Philadelphia, USA - May 29, 2018: Irish Memorial at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Philadelphia: The Irish Gateway to America, by Brian Mitchell

Between 1717 and the beginning of the War of American Independence in 1776, 250,000 Scots-Irish, often referred to as Ulster-Scots in Ireland (i.e. Protestant settlers in the nine counties of the Province of Ulster) left Ulster, through the ports of Belfast, Londonderry, Newry, Larne and Portrush, for North America. The Scots-Irish tended to enter North[…]Read more

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The Original Lists of Persons of Quality

Tracing your Irish Ancestors: A Three-step Guide

by Brian Mitchell, Derry Genealogy. Email: genealogy@derrystrabane.com Background There are 2,508 parishes in Ireland. You can identify the civil parishes of Ireland, and their associated townlands, at https://www.johngrenham.com/places/civil_index.php by selecting county of interest on the map. To gain insight into the economic and social landscape of 19th century Ireland you can consult A Topographical Dictionary[…]Read more

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Flax Growers

New Pocket Guide a Great Source for 17th- and 18th-Century Irish Census Substitutes

Brian Mitchell’s New Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy is a wonderful combination of how-to book, guide to sources, and case studies–in only 120 pages. It’s expert genealogist Mitchell’s contention that the most important sources for Irish genealogy are the civil registers of births, marriages, and deaths; church registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials; gravestone inscriptions;[…]Read more

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The Origins of the Scots-Irish

The Origins of the Scots-Irish & How to Find Those Families

The historical roots of what it means to be Scots Irish go back to the 17th century. During that epoch, substantial numbers of Scottish (as well as English) families removed to the northern part of Ireland during the so-called Plantation of Ulster. Between 1717 and 1776, 250,000 Scots-Irish immigrants (also known as Scotch-Irish or Ulster[…]Read more

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Guide to Irish Genealogy

Now Available! New Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy, by Brian Mitchell

When Brian Mitchell wrote the original Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy in 1991, with revisions in 2002 and 2008, access to Irish record sources was through examination of original and microfilm copies of historical sources in record offices. Genealogists now, however, have ready access online to most of Irish record sources. Therefore, Brian Mitchell has[…]Read more

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The Importance of Gravestone Inscriptions in Irish Research

“The Importance of Gravestone Inscriptions in Irish Research,” by Brian Mitchell

(The following essay is excerpted from pp. 39-40 from Mr. Mitchell’s book, New Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy.) With civil registration of births and deaths commencing in 1864, and with the patchy survival of church records before this time, gravestone inscriptions take on a special significance. Many Church of Ireland burial registers were destroyed by[…]Read more

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New Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy

New Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy Garners High Marks from Midwest Book Review

The Midwest Books Review, edited by James A. Cox of Oregon, Wisconsin, has for decades been an important source of advice for library acquisition librarians in deciding what new publications to add to their collections. Brian Mitchell’s New Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy just received a stellar review from Mr. Cox, and we are reprinting[…]Read more

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