Irish Genealogical Society International Logo
Irish Genealogical Society International
Building with smokestacks
 
Fáilte!  (Welcome!)
 

Minnesota Genealogy Center hours may change

Check the Minnesota Genealogical Society website before your visit:   www.mngs.org.

Not a member yet?

 


Research with John Grenham’s Help

Screen image of the Irish Ancestors website's main page
It’s March and time to think about all things Irish.  IGSI recently contracted with John Grenham to offer free access to his website, IrishAncestors (JohnGrenham.com), on three of the computers in the Hoffman Research Library (HRL). This will complement FindMyPast access on every patron computer, which also provides resources for Irish researchers. It will be a significant enhancement for Irish researchers, and for our volunteers who assist patrons on Irish Saturdays (2nd Sat each month), but is only available in the library.
 
John Grenham has been a ‘name’ and fixture in Irish genealogy since the 1990s.  He is the author of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, now in its 5th revision, and the creator of the IrishAncestors website. You can learn more about the new HRL workstations for accessing the Grenham website to use it in your Library research at this link, which includes some learning resources.
 
In celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day, in tandem with this new development, IGSI making a past webinar available freely on the website to make best use of this resource. IGSI’s own Tom Rice and Mary Wickersham gave a detailed presentation on both the Grenham book and website. This 50-minute recording is a great introduction and preview of the resource.
 
You may choose to have your own subscription, which can be for a day ($5.99), a month ($9.99), or annual ($69.99): JohnGrenham.com/subscribe

MN Genealogical Society's Spring Connect

Spring Connect:  Learn - Question - DiscoverIGSI will be participating in the Minnesota Genealogical Society's Spring Connect  day.

April 22
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM CDT
Minnesota Genealogy Center
$10.00 fee includes access to the Hoffman Library that day

Join the Minnesota Genealogical Society for the second annual Spring Connect event - your opportunity to learn question, and discover new directions in family research.
The event will be held on-site at the Minnesota Genealogy Center. Registration is limited to 75 attendees.
  • 9:00- 9:30     Check-In and Continental Breakfast
  • 9:30-10:45    Photo of Mica AndersSpring Keynote Presentation :  Fully Opening Your F.A.N. : Exploring the Real Community of Your Ancestors - Mica L. Anders
  • 10:45-11:00    BREAK
  • 11:00-11:45    Library Overview with the MGS Library Manager, Jeanne Bielke-Rodenbiker
  • 11:45-12:00    BREAK
  • 12:15-1:00      Partners and Branches Information Fair: learn more about the Minnesota Genealogical Scoiety's affiliated organizations

 

April Podcast available for viewing

Cover image for "This month at the IGSI" - our monthy podcast
'This month at the IGSI' episode…  Dave interviews Lois Mackin and Tom Rice about IGSI's June 17, 2023 webinar Challenges in Irish Family Research: Brick Wall Panel Discussion. See the Activities section of the IGSI website to register and to complete your Brick Walls form to submit to the panel.
 
These stories and previous episodes can be found on the YouTube IGSI channel.
 
 
 
YouTube logo
Past podcasts:  March 2023  February 2023 January 2023  December 2022  November 2022  October 2022  September 2022  August 2022    July 2022
 
You can visit IGSI's YouTube channel at any time by clicking the YouTube link above right or at the lower right side of our main page (below the upcoming activities).


2023 Webinars Announced

March 25, 2023 - Using Google Earth Pro, Griffith's Valuation & Irish Townlands to Map the Land of Your Ancestors  presented by Joe HunterThe words "be inspired" in a graphic
10:30 AM - Noon CST (UTC-6)
$15 for IGSI members (with Discount Code sent in member email); $25 for non-members  
 
Researching the specific location of Irish Ancestors is challenging. The creative use of online databases, coupled with free software, affords researchers the opportunity to pinpoint townlands and the locations where distant ancestors actually lived and worked.
 
For researchers who plan on visiting Ireland, and even those who may not, the ability to see the actual location can provide important research insight, and even stories. Joe has been researching his family history for the last 24 years, having traced all (16) of his 2X great grandparents back to Ireland. Joe has utilized his research to obtain dual citizenship with Ireland, and participated in a research trip with New England Historic Genealogy Society (NHGS) to the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in 2012. 
 
