Genealogy Jottings

I have joined the Special Interest Group for Irish research at my local genealogy club, the Highlands Ranch Genealogical Society. At our first meeting, the facilitator gave a Power Point presentation giving us a rundown of resources for Irish research.

Due to destruction of Irish records over the years, tracing Irish roots presents a real challenge. We learned that despite this difficulty, many resources do exist.

I looked at one of them this week.

The Family History Guide (https://www.thefhguide.com) provides a wealth of instructional information and links to good Irish genealogy websites. I had never heard of this site before.

They have specialized pages for different countries, and of course I chose Ireland. The page links you to the Family Search wiki  and Ancestry tutorials on Irish research. It goes on to provide links to pages and videos on Irish research strategies and tips. Finally, the page offers links to sites for Irish records, locations, surnames, and place names.

This site seems like a good starting place to make sure one does an exhaustive search for information on an ancestor.

Some of it will not be applicable to my own search for my ancestor Daniel Ryan (abt. 1829-1863). They tell you to begin with records your family saved and memories of your oldest living relatives. We did not know we had Ryan ancestors until a couple of years ago because my Irish great-grandfather was an absentee father. My grandmother did not even know his name. It took a DNA test to learn his identity.

I can skip those early steps in the usual genealogical research process and proceed to looking for all the American records I can find on Daniel Ryan. I still need 2 or 3:

1. Naturalization record. I do not know whether Daniel was ever naturalized. I do not know when he came to America, but he settled in Illinois. He lived at Peoria and Springfield, so I can start there.
2. Church record for Daniel Ryan’s marriage to Jane Lawless in Peoria in 1851. Last time I tried to find this, the Diocese of Peoria would not let me see this record. I need to check again to see if anything has changed.
3. Baptismal records for Daniel’s sons Richard and James. Richard’s is locked up in the Diocese of Peoria. I might be able to find James’ in the Diocese of Springfield.

With this plan in mind, and can begin again to see if I can figure out where Daniel’s home in Ireland was. That would be the key to tracing his family.