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The Irish Hell-Fire Clubs

4 Feb By Dwight

The infamous Hell-Fire (Hellfire) Clubs is a fascinating and bizarre topic and has direct applications for genealogists. Trained historians have plowed through many of the same sources genealogists do in order to reconstruct the history of the Hell-Fire Clubs. This makes understanding how historians identify pertinent documents and then utilize them can provide lessons for all family historians. Plus, it’s a great story!

What Were the Hell-Fire Clubs?

So what were the Hell-Fire Clubs? They were secretive brotherhood organizations which ritually acted out and practiced anything counter-culture to their time period. They were founded by freethinking, living on the edge, Protestant elite gentry. The clubs were intended to counter the heavy hand of the established Protestant Church in every opposite way possible. Prostitution, sex, orgies, drinking, blasphemy, dark occult practices, and any other type of cultural depravity were accepted. Combine all that with rumors of Satan worship, homosexuality (illegal at the time), murder and human sacrifice and the Club’s reputation as a type of “holy other” would be solidified. By the 1770s the Hell-Fire Clubs had disbanded, but their influence remained in other groups such as the Pinkindindies and Cherokees.

Locations of the Irish Hell-Fire Clubs

The first Irish Hell-Fire Club was founded in 1735 in Dublin at Mount Pelier. There were three additional “regional” Hell-Fire Clubs in Ireland: Askeaton, County Limerick; Grangemellon, County Kildare and an unspecified location in the Midlands. However, there were other meeting places, such as Doonass, County Clare. Research shows these were rendezvous points for similar groups. The ruins of the Dublin Hell-Fire Club, is a tourist attraction. More can be found on the Abandoned Ireland website.

The Definitive Work on the Irish Clubs

The definitive work on the Irish Hell-Fire Clubs is Blasphemers & Blackguards: The Irish Hellfire Clubs, by David Ryan. An article by the author can be found on the Writing.ie website.

One fascinating aspect of this book is the author takes some of the same sources we would use in genealogy and reconstructs the history of a very secretive and forbidden society. For the family historian it demonstrates what can be done with sound logic, limited records and not being timid with controversial subject matters. Most of his research was conducted at the National Library of Ireland. His sources include private manuscripts, estate papers, print files, printed sources, newspapers and biographies. To use these sources to reconstruct a secret society is nothing short of amazing. We as family historians can learn much from such authors’ research by the manner in which they crafted their stories.

Additional Hell-Fire Club Information

To round out the story of the Hell-Fire Clubs, the English counterpart provides a rich supply of history and research. The best known is the elaborate Hell Fire Caves, which is a major tourist destination, located in West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.An interesting commentary on the Hell-Fire Clubs comes from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and the Yukon website.

A Word of Warning

A word of warning on topics such as the “Hell Fire Club.” If you are looking for history, be careful what you place in the search engine. You may get more than you bargained for, as all websites are not historical!

If you are seeking professional assistance with your genealogical research you may call us at 385-214-0925.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Historical, Irish Records, Research, Societies

Glossary of Whores and Prostitutes (1811) – Part 2

11 Feb By Dwight Leave a Comment

In Part 1 of this blog, I introduced you to the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). It is an invaluable source for hearing the voices of the common people in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This work provides insights into how men saw common women; whom they considered to be of ill repute, or at least on their way to becoming such.

Grading the Words Prostitute and Whore

Below is a list of how I have pieced together this complex topic. I have divided them by Whoredom and Prostitutes, grading them by how I see their usage, rather than an A-Z dictionary. An example of this comes from two whoredom words:

Buttock and Twang: A common whore, but no pickpocket.

Buttock and File: A common whore and a pickpocket.

The work liking these terms is “common” and the grading consists of the extra description. For example a Buttock and Twang was not a pickpocket whereas the Buttock and File was a pickpocket. The Buttock and Twang being higher on the scale than a Buttock and File by the fact this class of whores do not pick their customer’s pocket. This is based upon the assumption money was being passed which would link these terms to prostitution. This was the world our common ancestors lived in and how they classified the people around them.

The Worse Word to Call a Woman in 1811

While my grading of both prostitutes and whores is totally subjective; please be aware that as family historians we are trying to piece together the lives of people we technically only see as names on paper, microfilm or on a computer screen. However, saying this; while my ranking of whores and prostitutes may be subjective, the worse word of all was very clear cut! In 1811, there was no discussion that the worse word of all was bitch. The word was defined in 1811 with the following blunt definition:

Bitch: The most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore, as may be gathered from the regular Billinsgate or St. Gile’s answer – “I may be a whore, but can’t be a bitch.”

