Irish genealogy tips at the East Islip Library

The East Islip Library hosted an Irish genealogy session on March 9, where Islip residents were given tips and tricks on how to uncover their own family heritage.

Genealogy researcher and East Islip native Eileen Swanberg led the presentation, pulling from her own experience to share with attendees.

The process of researching Irish genealogy is complicated, as there are various traditional practices that are no longer as widely known. For instance, there were naming practices that were commonly followed. “

“The male children, the firstborn son, is named after dad, the grandfather, so the father’s father. Then, he’s named after the mother’s father. Then, it’s after the father, and then if you have a fourth son, you drop down to the father’s elder brother, and then the father’s second eldest, and the same thing with the mom, and it’s often with the mother’s mother, and then the father’s mother,” she explained, highlighting this detailed naming history shared by not only Ireland, but many different regions.

Naturally, such a commonly followed practice may result in repeating names in family research, and so knowing the background information could be one of the keys to finding your own history.

Researching her own family history for over 30 years as well as teaching genealogy classes in the ‘90s, Swanberg has gotten familiar with the ins and outs of genealogy research. Her business, Steps Back In Time, aids local libraries with genealogy workshops for various different backgrounds, including Italian. She also aids individuals looking for assistance in their own family tree research.

There are many different avenues available for finding family records. Swanberg made sure to highlight how much documentation is out there. Immigrant Bank Records is one of those avenues available today.

“They had to give things like where are they from? If you’re a woman, who’s your husband, what’s your children’s name? So, if they opened a bank account with 38 cents, because they were not rich coming over, basically, you can find great information in these bank records.”

Additional resources include passenger lists, Emigrant Bank Records (NYC), naturalization papers, censuses, Vital Records, Griffith’s Primary Valuation of Tenements, and Tithe Applotment Books.

Attendees were enthusiastic about learning such tips about how to research their families, many avidly jotting down notes as the presentation went along. Some attendees even gave their own perspective and experience on genealogy research, providing additional tools for success.

Many of these documents, such as passenger lists, even include details that shed light onto the patriarchal standards of the past.

“If you go to the end of that passenger list, you will see people that were detained. Great-grandma was detained because her brother-in-law wasn’t there yet. Women back then could not get off by themselves. We ‘needed a man to help us,’” Swanberg shared, mocking the notion.

For additional information and help with your own research, Steps Back In Time’s website is stepsbackintimegenealogy.com.