Irish America
Irish America
To do successful family history research you must know where to look. Knowing the sources and what they can tell you is vital to success. This column in the coming issues will describe the major sources of information and provide advice on how to access them. Irish church records are probably the best place to start, are among the earliest, and are undoubtedly the most … [Read more...] about Roots: Using Church Records
Readers have asked about the origin of the names Jordan, Rice and Power, only the last of which is in any way common. However, some explanation is provided below. The name Jordan is common in England but few Irish Jordans are derived from the English source. The Irish Jordans are derived from a Norman family which settled in Connaught in the 12th century. The name is derived … [Read more...] about Roots: Jordan, Rice and Power Families
Although the Irish language, or Gaelic, does not have a letter "Q," the distinctive sound of the accented "C" in some Gaelic names has caused them to be anglicized phonetically with this sound. Examples include Quinn, Quinlan, and Quigley, none of which are connected other than by their initial letter. Quinn is perhaps the most common of these names. It is derived from the … [Read more...] about Irish Roots: Quinn, Quinlan and Quigley
The Barry name is mainly of Norman origin and is very closely associated with County Cork. There is also a less common Gaelic origin from the Irish family O'Beargha, which was Anglicized as O'Barry or Barry. This family was also of Munster origin. Even today around 50 percent of the Barrys in Ireland are in Cork or other parts of Munster. A current prominent member of the … [Read more...] about Irish Roots: Barry, Berry and Beirn
A significant number of Americans feel the urge each year to find out exactly who their Irish ancestors are. And those who are prepared to make the effort, can find themselves involved in a fascinating hobby. One of the many joys of family research is that it allows you to put your family into a historical context. A great number of the Irish in America are there because of … [Read more...] about Roots: Researching Irish Ancestry