I have taken a few liberties with my glossary so that the modern mind can be wrapped around them. However, most wording has been left intact.

Grades of Whoredom in 1811

Whore: In wide usage with other words but not listed as word alone in the 1811 dictionary. General terms for a whore would include; Buttock, Covey, Crack, Madam Ran, Merry Arse Christian, and Punk. The terminology digresses from here.

Game Pullet: A young whore or forward girl in the way of becoming one.

Lewd Women: Ladybirds, Wagtail

Doxies: She beggars, wenches, whores.

Buttock and Twang: A common whore, but no pickpocket.

Blowen: A mistress or whore of a man who as he slept would rob him. Also refers to a prostitute who brings a man into a brothel and then robs him.
Buttock and File: A common whore and a pickpocket.

Dirty Puzzle: A nasty slut.

Drab: A nasty, sluttish whore.

Mawkes: A vulgar slattern (slut, harlot).

Fusty Luggs: A beastly, sluttish woman.

Trapes: A slatternly woman, a careless sluttish woman.

Wrinkle: A wrinkle bellied whore; one who has had a number of bastards.

Trumpery: An old whore, or goods of no value; rubbish.

Grades of Prostitutes in 1811

There are several generic terms for a prostitute and then the language becomes more colorful and descriptive. For present purposes, generic terms are kept separate from terms to describe a “common prostitute.” The common part adding at least one more descriptive term. One eyebrow raising word is “Barber’s Chair” which I have placed under the word Prostitute itself. However, the full definition is: Barber’s Chair: She is as common as a barber’s chair, in which a whole parish sit to be trimmed; said of a prostitute.

Prostitute: Barber’s Chair, Case Vrow, Covent Garden Nun, Curtezan, Drury Lane Vestal, Easy Virtue, Laced Mutton, Lady of Easy Virtue, Impure, One of Us (One of my Cousins), Public Ledger, Receiver General, Squirrel, Tail, Town, Unfortunate Women, Woman of Pleasure, Woman of the Town, Woman of Pleasure and Woman of the Town.

Mob (Mab): A wench or harlot.

Strumpet: A harlot.

Miss: A miss or kept mistress; a harlot.

Blowen: A mistress or whore of a man who as he slept would rob him. Also refers to a prostitute who brings a man into a brothel and then robs him.

Common Prostitute: Cat, A Female Screw, Fen,

Dopey: A beggar’s trull (low prostitute or concubine).

Queer Mort: A diseased strumpet.

Wasp: An infected prostitute, who like a wasp carries a sting in her tail.

Bunter: A low dirty prostitute, half whore and half beggar.

Quean: A slut, or worthless woman, a strumpet.

Click Here for professional help in documenting common ancestors.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Dictionaries, Glossary, Historical, Occupations

Glossary of Whores and Prostitutes (1811) – Part I

7 Feb By Dwight Leave a Comment

Often we create stories about our ancestors which paint them in the best light. We tend to forget this is our perception of how life should be, not theirs. Many of our ancestors belonged to a distinct underclass. Sometimes we get hints of this in census schedules, newspaper accounts, church registers and court records. What were their lives really like?

The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811)

One priceless work which provides a window into the world of the illiterate and semi-literate underclass is the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). It remains in print and online. This work defines terms which were in usage among these common people throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, helping to place your ancestors in a historical context, this A-Z dictionary is worthless unless you already know the word.

I have created a glossary from this 1811 resource focusing specifically on the industry of prostitution and its related word whore. This dictionary reveals how the common people spoke of prostitution, thought about it and utilized it as a service. I have left out terms for madams and pimps as that seems to be almost a class higher being a business person.

The Complex Usage of the Words Whore and Prostitute

As I was compiling this dictionary, I realized by the very language used, prostitution itself was a graded industry. The more discriptions added to a term actually lowered a woman on the scale of perception. This makes both the terms prostitute and whore more complex than I even realized. They were definitely more complicated in 1811 than they are today.

Historically, a prostitute had to do with money and applies almost exclusively to women. A prostitute was also one who was either engaged in selling sex themselves or through someone else. Alternative words would include harlot from 1610 and strumpet which dated back to the 1300s. Prostitution is an institution even if the word itself does not necessarily focus on “sex for hire.” It can just as easily be “exposed to sex indiscriminately offered.” Another context was using oneself or another for money in an unworthy or suspect cause, which did not involve sex. An example would be someone selling a talent.

