Researching my Irish heritage

[Maggie]

Thanks for that bit of info. Too bad it doesn't say how old they were or who their childred were.That appears to be the family. Have to check my records to see the name of the two grandsons or sons of Hugh came to the came to the US. (2 did) One was the father of the inventor Robert Fulton who was born in 1765. Jim

You mean this dude?
I'm impressed - he designed the first paddles for boats, the paddle steamer, and the first submarine for the British Navy.
Then he went to France and made quite a name for himself there.
He had streets, schools and counties named for him....and even a transatlantic Immigrant Ship!



His father came from Kilkenny.....mmmmm....fascinating how they got from Belfast to Kilkenny.

Robert Fulton's grave marker in Trinity Churchyard, Manhattan:


Just found the following fascinating piece, from which we learn that his father Robert Fulton was a Presbyterian, who emigrated while young, and met his wife Mary Smith in PA. He was a tailor, then became a farmer.  
The following is a quote from: http://books.google.com/books?id=FHEoAAAAYAAJ&dq=Robert%2BFulton%2BInventor%2BBiography&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=8zdFSsSPHo6ntgf4-u3aAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12

"Robert Fulton was born in the township of Little Britain, (now called Fulton), in the county of Lancaster, and State of Pennsylvania, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-five. He was of a respectable though not opulent family. His father, Robert Fulton, emigrated from Ireland when young: he had followed the tailoring business, but afterwards turned his attention to farming. His mother was of a respectable family by the name of Smith, established in Pennsylvania.

Robert Fulton, Sr., and Mary Smith, his wife, had five children—three daughters and two sons. Robert was their third child and eldest son.
Mr. Fulton bought, August 23,1759, and resided in, the present brick dwelling-house situate on the north-east corner of Centre Square, in the city of Lancaster; and afterwards, Feb. 8, 1765, sold and conveyed the same to Edward Shippen, Esq. He then, Feb. 8, 1765, purchased at sheriff's sale the farm in Lit,tle Britain township, and removed to it. It was there that Robert was born. It contained 364 acres of land, and the consideration was £965.

The father of the celebrated Benjamin West resided in the adjoining county, and was an intimate acquaintance of Mr. Fulton. It is certainly a remarkable coincidence that Benjamin West and Robert Fulton, the two immortal artists, were born in the immediate neighbourhood, in the then wild and dense forests of Pennsylvania, enlivened only by the Indian camp-fires along the Octorara and Conawanga hills; and that both commenced their career and spread their unparalleled fame together from the city of London, the capital of the world.
Mr. Fulton mortgaged his farm to William West, Samuel Purviance, and Joseph Swift; and, Nov. 29, 1766, he and his wife Mary conveyed the property to the mortgagees, and again removed to Lancaster city, where he died in 1768, and was buried in. the cemetery of the first Presbyterian church erected in Lancaster, of which he was one of the founders."

Jim, if you want to trace your ancestors in Northern Ireland, get in touch with this lady at the Family History Society in Carnmoney Parish where the Fultons lived:
http://www.nifhs.org/newtownabbey.htm

Please refer enquiries to the Secretary Mrs Sandra Ardis
                                    Phone: 028 9086 2012
                                    E-mail: sandra_ardis@hotmail.com

[zankoku]

Thanks for the info. This is great. Robert's father was the brother of my direct ancestor, but this is all still family and now I have a link to go to Wish I had had this info befoe my Dad passed on as he was the one who did all of the geneology. ( He passed away in 2002 at 94.) When I get more info, I will be sending to my brothers.

Jim

[CWsenior]

I have asked around in my family and I come to find out that on my dads side his mothers mother is half Irish and on my dad's fathers side, his great grandfather was irish as well, so that means my grandfather is half irish since my great great grandfather didnt marry an irish lass.

Ps. If traced back really far a BIG part of my family is from england and me and my uncle cant find any records of when they came over to america so that means my family is a bunch of aliens lol

[Maggie]

I have asked around in my family and I come to find out that on my dads side his mothers mother is half Irish and on my dad's fathers side, his great grandfather was irish as well, so that means my grandfather is half irish since my great great grandfather didnt marry an irish lass.
Ps. If traced back really far a BIG part of my family is from england and me and my uncle cant find any records of when they came over to america so that means my family is a bunch of aliens lol

To be able to trace your ancestors, you have to have exact names, you have to know where they lived and when.
Somebody, somewhere had to keep records.
"Half Irish" has no meaning in genealogy.
If your Dad's great grandfather was born in Ireland, and if you know his full name, approximate date of birth and where he was from, you should be able to trace his family.
Don't forget the Republic has seperate records from Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.
In the Republic, the best records are Church Baptism, Marriage and Burial records.
Also Census and hearth tax records.