Need the member discount code?  Log in and visit Member Discounts.

 
April 22, 2023 - Ancestors Who Called Canada and the U.S.A. Home presented by Annette Burke Lyttle
10:30 AM - Noon CST (UTC-6)
$15 for IGSI members (with Discount Code sent in member email); $25 for non-members  
 
Movement from the United States to Canada was unrestricted and unrecorded until April 1908. The U.S. only began recording the entry of Canadians along its northern border in 1894. Before that, many thousands of people, including our Celtic ances-tors, lived cross-border lives without visas, work permits, passports, or immigration records. Learn how to find these elusive ancestors.
 

Other webinars in 2023: (registration will open 90 days prior)
  • Coming soon
For more information and to register, check out the IGSI Activities page
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All you need to attend is an internet-connected device with audio capabilities (computer, iPad, smartphone, etc.)
 
Unable to attend the live presentation? If you register in advance, we will send you a link to the recording and handout the week following the program for on-demand viewing at your convenience.
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Need the member discount code?  Log in and visit Member Discounts.


Need help researching your Irish ancestors?

 IGSI is offering Irish family history research assistance. Just click on Research Services, fill out the IGSI Research Form,  click on 'Research Payment' to pay the assessment fee and get started! 


Member perk: access to webinar recordings

If you missed any of IGSI’s excellent educational webinars, there’s still time to view many of them!
Available to members only!
   
Recordings of about two dozen IGSI webinars – with their class handouts - are available through our website.  Log in, then click the Webinar recordings link, below Past Webinars
 
Several webinar recordings are currently available to members free of charge. For-fee viewings can be purchased (by members only) for $15 using the webinar’s “Buy Now” button.
 
Check out the list soon, as some of our earliest webinars will be removed from the list at the contractual time limit (usually two years).


Learn! Celebrates One Year

By Donna Jones and Eileen Kelly
 
Learning about Irish history and about the records of our ancestors can help us learn about the context of their lives.  The Irish Genealogical Society International is excited to roll out a new section in our website called “Learn.”  Learn provides a roadmap for learning about our Irish heritage and family history.graphic with "visit out new Learn pages"
 
Start with the video; it provides an overview of this new section.  Each of the four parts introduces methodology in a logical step-by-step approach so we can benefit wherever we are in our research. 
 
Start Here gets us started and organized; the Introduction to Genealogy article introduces the methodology of genealogy.
New Home provides key sources for the country where our ancestors settled after leaving Ireland.  We need to know this to research and identify the Irish place our ancestors originated.
Search in Ireland provides in-depth information and resources specific to Ireland or Scotland.
More Help provides specialized information to expand our knowledge, such as DNA, maps, newspapers, etc. 
 
The design and implementation of the Learn section has been a collaboration spearheaded by Donna Jones, with contributions from the technical and education committees, Kathleen Foley, Mike Flynn, Mary Wickersham, Dave Miller, Jane Kennedy, Lois Mackin, and Eileen Kelly.
 
We invite you to check out the new section on the website and learn more about the skills of family research!  Click here to connect to Learn.


Minnesota Genealogy Center
1385 Mendota Heights Rd, Suite 100
Mendota Heights, Minnesota 55120
 
Questions?  Contact us at questions@irishgenealogical.org

April 8
Irish Saturday
Stop by the library for Irish research help. Check  www.mngs.org on the day you plan to visit, to make sure the library is open.  Short-notice ...
April 22
Ancestors Who Called Canada
and the U.S.A. Home
10:30 AM - Noon CST (UTC-6) Instructor: Annette Burke Lyttle $15 for IGSI members (with Discount Code); $25 for non-members   Movement from the United ...
April 22
Minnesota Genealogical Society's Spring Connect day
IGSI will be participating in the Minnesota Genealogical Society's Spring Connect  day. April 22 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM CDT Minnesota Genealogy Center $10.00 fee ...
May 13
Irish Saturday
Stop by the library for Irish research help. Check  www.mngs.org on the day you plan to visit, to make sure the library is open.  ...
May 13
Finding Ancestors Under the Southern Cross
10:30 AM - Noon CST (UTC-6) Instructor: Susan O'Connor $15 for IGSI members (with Discount Code); $25 for non-members   In multiple waves of migrations, ...