The term whore can also be used in reference to a prostitute. However, its usage was more complicated. For example, it references a promiscuous woman or man. One can “consort with whores” or be “out whoring all night.” Another usage can be to “make a whore of” which would mean to contribute to debauching someone (male or female). A whoremonger was a man obsessed with having sex as often as possible. In some usage a whore was equated with an adulterer.

While the exchange of money may or may not be involved in whoredom, the principle is similar to prostitution in that to “be a whore” or to be “out whoring” can become prostitution or the purchasing of sex. At that point, the word whore also became tangled in with strumpet and harlot. Whether calling someone a whore was better than calling someone a prostitute seems to have been a matter of perspective. It’s important to read words in the context being used in a given document.

Which Word was Worse Prostitute or Whore

My assumption is that in 1811, in certain usage, a prostitute was worse than a whore because the word whore was more ambiguous encompassing women and men involved in paid sex and unpaid sex. Yet, in other usages in 1811, whore was a straightforward derogatory insult. So much of this discussion has to do with in what context both words were used and how many additional descriptive words were added to them!

When attempting to understand old terms and dictionaries, it’s always important to place the author in a historical context. In this case, an educated man living in a world of early nineteenth century values. This means the source has preserved for us insight into how men, both educated and uneducated viewed common women.

In Part 2 of this blog, I will be presenting my glossary of terms from 1811 and provide a little more insight into how I saw the terms graded. Plus, I’ll introduce you to the worse word of all in 1811.

Click Here for professional help in documenting common ancestors.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Dictionaries, Glossary, Historical, Occupations

Hanging as a Cultural Concern in 1811

28 Jan By Dwight Leave a Comment

In our modern society, we don’t think in terms of hanging as a method of execution. If fact, most of us in the modern industrialized West seldom think of execution at all. However, in the United Kingdom and Ireland of 1811, a convicted criminal’s options may have been either a sentence of time, transportation to the penal colonies or commonly the gallows. As a result, a culture developed around hanging and the gallows as an event. Even a language developed which encapsulated how the common people saw this very real aspect of their lives. Just the large number of terms associated with execution by hanging demonstrates the subject was a concern to them.

Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811)

The list below comprises terms which the common, semi-literate or illiterate people used to understand this method of execution. It is taken from the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). This reference tool defines words and terms which were in usage among these common people throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, because this insightful period source is literally in an A to Z format, topics such as these are lost and inaccessible without already knowing the term.

Hanging and Gallows Terms in 1811

This glossary provides some insight into the common people and their thinking. It gives them a voice into their daily concerns which would be difficult to find elsewhere. I have added some clarification to some definitions to make them comprehensible to the modern family historian.

Bed: This has several meanings. The root is to be dead. It was common for those being hanged to put up a ladder “to bed” and when the ladder was taken away they were “turned off.”

Beilby’s Ball: He will dance at Beilby’s ball where the sheriff pays the music; means he will be hanged.

Climb: To ascend the gallows.

Cockles: To be hanged as in “To cry cockles.” It is thought the term comes from the noise made while strangling

Collar Day: Execution day.

Colquarron: A man’s neck. His colquarron is just about to be twisted, meaning He is just going to be hanged.

Crop: To be knocked down for a crop is to be condemned to be hanged. Cropped means hanged.

Dance Upon Nothing: To be hanged.

To Dangle: One meaning is to be hanged.

To Dawb: To bribe. The cull was scragged because he could not dawb; meaning the rogue was hanged because he could not bribe.

Deadly Nevergreen: The gallows a reference to “Deadly Nevergreen that bears fruit all the year round.” Also referred to as Three Legged Mare.

Die Hard: To die hard is to show no signs of fear or contrition at the gallows; not to whiddle or squeak. This advice is frequently given to felons going to suffer the law, by their old comrades, anxious for the honor of the gang.

Drop: An instrument for executing felons by means of a platform which drops from under them. Also termed the Last Drop or Morning Drop.

Frisk: To dance the Paddington frisk; to be hanged.

Frummagemmed: Choaked, strangled, suffocated or hanged.

[Die] Game: to suffer at the gallows without showing any signs of fear or repentance.

