FIVE Sources to Locate your Irish Origins: US Edition

It is estimated that as many as 4.5 million Irish People arrived in America between 1820 and 1930. But tracing the Irish origins of your ancestors can be a tricky undertaking. Sometimes we need to don our detective hats to find answers to the questions we wish we could ask our ancestors!

Here are MY top 5 sources you shouldn’t ignore when tracking down the birthplaces of your Irish ancestors:

1. Graves

Often, first generation immigrants to the US had their places of birth inscribed on their headstone. And with close and extended family members usually buried nearby, this gives us vital information that can be used to search surviving Irish records. Now, if looking around cemeteries isn’t your thing, luckily websites such as findagrave.com and billiongraves.com can help you find your ancestors’ headstones without leaving your home. 

2. Vitals

Depending on your State, you may be able to seek the full death or marriage certificate for your immigrant ancestor online. When a death was registered, birthplace and parents names were usually included if known. Remember to proceed with a certain amount of caution, and to back up your findings with other sources, because the grandson registering his grandfather’s death might not have known the answers!

3. Military

If your ancestors served in the US military, you may be able to find the place of birth of the soldier or information about his family from military records. Full service records can give amazing insight into their life in service, their medical history and where they were at key moments of world history, and are available from the US National Archives.

4. Biographies

Perhaps the most under-used on this list, many counties have published histories, many which describe the prominent families who settled and grew there. If you know your family hailed from one county for quite a few generations, published biographies might be able to tell you of your ancestors origins. Head to the FamilySearch Catalog to look for these!

5. Naturalization

The records that officially made your emigrant a US citizen. An often overlooked record source, the detail included in naturalization and emigration records differ hugely depending on the date and US State where it was filed. You might hit lucky with a clerk who was keen to note down the date of birth, family names and the name of the ship they arrived on!

If you would like help tracing your Irish ancestors or have questions about where to find records, please get in touch today!