A recent research request focused on the client’s ancestors who emigrated to Pennsylvania from Co. Donegal, Ireland in search of stability and financial opportunity. Life in Ireland was especially difficult in the mid-1850’s, with 1.5 million adults and children escaping to America due to famine, poverty and other difficulties. While this particular family lived in an Irish community in America, other immigrants speaking over 30 different languages also lived in their township, a reflection of the “melting pot” or blending of cultures into an integrated landscape of humanity; searching for the “American Dream”.
Fascinating resources were found when navigating through the history of their departure, arrival and subsequent lives as coal miners in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; useful links for others who may have had similar ancestry:
- Constitutional Rights Foundation. BRIA 26 2 The Potato Famine and Irish Immigration to America. https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-26-2-the-potato-famine-and-irish-immigration-to-america.html : accessed 19 June 2021.
- Donegal Diaspora. The Famine in Donegal. https://www.donegaldiaspora.ie/news/famine-donegal : accessed 19 June 2021.
- Michael C O’Laughlin and The Irish Genealogical Foundation (U.S.). The families of County Donegal, Ireland : over one thousand entries from the archives of the Irish Genealogical Foundation. 1st Ed. Kansas City, Missouri: The Irish Genealogical Foundation (U.S.). p. 75. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Families_of_Co_Donegal_Ireland/2dO4L8DDxG4C?gbpv=1 : accessed 17 June 2021.
- Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Vital Statistics Records. https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Vital-Statistics.aspx : accessed 8 June 2021.
- Pennsylvania Annual Reports on Mining Activities. Search by Years. http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/ : accessed 24 June 2021.
Information about Irish surnames, naming conventions used for children and more can be found on this FamilySearch website, https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Ireland_Personal_Names. Another interesting graphic, produced by the United States Census Bureau, shows Irish Ancestry as a percentage of each state’s population, as of February 2018.
Check the links on the Resources page for additional resources for the United Kingdom and Ireland or contact me, if you need any assistance.
Images: Map. Luzerne & Lackawanna Counties. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3822wm.gla00091/?sp=4&r=-0.068,0.33,0.577,0.345,0 : accessed 27 June 2021.