Gaoler’s Coach: A hurdle (portable barrier or cage) usually conveyed from the gaol (jail) to the place of execution on a hurdle or sledge (vehicle drawn by draft animals).

Hempen Fever: A man who was hanged is said to have died of a hempen fever (hemp was used to make ropes).

Hempen Widow: One whose husband was hanged.

Jack Ketch: The hangman. Also called Derrick and Ketch.

Jammed: Hanged

Ladder: To go up the ladder to rest is to be hanged.

Leaf: To go off with the fall of a leaf; to be hanged. Criminals in Dublin being turned off from the outside of the prison by the falling of a board, propped up, and moving on a hinge, like the leaf of a table.

Neck Verse: Formerly the persons claiming the benefit of clergy were obliged to read a verse in a Latin manuscript psalter; this saved them from the gallows. It was Psalms 51:1.

New Drop: The scaffold used for hanging criminals (at Newgate Prison), which dropping down, leaves them suspended. By this improvement, the use of a cart in the process was unnecessary.

Newman’s Lift: The gallows.

Noozed: Hanged or married.

Nubbing: Hanging. The Nibbing Cheat is the gallows. The Nubbing Cove is the hangman and the Nubbing Ken is the sessions house.

Paddington Fair Day: An execution day. To Dance the Paddington Frisk is to be hanged.

Picture Frame: The sheriff’s picture frame is the gallows or pillory (stocks).

Piss: He will piss when he can’t whistle; he will be hanged.

Pit: The pit is a hole under the gallows where poor rogues unable to pay the fees are buried.

Quinsey: Choked by a hempen quinsy means hanged.

Scapegallows: One who deserves and has narrowly escaped the gallows. See Slipgibbet.

Scragged: Hanged.

Scragg’em Fair: A public execution.

Sheriff’s Ball: An execution. To dance at the sheriff’s ball, a loll out one’s tongue at the company is to be hanged or go to rest in a horse’s night cap, i.e. a halter.

Sheriff’s Journeyman: The hangman.

Sheriff’s Picture Frame: The gallows.

Slipgibbet: One for whom the gallows is said to grin.

Stretching: Hanging: He’ll stretch for it means he’ll hang for it.

Sus Per Coll: Hanged. Persons who have been hanged are thus entered into the jailor’s books.

To Swing: To be hanged. He will swing for it means he will be hanged for it.

Topping Cheat: The gallows.

Topping Cove: The hangman.

Trine: To hang.

Trining: Hanging.

Trooper: You will die the death of a trooper’s horse, which means with your shoes on. This is a jocular method of telling anyone he will be hanged.

Tucked Up: Hanged

Twisted: Executed, hanged.

Wry Mouth and a Pissen Pair of Breeches: Hanging.

Wry Neck Day: Hanging day.

Click Here if you would like to learn more about your common ancestor and their times.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Crime and Punishment, Dictionaries, Glossary, Historical

The Wesleyan Rooted Traditions (Part 3)

28 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

John Wesley’s contribution to Protestantism was his writings on sanctification, or “Christian Perfection.” This is living a life of Holiness and how to achieve it. Wesley’s theology created a union between the believer and God. This blog will focus on how this Wesley’s doctrine was transformed with new generations of believers.

Wesley’s influential work, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1766): http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/a-plain-account-of-christian-perfection/ taught people to experience Jesus personally. Christian Perfection was a state in which the love of God dwells in a person’s heart, transforming the believer. In this post-conversation experience, the believer can experience perfect love and is free from original sin. It can be a lifelong process, or an instantaneous event. The perfection is in love not sinlessness. The believer chooses not to sin.

By the 1830s in the United States Phoebe Palmer (1807-74) would reinterpret Christian Perfection within the Methodist Church. She reasoned one need not wait a lifetime.

Rather, through a “second work of grace” it was available in an instant post-conversion event. This became known as “entire sanctification,” and continues to be a defining doctrine in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. In this view, the Christian may attain a state of holiness and be free from original sin and depravity. This creates a total love for God and others through the Holy Spirit.

Methodist revivals featuring holiness would sweep the United States and into Ontario during the 1840s through the 1860s. The first distinct Holiness Revival was in New Jersey in 1867. One of the oldest and the largest Holiness denominations is the Church of the Nazarene.

By the 1880s Holiness people would begin to associate their “second blessing” with a baptism of the Holy Spirit. This included speaking in tongues, prophecy and faith healing.

