RELEASE DATE: JULY 27, 2014
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
If you have been seeking information on your immigrant ancestors from Ireland or Scotland, you are probably familiar with the excellent genealogical publications by David Dobson. You may also be aware that his books often contain material that may be difficult to access. As a result, many researchers will welcome his latest work, IRISH EMIGRANTS IN NORTH AMERICA, PART EIGHT.
Like the other volumes in the series, PART EIGHT documents the departure of individuals who left Ireland, voluntarily or involuntarily, for the New World between the years 1670 and 1830. Gleaned mainly from archival resources in Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, and the United States, this volume also contains data obtained from contemporary newspapers and journals, a few published records, and some gravestone inscriptions from both sides of the Atlantic. The material shows that approximately half of the people listed in this volume disembarked at Canadian ports or in the Caribbean, while the rest entered through ports in the United States.
Since the data cover a span of roughly 160 years, the amount of details about each person widely varies. Entries usually provide the name of the passenger, destination or place of residence in North America, a date, and the source of the information. Additional facts in many entries may include place of origin in Ireland, age or date of birth or death, occupation, military service, reason for emigration, names of relatives (often parents or spouse), and the name of the ship on which he or she sailed.
A typical example of a brief entry is the one concerning Patrick HOGGE, which says he was born in 1717 and was a farmer in Cuba in 1819. Another short example is the entry for Thomas MCGOWAN, who “emigrated from Londonderry aboard the brig Ardent bound for St. John, New Brunswick, landed there in August 1823.” Longer entries naturally supply more details. For instance, the one for John JOHNSON states that he was “born in Ireland 1716, a carpenter and joiner, an indentured servant in Williamsburg, Virginia, who absconded in 1745.” Perhaps one of the most interesting entries is for George CUSACK, “alias Jorge CUSICQUE, an Irishman in Tortuga, 1670, a mutineer aboard the St. Joseph bound from Tortuga to Lisbon and La Rochelle, took the ship to Boston, New England.” A few recurring surnames in the volume are BARRY, BRYAN, BUTLER, BYRNE, CALLAHAN, CAMPBELL, CARTY, COLLINS, DOYLE, FLIN/FLYNN, GLASGOW, KELLY, LYNCH, MCCANN, MCDANIEL, MACDONALD, MEAGHER, MOORE, MURPHY, O’NEALE/O’NEIL, PLUNKETT, QUIGLEY/QUIGLY, REILLY/RILEY, SULLIVAN, WELCH/WELSH, and WEST.
As genealogists can see from these examples, Dobson provides useful data about people from the Emerald Isle. In addition, some of the details may furnish clues for further research on an ancestral line. Because the book sheds light on the lives of approximately 1,300 men and women who came to the New World, IRISH EMIGRANTS IN NORTH AMERICA, PART EIGHT will be a valuable addition to genealogical library shelves.
Arranging main entries alphabetically, the 107-page work has soft covers, an appropriate illustration on the front cover, an introduction, and a key to references. To the book’s price of $18.50, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $7.50 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book. The volume (item order 8107) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website at www.genealogical.com.