Irish Landed Estate Records:  Piepowder, Anyone?

By Deborah Dale, Student My binder, full of material from the course, Irish: Land Administration Records  felt somewhat heavy after eight weeks of studying.  I carried it to my desk, to the open spot between several stacks of files, along with some just brewed coffee. At the window I paused to look at the gray sky and wondered if it resembled the color over County Waterford — on what was perhaps a cool January morning in 1851 – when my 3rd great grandfather Michael Higgins, a Roman Catholic tenant farmer, could have walked the length of the land he occupied. I opened my binder to the module about Irish landed estate records (Module 4), which had been for me the most interesting, not only because these records include lists of tenants, but also because I had been suddenly, but enjoyably, catapulted into the history of a word I knew nothing about:  piepowder. I will explain in a few moments.  First, a couple of things about landed estate records:  1) they can be used as a substitute for Ireland’s nineteenth century census returns, which were mostly destroyed in the Four Courts fire of 1922, and 2) even though Module 4 gives a description of the most common estate documents, it does not fail to mention the difficulties a researcher may encounter during the search process. The module also mentions the right of Irish landowners to hold manorial courts.  In Ireland, these consisted of the court-baron, the court-leet and the court of piepowder.…

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U.S. Religious Records Part 2: Immigration and Religion

By Shannon Combs Bennett, Student The United States has a long history of religious immigration.  As a country known for its religious tolerance and the ability for people to practice freely appeals to many.  Talking to other researchers many tell me the religions they think of with immigration tend to be those associated with Eastern European immigrants such as Judaism and Eastern-Rite religions.  However, there were other non-Christian religions that also immigrated.  These are all touched on in the U.S. Religious Records Part 2 course . After the Civil War through to about 1910 over 20 million people immigrated to the US.  That is a significant number of people when you realize that the US population at the close of the war was a bit over 30 million.  Immigrants had an extreme impact on the US in all aspects, it would have been impossible not to. Jewish immigrants were one of the largest communities that came over.  Module 5 of this course  covers Judaism.  The instructor not only covers the different forms but gives an extensive timeline and resources list for those who are researching Jewish ancestors.  In college I took a course titled “The 3 Abrahamic Religions” which covered Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.  Let’s say that was a long time ago and while I still have a basic understanding I was happy to put some pieces together in my head for genealogy research.

German: Record Repositories

By Michele Simmons Lewis, Student I am really moving along through the German courses. I just finished German: Record Repositories. This course was not as intense as my last one, German: Reading the Records, but still very informative. I thought I knew how to navigate the Family History Library (FHL) catalog pretty well but when it comes to the German microfilms it turns out I didn’t know as much as I thought. There are several categories of films I had not paid any attention to because I didn’t think they were of any value.  One of those is the Inventories. The Inventories microfilms tell you what records actually exist. If you can’t find something, is it because it hasn’t been microfilmed or is it because those records were destroyed in World War II?  Knowing the answer to that question will save you a lot of time. Module 1 and 2 of the course outlines everything you need to know about what the FHL has and doesn’t have. Why the emphasis on the FHL?  Because the FHL went to Germany and filmed countless church and civil records and their collection is second to none. Module  3 switches to the German Archives. When you say German Archives you aren’t talking about one entity. Germany has many archives. There are civil archives and there are church archives. There are archives at several different jurisdictional levels. There is a lot to know. You need to be familiar with how to navigate the various inventories…

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Meet our Student Blogger: Debbie Dale

Meet our newest student blogger, Debbie Dale! We sat down with Debbie and did a little Q & A to learn more about her. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I currently live in a small town called Hermiston in Eastern Oregon.  The town is very close to the desert but I’m happy to say I’ve made my difficult peace with the sagebrush.  I’m originally from Washington State, where I’d always been able to view tall green trees and water from the Puget Sound.   I moved to Hermiston to help care for my 98-year-old grandmother who lives with severe dementia.  It’s hard work but also rewarding.  I do have time to pursue genealogical interests, however, because I’m not the only caregiver. Tell us about your educational journey thus far. I’ve been a student at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies for several years, working towards two certificates in American Records and Irish Records. I have a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Washington and spent ten years in that field before moving to Hermiston.  What genealogy topics are you most interested in? Almost anything related to Ireland.  My current research is in County Waterford with a branch of my mother’s family, although the women in my direct maternal line came from the island of Inis Meain, in the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway Bay.   I would like to specialize in Irish immigration to the United States, but I’m interested in…

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Finishing Up US Religious Records Part 1

By Shannon Bennett, Student US Religious Records Part 1 was a bit mind-blowing for me.  Let me explain why, because it might not seem like it should have been.  Let’s start with the fact that my parents are not religious and my grandparents were not either.  In fact, only a couple of my great-grandparents even attended church regularly.  It’s just not a thing in my family.  While some people find that odd, it was a decision made a long time ago that I never really thought about. I know that basic tenants of major religions.  My parents felt it was important for me to experience and learn as much as I wanted or could. They didn’t want to force religion on me but thought something that important was my decision. It’s not like I have never gone to church, I have, but it was always as an intrigued outsider looking in.  When I was in elementary school my best friend was Jewish and the two of us would spend hours talking about Christianity vs Judaism much to the displeasure of her mom. Just because religion isn’t a part of my life doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a part of my ancestors’ lives.  Which is why I was excited to take this course.  The three courses I took in religious studies at University helped lay a lot of historical basis for me, but of course they didn’t prepare me for what I need to know as a genealogist. Records, documents, memoirs…

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