As entire sanctification theology transformed, many of the rising Classical Pentecostal churches would emphasize this baptism of the Holy Spirit as “evidenced” by the gifts. This was especially true of the gift of tongues. The oldest and largest Classical Pentecostal denomination today is the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee).

With the Azusa Street Revival (1906) a growing Pentecostalism would bring in believers from outside the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. They did not see the baptism of the Holy Ghost as evidence of salvation, but as a help with Christian service. The largest and most widespread non-Wesleyan Pentecostal denomination is the Assemblies of God, which is today the sixth largest international Christian denomination in the world. Today, most Pentecostals do not see a requirement for salvation other than faith.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Church records, Historical, Theology

The Wesleyan Rooted Traditions (Part 1)

26 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

John Wesley (1703-91) taken from www.wikipedia.org

The Wesleyan-Methodist, Wesleyan-Holiness and Holiness-Pentecostal traditions are rooted in the insights of John Wesley (1703-91). These blogs will focus on understanding this tradition. Part 1 will concentrate on the historical background. Part 2 will introduce theological works. Part 3 will focus on John Wesley’s distinctive doctrine of sanctification or “Christian Perfection.”  

The Wesleyan tradition heavily involved the Irish and their descendants worldwide. This not only includes Irish Protestants, but also Irish Catholics. Many Irish Catholic immigrants either converted to some form of Wesleyanism or were at least married by its ministers (think the Methodist Church in New York City). Wesleyanism in its Methodist form provided neutral ground for a wide variety of people. In many towns it became the “community church.” For this reason alone, if I don’t find a Catholic family listed in local parish records; always search the Methodist registers next.

Wesleyanism arrived in North America in 1760, by way of Irish Methodists. Built within it was a respect for higher education, especially for women, and a social consciousness, even if members didn’t always live up to those values. An example would be when the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States would split into three denominations (1843-1845) over slavery.

By the 1840s, many members sought a return to more holiness and activism by emphasizing the Wesleyan doctrine of  “Christian Perfection.” This would emerge as a trans-denominational and inter-racial Wesleyan-Holiness movement. It grew rapidly in the United States, spreading to Ontario in the 1840s, England by the 1860s and firmly established in Ireland by the 1880s. Methodists were hostile towards the Holiness movement.

Holiness denominations include the Church of the Nazarene, Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), Salvation Army, Christian Missionary and Alliance, Free Methodist Church, Wesleyan Church, Church of God (Holiness).

Wesleyan-Holiness theology was taken further with speaking in tongues, prophecy and faith healing. This became known as the Holiness-Pentecostal movement. It originally arose in several places among Holiness people as an inter-racial revivalist and

Azusa Street Mission, Los Angeles, California. Taken from www.wikipedia.org

enthusiastic outpouring of the spiritual gifts. The recognized, but not only, beginnings of modern-day Pentecostalism was the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California (1906). This revival began spreading the beliefs worldwide separating it from a hostile Wesleyan-Holiness tradition.

If Pentecostalism is combined with its sister Charismatic movement, it constitutes the second largest branch of Christianity with over 500 million believers. Older Pentecostal churches include; Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ, Foursquare Church, Pentecostal Holiness Church. However, not all denominations, such as the Assemblies of God, are rooted in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement.

For historical reading, I would recommend the following reference works.

Wesleyan-Methodist: William J. Abraham, The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies (2011); Dudley Levistone Cooney, The Methodist in Ireland: A Short History (2001); Richard P. Heitzenrater, Wesley and the People Called Methodists (1993); David Hempton, Methodism: Empire of the Spirit (2006); Charles Yrigoven, Jr., and Susan E. Warrick, eds. Historical Dictionary of Methodism (2005).

Wesleyan-Holiness: Floyd Cunningham, ed., Our Watchword and Song: The Centennial History of the Church of the Nazarene (2009); William Kostlevy, ed. Historical Dictionary of the Holiness Movement (2009); Major John G. Merritt, Historical Dictionary of the Salvation Army (2006).

Holiness-Pentecostal: Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity (2004); Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. Van Der Maas, eds. The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (2002); Harvey Cox, Fire from Heaven (1995); James Robinson, Pentecostal Origins: Early Pentecostalism in Ireland in the Context of the British Isles (2007);  Randall J. Stephens, The Fire Spreads: Holiness and Pentecostalism in the American South (2010); Vinson Synan, Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 1901-2001 (2001); Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition (1971); Grant Wacker, Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture (2003).

