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Megan Smolenyak

Tim Walz of the Tomhaggard Doyles

By Megan Smolenyak

Fall 2024

October 10, 2024 by 2 Comments

How A Solitary Tombstone in Wisconsin Solved the Mystery of His Irish Origins As a professional genealogist of half-Irish heritage, I’ve long embraced the opportunity to underscore the ties between Ireland and the United States, and one of the most obvious ways to do this is to trace the roots of high profile Americans to their place of origin in Ireland. This is trickier than … [Read more...] about Tim Walz of the Tomhaggard Doyles

“No Man Left Behind”

By Megan Smolenyak
IA Newsletter, June 1, 2024

May 30, 2024 by Leave a Comment

"No Man Left Behind" is so much more than a slogan to me. In a sense, I contemplate Memorial Day year-round due to my work with the Army. For the past 25 years, I’ve been assisting the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) with the identification of our soldiers who gave their lives in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam but have not yet been accounted for. My role as a … [Read more...] about “No Man Left Behind”

How I Found My Elusive John Murphy

By Megan Smolenyak
IA Newsletter
April 6, 2024

March 26, 2024 by Leave a Comment

The Deadly Trail that Finally Revealed a Phantom Branch of My Family Tree My earliest American-born ancestor was my great-great-grandfather, Edward Murphy. It took a while to figure this out as the skimpy traces he left claimed both New York and Ireland as his birthplace, but then I stumbled across his baptism. To my delight, he was christened in the historic St. James church … [Read more...] about How I Found My Elusive John Murphy

How Name Changing Hid a Heritage

By Megan Smolenyak

November 15, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Barry Manilow. Yes, I know, most think of him as a Jewish fellow from Brooklyn – and he is. But he’s also a quarter Irish, and due to certain circumstances in his family, that Irish share has had a disproportionate influence on his family tree. - Megan SmolenyakName ChangingThough he wouldn’t have known it, when Barry changed surnames, he was the third generation of Pincus … [Read more...] about How Name Changing Hid a Heritage

Manx, Music, Military, Moxie, and a Bit Irish

By Megan Smolenyak
IA Newsletter May 27, 2023

May 23, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Hannah Waddingham

Roots detective Megan Smolenyak researches Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham's roots What can’t Hannah Waddingham do? I’m late to the party discovering her talents in her portrayal of team owner, Rebecca Welton, in Ted Lasso, but oh, how I wish I had seen her in Spamalot, Into the Woods, or Wizard of Oz. And if I weren’t enchanted enough already, her turn as one of Eurovision … [Read more...] about Manx, Music, Military, Moxie, and a Bit Irish

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June 4, 1820

On June 4, 1820, Henry Grattan, outstanding orator and dominant figure in the Irish parliament, died. Grattan entered the Irish Parliament in December 1775. He was the leader of the Patriot movement that won legislative independence for Ireland in 1782. Later he headed opposition to the union of England and Ireland. Grattan spent the last 15 years of his life on the British House of Commons after being elected in 1805.

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