky claimed she had contact with the “mahatmas.” These were evolved beings who participated in the divine plan for all ages. She was their messenger to deliver the Ancient Wisdom tradition to a modern audience. Her most influential books Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888), would inform generations of occult thinkers. They would also help birth the modern New Age Movement. The TS would help initiate a Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and many of its members were linked with the Indian Independence Movement.

Many of the early Theosophists were Irish born. In 1885, the Dublin Hermetic Society was founded. The next year it would be replaced by a Theosophical Lodge. A Theosophical commune located in Dublin was known as “The Household” (1891-96): www.robotwisdom.com/jaj/household.html   Members published The Irish Theosophist (1892-97): www.theosophycanada.com/irish-theosophist.php

There are two main branches of the original TS society. The Theosophical Society, headquartered in Chadyr, India: www.ts-adyar.org and the Theosophical Society in America:  www.theosophical.org Both have libraries and old record collections. An independent organization is The Theosophical Society in Ireland: http://theosophy.ie

Ontario Genealogical Society

20 May By Leave a Comment

One of my favorite genealogy societies is the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) in Toronto: www.ogs.on.ca  They have branches throughout the province. Whenever I have an Ontario case for a client, the OGS website is among one of the first Internet sources I check.

On the OGS website are databases such as the “Ontario Cemetery Ancestor Index.”  If you find a grave you are interested in, then you can write the society for a full transcript of the entry. Remember many libraries have purchased the published versions of the OGS transcripts. The website also has an “OGS Projects” link which details indexing programs and their status.

If I need a local agent to look at records at a courthouse or church, I go to the “Branches” section of the OGS website to contact the correct society. Then I can work out the details I need with the branch society. The advantage of contacting a branch of the OGS for onsite research is they are staffed by local family historians familiar with the records you may need.

This is an organization you need to always consult in your Ontario research. They are a reputable organization with programs in place to preserve records and accomplish their goals. For this reason, always check back on their website to see what’s new.

The Scots-Irish in The Netherlands

7 May By Leave a Comment

We usually don’t think of Holland as a place for immigration from Ireland. However, if you consider the historical context, it makes sense. I’ve had the chance to trace several cases, most Scots-Irish from Ulster, which connected into The Netherlands.

In 1568, the war of independence for The Netherlands against Catholic Spain was begun. Scottish regiments arrived serving under the Protestant Prince of Orange. The Netherlands became a solid Protestant county with the Reformed Church as the main faith. From 1572 to 1782 there were always Scottish regiments and their descendants in The Netherlands. The key to this piece of history is that many of the Scottish regiments were actually Protestants from Ulster. These Scottish regiments eventually were transformed into Dutch regiments, officially ending the Scots and Protestant Irish presence. Their descendants can still be found in The Netherlands today.

Records of marriage for these families, taken from Reformed records have been published in Dr. IR. J. MacLean’s De Huwelijksintekeningen Van Schotse Militairen in Nederland 1574-1665 (Zutphen: De Walburg Pers, 1976). Some baptisms can be found in James Ferguson’s Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade in the Service of the United Netherlands 1572-1782, 3 Vols.  (Edinburgh: University Press, 1899, 1901). Other works also exist. A lineage society for the Scots regiments is the Caledonian Society: www.caledonian.nl/

Do not be surprised if your Dutch immigrant ancestor named Visser is really Fisher, Verbaas is really Forbes, de Jong is really Young and Kroeders is really a Crowther.

Grand Lodge of Ireland

4 May By Leave a Comment

Freemasonry in its present form dates from the late sixteenth to early seventeenth centuries, with modern beginnings in 1717. The Grand Lodge of Ireland (GLI) in Dublin was established in 1725, making it the second oldest. In Ireland it is an all-male organization. The GLI has lodges throughout the island. Its records are an important resource for tracing middle and upper class society. The GLI governs local or subordinate lodge which must receive a warrant/charter by the GLI to operate.

Prior to 1826 the GLI had a mixture of Catholic and Protestant members. That year, the Roman Catholic Church strongly condemned lodge membership, which transformed the GLI into a mainly Protestant membership.

Freemasonry is not a religion, but it is religious. It is not political, although some of its members have been powerful reformers. It is also not a charity, but it operates charity programs. It can be thought of as a secret society, or “A society with secrets.” In essence, Freemasons are a men’s society whose philosophy is concerned with moral and spiritual values. These values are taught through allegory, symbol, oaths, mythology, secrecy, and this is accomplished by progressing through three degrees. The Freemason interprets the symbols and lessons for himself.

The GLI has a library in Dublin, which houses membership lists and the “Deputy Grand

Secretary Correspondence Files (1820-1880).” The Files are correspondence of the individual lodge with the GLI. Since much of the material in the library is filed by lodge number it is essential to know which lodges operated in the area where your ancestors lived. An indispensable tool for determining this is Keith Cochrane’s Irish Masonic Records on CD. This is an important compilation. Ordering information about this CD can be found on the GLI website: www.irish-freemasons.org/Mr. Cochran has provided me with a copy of his CD, and I absolutely love it! On this disk is an 1804 list of lodges divided by county and civil parish. This and the other material on the disk will help guide you through Irish masonic research.

The Value of Joining a Genealogical Society

28 Apr By Leave a Comment

The future of the genealogy society has been discussed much in my profession as of late. Many feel as though their time has passed. Others now see societies as educational beacons.

A typical society will act as an educational resource, holding classes and hosting speakers at their meetings. In September, I’m one of the guest speakers at the genealogy conference at the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society: www.kdgs.ca in British Columbia.

Many societies try to match the needs of their members by forming special groups, such as an Irish Interest Group. Others focus around technology. Some societies focus on record preservation, through indexing and publishing programs. I use such indexes in my client research constantly. I am so grateful when I find what I’m looking for in a book or on an online database.

While societies can be on the state level, such as the Ohio Genealogical Society: www.ogs.org others are on the county level, such as the Franklin County Genealogical Society: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohfcghs/In this case, the Franklin County society would be a chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

Then there are Irish societies. For example, the Irish Genealogical Society International concentrates specifically on the world of Irish genealogy: www.irishgenealogical.org Their membership is international and their journal The Septs is the prime Irish genealogical journal in the United States. I have a regular column in this journal.

If you do not belong to a society I would suggest you look into it. See what educational programs they sponsor, and most important, what talents you can offer them.

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