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Professional Links

Dwight Radford, visit me at: www.thejourneyhomegenealogy.com

Leland Meitzler Publisher of genealogy products and books: www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com

Irish Genealogical Society International: www.irishgenealogical.org  I write articles for their journal The Septs

Mike O’Laughlin author of Irish family history books: www.irishroots.com

Donna Moughty’s Genealogy Resources: www.moughty.com  I invite you to join Donna’s blog as she explains the world of Irish and United States family history.

Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, MFA, CG professional book editing: www.nonfictionHelp.com  

Come enjoy the December research tour: www.SaltLakeChristmasTour.com I am one of the consultant’s at this wonderful event

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Church records, Historical, Theology

The Dust Bowl

8 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

The aftermath of an American migration of epic portions can now be studied alongside the 1940 Census. I am referring to the Dust Bowl (1930-1936), with Oklahoma being the center. While affecting blacks, it’s mainly thought of in terms of poor whites and Native Americans. That brings us to why this topic is important for an Irish blog. Scores of these Oklahoma residents were of Scots-Irish descent.

This period of history is sometimes referred to as the “Dirty Thirties.” Severe dust storms, called “Black Blizzards,” and “Black Rollers,” literally made visibility a couple of feet. The storms were intensified by the poor farming methods of the time. It blew away the middle part of the country. It was centered in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas; destroying the crops, cattle, farms, and the sharecropping way of life.

This caused such upheaval, there is no shortage of books and websites dedicated to this period. The derogatory term “Okie” was popularized for the massive migration of the poor white migrant workers from Oklahoma who went to find work in California. Some estimates are that 15% of the state left for California during the Dust Bowl. Their plight was popularized in the American imagination by the classic novel by John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1940).

They are the hidden part of the Depression Era national tragedy that took people with little and left them with nothing. The Dust Bowl exodus constituted the largest mass migration of Americans in the shortest time with 2.5 million people on the move, and at least 200,000 of those headed for California.

A good place to start with learning more about the Dust Bowl is the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture article on the “Dust Bowl” http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/D/DU011.html Ken Burns PBS documentary “The Dust Bowl” premieres on November 18th and 19th www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl so mark your calendars.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Census, Historical, Immigration and Emigration, Scots-Irish

The Great Migration (1910-1930)

7 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

For many African Americans of Irish heritage, they have to first trace their ancestors back into the Southern United States. This blog will focus on “The Great Migration” which was the first massive exodus out of the South. By 1900 about 90% of blacks lived in the South. The years 1910 through 1930 (some historians see 1916-1940) saw 1.6 million blacks leaving. There are some general migration patterns, although not set in stone:

Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas westward to: Oakland and Los Angeles, California.

Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas northward to: a.) St. Louis, Missouri (onward to Quincy and Springfield in Illinois), b.) Davenport, Iowa and c.) Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee northward to: a.) Louisville, Kentucky, b.) Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio, c.) Indianapolis, Indiana, d.) Chicago, Illinois, e.) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, f.) Detroit, Michigan, g.) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia northeastward to: a.) Richmond, Virginia, b.) Washington DC, c.) Baltimore, Maryland, d.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, e.) Newark, New Jersey, f.) Albany, New York City, Buffalo and Rochester, New York, g.) New Haven, Connecticut, h.) Boston, Massachusetts, i.) Providence, Rhode Island.

There were many reasons for leaving. Racism (lynching, terror, and Jim Crow Laws) was not the only reason. Many left seeking employment away from sharecrop farming. They took urban jobs in the service industry NOT in the factories and in the heavy industry.

Blacks replaced whites who originally held those jobs. Another reason for leaving was to provide a better education for children and have a voice. Other factors contributed, such as the Great Mississippi Flood (1927), which displaced hundreds of thousands of farm laborers.

The majority of migrants were from the rural South. Also during this time period, settling in the same cities were poor rural Europeans. Both groups were competing for the same jobs in the service industry, with the railroads, meatpacking plants and stockyards being favored.

When tracing a Great Migration family, the 1910, 1920, 1930 and newly released 1940 U.S. Census are essential tools. Once you know a state of birth, then you are ready to work backwards. This is where the adventure really begins!

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: African Americans, Ethnic Connections, Historical, Immigration and Emigration

What is a Cunningham (Scottish) Acre?

