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Irish Genealogical Research | Dwight Radford

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Who Were the Wild Geese?

1 Jun By Leave a Comment

The conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland began in the 1530s. As Protestantism would emerge as the ruling group, many Catholics left for sympathetic Catholic countries on the Continent. Those who fled were termed “Wild Geese.” However, Protestants also followed.

Many date this immigration to 1607 and the “Flight of the Earls” after the Irish defeat at Kinsale. However, out migration was already under way. Estimates are that between 1585-1625, some 10,000 Irish Catholics fled to the Continent. Another wave occurred after the Protestant Cromwellian victory of 1649-1651. A particularly high period of out migration occurred between the Treaty of Limerick (1691) and the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), with an estimated 50,000 left. Most would go what is now Austria, France, Portugal and Spain. Others would go to a lesser degree to Eastern and Central Europe and the Papal States (now Italy).

Both rich and common people left, in a strange mix of Catholics and Protestants. They would live and intermarrying with each other on the Continent; doing what they could not do back in Ireland. They can be divided into four groups: 1) soldiers and officers in continental armies, both Catholic and Protestant; 2) Catholic gentry and nobles who fled Protestant Ireland; 3) merchants both Catholic and Protestant, and 4) Catholic priests and seminarians studying in colleges.

Many works document these migrations. A classic text is Matthew J. Culligan and Peter Cherici’s The Wandering Irish in Europe: Their Influence from the Dark Ages to Modern Times (1999). The “Irish in Europe Project”: www.irishineurope.com seeks to document this fascinating piece of Irish history. 

Due to the early migrations of these families, don’t be surprised if your nineteenth century French or Spanish immigrant to North America were actually Irish!

Theology and Record Keeping

27 Apr By Leave a Comment

There is a connection between theology and records. When people ask me what a christening record is, I understand they either are not churched in theology, or they were raised in a church which practices believer’s baptism only.

Each church varies on its theology, and these differences are also reflected in the records. For example, a Roman Catholic child is usually christened within a few days of birth by a sprinkling of water over the head. A Methodist could receive baptism at any age by sprinkling, pouring or full immersion. A Baptist would only baptize in a believer’s baptism upon a profession of faith by full immersion. Quakers (Society of Friends) would not baptize at all, and Mormons practice baptism for the living and on behalf of the dead. All practices create records.

These theological differences are further reflected in the records through church transfers, and who is allowed to partake of communion. When a person switches church membership, does an infant baptism transfer over to a believer’s baptism church? How are visitors screened for a communion service? Does a church practice open or closed communion? Again, it all reflected in the records.

Church discipline is another matter for the records. Some church minutes provide all the gory details, while others are vague at best. I’ve read Presbyterian session minutes involving discipline which made me want to go wash my eyes in the sink!

In your research, don’t hesitate to purchase a good “systematic theology” book. A non-genealogical source such as this can go a long way in helping you understand what you are seeing in the records.

What to Expect from Irish Roman Catholic Registers

11 Apr By Leave a Comment

If you have spent time in Roman Catholic registers in many European countries, you are aware as to how informative they can be. Then there are the Irish Catholic registers…

These are usually one or two liners, sometimes abbreviated, and can be written very sloppy, in either Latin or English. Only rarely have I seen Gaelic. The typical record does not begin until the late 1820s or early 1830s, and at that there are also gaps. My rule is to never expect to find all the marriages and baptisms you are looking for. If I find just part of a family – I’m happy.

A typical marriage will have the name of the couple, the date, sometimes residence, and the witnesses. A typical christening will have the date, name of the child, parent’s name, the mother’s maiden name, sometimes residence, godparent’s names, and usually a female godparent’s maiden name. You almost never find burial registers.

Reasons vary for the poor record keeping practices. The most incomplete registers can be found on the western coast. There locally trained priest were often used serving the parishes. They went out into the countryside to perform his religious duties. The scraps of paper were then brought back to the main church registers. This often didn’t happen.

Even though the Irish Catholic registers may not be to the standards of other countries, they are still valuable. You just have to be more creative in how you approach them and utilize what information is given.

Female Surnames in the Records

8 Apr By Leave a Comment

One of my favorite Irish research quirks concerns when a woman’s maiden name isused in the records, and when her married name is used. In historic Ireland, two systems were in place. The first was the English civil government system. Under this system, women were listed by married names, in tax, land and in probates. The second system was Roman Catholic. In this record keeping, women were supposed to be listed under their maiden names. Technically you should see the mother and any female godparents under their maiden names.

However, the way the church and state were supposed to keep the records, and the way the people on the ground actually kept them can be two different things. Roman Catholic records can be the toughest to sort through.

If you see Patrick Byrne and Mary Byrne as godparents at a baptism, then do not assume they are husband and wife. They might be, but they may also be siblings, cousins or Mary’s maiden name may actually be Byrne. If you see “Patrick and Mary Byrne” as godparents, it’s more complicated. Don’t just assume they were husband and wife. The priest may have been showing Mary’s maiden name was Byrne. To address this, I will look for a Patrick Byrne and Mary having children christened in the parish, and see if her maiden name was Byrne.

These are just suggestions. You may have to develop your own research strategy. That’s a very important part of research.

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