It is better if the name is unusual.

[CWsenior]

I have asked around in my family and I come to find out that on my dads side his mothers mother is half Irish and on my dad's fathers side, his great grandfather was irish as well, so that means my grandfather is half irish since my great great grandfather didnt marry an irish lass.
Ps. If traced back really far a BIG part of my family is from england and me and my uncle cant find any records of when they came over to america so that means my family is a bunch of aliens lol

To be able to trace your ancestors, you have to have exact names, you have to know where they lived and when.
Somebody, somewhere had to keep records.
"Half Irish" has no meaning in genealogy.
If your Dad's great grandfather was born in Ireland, and if you know his full name, approximate date of birth and where he was from, you should be able to trace his family.
Don't forget the Republic has seperate records from Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.
In the Republic, the best records are Church Baptism, Marriage and Burial records.
Also Census and hearth tax records.

It is better if the name is unusual.

I have asked around with some of the really older family members and I have documents of sorts.  The only way that I know part of my family is from ireland was from word of mouth, I havnt been able to find records yet since me and my uncle just started this project about 6 months ago. Its actually really hard and intensive research. Thanks for the help maggie ill check again

[Maggie]

I have asked around with some of the really older family members and I have documents of sorts.  The only way that I know part of my family is from ireland was from word of mouth, I havnt been able to find records yet since me and my uncle just started this project about 6 months ago. Its actually really hard and intensive research.

It's easier to start with what you've got and work backwards.
Do you know the name of the first ancestor to come to the USA?
Or the child of that person?
Do you know the name of the Irish ancestors?
Sometimes the last name can reveal where he came from.

I recommend doing your own research first, instead of paying big bucks to one of the search companies.
If you can give me a couple of definite names I'll try to help.

[CWsenior]

Wow thanks maggie, ill do some digging around but our last name got changed around a little, so Im sticking with the males of the family since that might be easier for me to do then try to figure out both the women and the men, because with women our last names change and that means i would have to fine the maiden name of every one I find, but ill try to get you some names, and thanks for the offer, cause if you could help in any way that would be awesome

[Bluefire]

Erm, yeah.  Talked to Mom about this at dinner last night, and it turns out I messed it up quite a bit.  Most of my ancestry is English.  After a bit of online research (just of the surnames themselves), looks like the next immediate is Scottish. Not sure where I got the other numbers. So, a correction to my previous post:

75% - English/Scottish
25% - various (French/German/Cherokee)

So much for having Irish in my blood.  At some point, I'll ask my uncle who's recently started tracing our family tree to be sure, but not looking likely.

[kathleen]

hearth tax...I remember reading about that and wondering what that was. I haven't researched it....just assuming.......kinda like property tax.....how many hearths have ya got?  Give us some money for how many chimneys you have?

[Maggie]

hearth tax...I remember reading about that and wondering what that was. I haven't researched it....just assuming.......kinda like property tax.....how many hearths have ya got?  Give us some money for how many chimneys you have?

Exactly, Sister Kathleen! 
England got the idea from other countries in Europe.
It was imposed in 1662 to boost King Charles II's funds after the restoration of the monarchy in England.
It seemed like a good idea at the time......those with bigger homes and more hearths paid the most tax.
However, it became difficult to enforce and legislate, so it was abolished in 1689.

[Maggie]

Genealogy has always been a hobby of mine, and also Heraldry as a by-product.
I actually did a course on Heraldry which is a fascinating subject. That was before I came to the USA,
and I was amazed at how much interest there is in digging up "roots" over here.
My first job in the USA was working for a company called "House of Ireland" a chain of gift stores around Orlando owned by two brothers whose parents had immigrated from Limerick. Because of the American interest in Genealogy, they started another Company called Historic Families, selling scrolls with family name histories, merchandise with coats of arms on etc. Incidentally, they are fun but are of no real use in Genealogy. I was promoted to Manager of the Kissimmee Store, then they started mail-order and selling via the internet, so they moved me to the office as they needed an "accent" to speak to phone customers.

When someone starts to research their Irish / Scottish / English Heritage, or any other Nationality, they often hope they will find they have an exciting, noble or even royal ancestor.
I can not count the number of times I've heard "I have been told we're descended from Mary Queen of Scots".
Considering she only had one son, and his descendants were heavily diluted with German, Prussian, and Belgian blood, and also inherited a variety of diseases including porphyria and hemophilia.....other "Royals" died of syphillis......
they might not want to brag too much about those aristocratic roots!!

To be continued in my next post.........

