$ 125.00

Saturday, September 16 9:00 am - 4:15 pm
NEHGS Library and Archives, Boston, MA
Presented by Fiona Fitzsimons, Research Director of Eneclann
Includes breakfast and lunch

Join Fiona Fitzsimons, lead investigator with the Irish Family History Centre (Eneclann), for a full-day seminar on researching Irish ancestors. Take a deep dive into Irish Church records end explore the many faith communities that coexisted (Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Reformed Protestant, and Jewish); delve into newspapers, proclamations, and other printed sources with your expert guide; find your ancestors’ school and career records, and learn how they earned their daily bread; discover how to interpret the concealed evidence in Griffith’s Valuation, for a better understanding of how your ancestors lived. Take your Irish research to new heights, learning new tips on using well-known sources, and using lesser known resources and records.

About the speaker: Fiona Fitzsimons is research director of Eneclann, a company she founded in 1998 with her husband Brian Donovan. As graduate students passionate about their discipline, they set up a campus company within the School of History of their Alma Mater Trinity College Dublin. Fiona combines a rigorous academic training, with almost 25 years as a practitioner in Irish family history. She has led the Eneclann research team to investigate over 15,000 individual research commissions. Research credits include multiple episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? (2005 to the present), PBS’s Finding your Roots: Faces of America. Since 2002 Fiona has had a key role in Eneclann’s digitization of tens of millions of Irish records, (Griffith’s Valuation, and the Roman Catholic parish registers). She has seen first-hand how digitization has transformed Irish family history, so that most Irish families can now be traced back to 1830s. Her experience has given her a better understanding of how to incorporate a wider range of historical records into family history research. Fiona is a columnist in History Ireland and Irish Lives Remembered, and is a regular contributor to Irish national newspapers. She has contributed family history pieces (roots of President Barack Obama, Bram Stoker’s inspiration for Dracula) for Radio – RTE and BBC.

Agenda:

9:00 am Registration and check-in; refreshments
9:30 am Welcome & Introductions
9:45 am Irish Church Records: 1660s to 1900 (with a 15 minute comfort break)
12:00 pm Lunch (included)
1:00 pm Newspapers and Printed Sources: 1700 to 1930
2:00 pm Break
2:15 pm Griffith’s Valuation, and Other Valuation Office records: 1832-1900s
3:15 pm Records of Education, Occupation, and Employment: What People Did All Day
4:15 pm Conclude

Cancellations: We are unable to provide refunds for our education programs. If you are unable to attend, please let us know. We can provide a credit that can be used at a future NEHGS education event.

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