Thank you for registering for the online conference, Researching Ulster Scots Ancestors!
The Scots-Irish have been migrating from Northern Ireland to the United States and Canada since the early 18th century. As with any genealogical research, there are challenges to researching your Ulster Scots ancestors—finding their exact origins, sifting through common names, working through record loss—but there is a way forward! This online conference aims to provide you with the historical context, record overview, and research strategies to not only make real headway in your family history research, but also provide you with a better understanding of your ancestors’ daily life. This conference focuses on the nine counties within the Ulster Province (Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan, and Tyrone).
Through your participation in this online conference, you will be able to:
- Access 5+ hours of pre-recorded presentations
- Download and/or print handouts, worksheets, and other resources
- Access materials for the foreseeable future
SESSION TOPICS
Class 1: A Brief History of Northern Ireland and the Scots-Irish Migration to America, Presented by Judy Lucey
Understanding how your ancestor’s life fits into a greater context is critical to understanding their motivations, daily experience, and may shed light on new avenues of research. This first class will provide a brief history of Northern Ireland, the Ulster Scots, and offer an overview of key waves of migration to America.
Class 2: Determining Origins: Using American Records, Presented by Eileen Pironti
Before we can make the leap across the pond and dive into the records in Northern Ireland, we must first know exactly where our ancestors came from—beyond the county. There are several types of American records that can lead us to this information. This class will review both common—and less common—records that can assist you in making that leap.
Class 3: Records in Northern Ireland: Religious Records, Presented by Rhonda R. McClure
Estate records can provide an incredible amount of information on both for land-owning ancestors and tenants. Because these records aren’t in a single location, not always digitized, and seldom indexed, they are frequently overlooked by genealogists. In this class we will demonstrate how to navigate and leverage these important records.
Class 4: Records in Northern Ireland: Landed Estates, Presented by Rhonda R. McClure
Estate records can provide an incredible amount of information on both for land-owning ancestors and tenants. Because these records aren’t in a single location, not always digitized, and seldom indexed, they are frequently overlooked by genealogists. In this class we will demonstrate how to navigate and leverage these important records.
Class 5: Researching in Northern Ireland, Presented by Judy Lucey
This final class will review additional—often overlooked—records from Northern Ireland, provide an overview of key repositories, and offer advice on how to plan a research trip to your ancestral homeland.
Q&A with the Instructor, LIVE!
Recording below
RECORDED PRESENTATIONS & MATERIALS
Class 1: A Brief History of Northern Ireland and the Scots-Irish Migration to America
Presented by: Judy Lucey
Running Time: 51:23
Class 2: Determining Origins: Using American Records
Presented by: Eileen Curley Pironti
Running Time: 1:02:32
Class 3: Records in Northern Ireland: Religious Records
Presented by: Rhonda R. McClure
Running Time: 1:11:24
Class 4: Records in Northern Ireland: Landed Estates
Presented by: Rhonda R. McClure
Running Time: 1:00:58
Class 5: Researching in Northern Ireland
Presented by: Judy Lucey
Running Time: 57:30
Live Broadcast: March 18, 2023
Running time: 1:39:24
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
Judy Lucey, Senior Archivist joined the staff in 2003. She received a B.S. in Education from Northeastern University and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Simmons College. She has written several articles for American Ancestors magazine, is co-author of Genealogist's Handbook for Irish Research (2016), and has led several research tours to Ireland and Northern Ireland. Her genealogical areas of expertise include Irish genealogy, Newfoundland, 19th and 20th century genealogy, beginning genealogy, Italian genealogy, and the history of Cambridge and Somerville, Mass.
Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer specializing in New England and celebrity research as well as computerized genealogy; is compiler of more than 120 celebrity family trees; has been a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of ten books, including the award-winning The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy, now in its second edition, Finding Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History. Her areas of expertise include: Immigration and naturalization, Late 19th and early 20th Century urban research, Missionaries (primarily in association with the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions), State Department Federal Records, New England, Mid-West, Southern, German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research as well as Internet research, genealogical software (FTM, RootsMagic, TMG, Reunion), digital peripherals, and uses both Mac and Windows machines.
Eileen Pironti, Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press graduated with a B.A. from Saint Anselm College, and received an M.S. from American University. She wrote about her ancestors’ participation in the colonization of Nobles County, Minnesota in “‘An Invitation to the Land’: Reconstructing James and Eliza Conlon’s Migration to Minnesota,” which was published in the Summer 2011 issue of American Ancestors magazine. She has also helped lead two research tours to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her areas of expertise include Irish, Scottish, and 19th century New England research.
SUGGESTED RESOURCES
Research Guide: Irish Genealogy
Archived Webinar: Anniversary of the Four Courts Fire in Dublin