[Bluefire]

When someone starts to research their Irish / Scottish / English Heritage, or any other Nationality, they often hope they will find they have an exciting, noble or even royal ancestor.
I can not count the number of times I've heard "I have been told we're descended from Mary Queen of Scots".
Considering she only had one son, and his descendants were heavily diluted with German, Prussian, and Belgian blood, and also inherited a variety of diseases including porphyria and hemophilia.....other "Royals" died of syphillis......
they might not want to brag too much about those aristocratic roots!!

*snrk* No kidding.  I'm sure all the info I found on surnames is rather skewed.  It just works as cursory info. for now.
I know bits and pieces of my family's history (Mom's side) within the US, and found that fairly interesting too. 

[zankoku]

Never expected Royalty in my family line, just upstanding citizens who fought for their beliefs and thus may have helped form the future\

[Maggie]

I know bits and pieces of my family's history (Mom's side) within the US, and found that fairly interesting too.  [/color]

Never expected Royalty in my family line, just upstanding citizens who fought for their beliefs and thus may have helped form the future\

I think whenever you start researching family history, it's fascinating.
Sometimes you unearth surprising facts......every life has a story to tell.
Just to survive and raise a family was heroic in the Middle Ages. To have survived invasion, war and famine took courage and determination.
The most heroic are not the princes who order soldiers into battle, but the troops who do the fighting.

Sometimes in a search for ancestors, the trail goes cold......this could be because an ancestor had a name which applies to too many others, and is untraceable. Others might have died in the black plague, or the potato famine, when bodies had to be disposed of in mass graves and there was no time to record the deaths, and no positive ID.
Some may find their ancestor was convicted of a crime. Many of those arrested gave false names, so when they were convicted they had several aliases.
This was usually to protect their families, or to prevent tracing a "rap sheet".
Don't feel bad if your ancestor was a prisoner......it didn't take much to be convicted of a felony.
If a man dared to speak up and fight against oppression, and especially if he joined a militant group, he risked a death sentence.
Acts classified by the British Government as felonies were punishable by death or transportation to one of the Colonies. Examples in Ireland were: Stealing food or livestock to feed a starving family, attending a Catholic Service, sending a Catholic child to school, begging or being a "vagabond".
There are records of some of the prisoners who were executed or transported.
In the 18th Century, America was the Country of choice for transporting prisoners, but after Independence Day of course they had to send them elsewhere, most of them to Australia and Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania).

Transportation to the Colonies had it's advantages....your passage was paid, and when you had served your time you could start a new life in a different country, or find work and save enough to send for your family.
Also, you escaped overcrowding, disease and famine.
Here is a Court record for "City and County of Cork" :

"At an assizes held the seventeenth of March 1740.  
The same assizes the sum of seventy three pounds ten shillings was raised and ordered to be paid to William Delahoide
for transporting to America the following:
Mary orphan, Mary Minister, Rickard Donovan, Julian Croneen, James Barrot, Darby Lyne,
Timothy Sullivan otherwise Randam, William Fitzgerald, John Crawly, Bridget Kennelly, Michael Eyers,
Daniel Kennelly, John Collins, Susannah Crowly,William Lyne, Henry Jacques, John Sullivan, Michael Collins,
Ann Murphy, Julian Sullivan, William Kent.
Twenty-one felons and vagabonds."

The following eight people from County Cork were lucky - seven women and one man pleaded to the King for mercy (he must have been in a good mood that day) and had their death sentence commuted to transportation to America.

"Convicted Felons:
Catherine Sweeny, Ellenor Kealiner, Elizabeth Murphy, Honor Cavenagh, otherwise Welsh, Honor Scannell, Ellenor Magher, Mary Hickey otherwise Meany, otherwise Jane Hicks, John Julian Godfrey otherwise Magrath.

All being in custody under sentence of death for divers felonies by them committed, and being reprieved for several years past, at this assizes, severally pleaded his Majesty's pardon conditionally to be transported, and they were ordered to be transported accordingly."

The following is a record of payment to a very busy Sub-sheriff, making big bucks out of hanging and transporting prisoners.
The amount is in pounds, shillings and pence, otherwise known as L.s.d.
                  
20th July 1737   To William Bourke Sub-sheriff, for repairing the gaol, transporting two felons
                                                                                                   and erecting a gallows:              £ 36.15.10
 7th April 1738   To William Bourke Sub-sheriff, for gibetting Daniel Ready, transporting
                                                                                two persons and transmitting felons:           £ 31.01.10



 

[Anderpaw]

I've come to the conclusion that I am a mutt. Happily a Celtic mutt for the most part, but a mutt none the less. Just the different surnames alone in my ancestry will lead you all over England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The only location that has been pin-pointed is one of the Channel Islands.