6 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

If you have ever seen the term “Cunningham Acre” or “Scottish Acre” (also seen as Scots Acre) in your Irish research, then you no doubt raised an eyebrow. This was a land measurement brought over from Scotland where it had been the standard measurement since 1661. In Scotland it was replaced by the English Acre in 1824. In historic Ireland, it continued until the Ordnance Survey technically replaced the Cunningham (Scottish) Acre with the English Acre by the mid-1830s. However, in reality, its usage survived into the twentieth century in places such as eastern County Down.

You will see the Cunningham (Scottish) Acre mostly in the deeds, leases, and landlord estate records for Ulster. It is sometimes seen as “Conyingham Acre.” It will usually state the type of acres in the record. For the most part, you can assume most records are in English Acres or Irish Acres outside of Ulster, even if it is not stated. From my experience, when Cunningham (Scottish) Acres are used, this is usually noted.

If you’re tracing a particular piece of property, or the history of a townland, you need to be aware of the conversions to English Acres since that was the standard after the 1830s. These are as follows:

1 Irish (Plantation) Acre = 1.6 English Acre (rounded off from 1.6198 to be exact)

1 Cunningham (Scottish) Acre = 1.3 English Acre (rounded off from 1.2913 to be exact)

I first encountered the use of the Cunningham (Scottish) Acre measurement in the rent books for a large and prominent Ulster landowner. To make sense of it, I simply used the formula listed above, and I could then key the property to some degree into Griffith’s Primary Valuation which is in standard English Acres.

For your reference, while most of the world has gone to the metric system, the United States, and some Commonwealth countries still uses English Acres as its basic unit of measurement. This at least provides some visual as to what is meant by an “acre” in this discussion.

Some interesting websites for old measurements include “Index to Units & Systems of Units” www.sizes.com/units/index.php; and a wonderful article by George Gilmore of the Garvagh Historical Society (2011) “What Size is an Acre” www.billmacafee.com/valuationrecords/whatsizeisanacre.pdf is a must to consult.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Historical, Land Records, Strategies, Terminology

My Ancestor was an American Spiritualist (Part 4)

3 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

In this last installment, I focus on the nineteenth century records to document Spiritualists. There are several repositories that have significant collections; mainly periodicals and directories. Most important are the American Antiquarian Society: http://americanantiquarian.org and the Library of Congress: www.loc.gov  Secondary collections are at Andover-Harvard University Theological Library: www.hds.harvard.edu/library ; New York Public Library: www.nypl.org ; Boston Public Library: www.bpl.org ; Van Pelt Library: www.library.upenn.edu/vanpelt ; Bancroft Library: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu ; and the Cecil H. Green Library: http://library.stanford.edu  

It wasn’t until 1893 that the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC): www.nsac.org  was founded. The NSAC as the first successful organization to bound together a variety of Spiritualist congregations. They remain the largest such organization. Spiritualist congregations are free to develop their own rituals and practices. There has currently been no study to know what records congregations kept. The NSAC can be contacted concerning member congregations.

Directories and newspapers will list lecturers, mediums and Spiritualist missionaries. Important directories include: Uriah Clark’s Spiritual Register for 1857, 1858-9, 1859, 1860, 1861; and Andrew Jackson Davis’ The Progressive Annual for 1862, 1863, 1864. One of the most extensive and genealogically important direcgtory is James M. Peebles and Hudson Tuttle, The Year-Book of Spiritualism for 1871. This documents Spiritualists before the massive exodus from the movement in favor of the Theosophical Society and Christian Science.

Spiritualist newspapers published advertisements, convention news, directories, local news and letters. Ann Braude’s News From the Spirit World: A Checklist of American Spiritualist Periodicals, 1848-1900 (1989) lists 214 periodicals, by name, time period, geographic, and by publisher.   

The American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR): www.aspr.com is an investigative organization. Their studies have exposed fraudulent mediums as well as investigated what they saw as legitimate claims. Not all investigations were published in their Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. The library houses the correspondences and case files for all investigations. 

It is hoped that my blogs will alert researchers to the potential of Spiritualist records as a valid genealogical resource.

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Church records, Historical, Libraries and Archives, Theology

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Dwight A. Radford

Dwight A. Radford is a professional family history researcher. Along with his staff they specialize in Ireland, England, Canada, African American, Native American, and United States. Connecting families together through historical documents and then creating a cherished family heirloom published book for generations to enjoy. Full bio…

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