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Saturday, March 14
Irish Saturday ("Irish Saturday")
10:00 am to 4:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
The second Saturday of most months is "Irish Saturday," when the library is staffed by IGSI members. These are good days to come in for Irish research. |
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Saturday, March 14
Annual IGSI Irish Tea (Social)
1:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
Saturday, March 14, is the date to celebrate your Irish heritage with other IGSI members at the Annual Irish Tea and Social at the Minnesota Genealogy Center. The time to gather is 1:00 PM in the Mississippi Room at the MGC.
Our guest speaker will be Rita Davern, a local filmmaker of The Burren Girl. Rita will talk about her Irish roots’ journey and her film project. Over the past 40 years, Rita Davern (originally Davoren) has traveled the Burren, birthplace of her grandmother’s people in County Clare, Ireland. She knows first hand that, for U.S. people with European heritage, reconnecting to our homeland and our cultural history adds huge richness to our lives. A community engagement artist in her work and in her life, Rita believes the greatest find of genealogy is the living relatives.
It wouldn’t be a tea without refreshments! And we’ll have something for all to sample. Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with an Irish sweet. Check out and bid on the silent auction items at the tea.
Anytime that a group of Irish genealogists gather is the base for a fun event. The Irish Tea on March 14 will be a great time and place to meet other IGSI members – greet and meet new or familiar friends. It’s also an opportunity to get the latest news on the Celtic Connections Conference – perhaps even buy a raffle ticket on the hooked rug.
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Wednesday, March 18
WEBINAR: Following the Irish Trail to Canada & Beyond (Classes)
7:00 pm to 8:15 pm
Following the Irish Trail to Canada & Beyond - A Webinar
Instructor: Tammy Priolo
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 7:00 - 8:15 PM (Central)
The Canadian Interest Group (CIG) of the Minnesota Genealogical Society and the Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI) are partnering to offer an exciting learning opportunity.
Being the 4th largest ethnic group in Canada according to census records, the Irish Canadians have been coming to Canada since the 1500s. Follow the migration trails the Irish took from Ireland to Canada and learn where they settled, becoming part of the fabric of a nation and what information is available on these hardy folk. A timeline of historical migration will be discussed along with available records that created a permanent stamp on their Irish existence in Canada.
You will learn:
- Historical migration to Canada and its provinces like Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario and the western provinces;
- 1820s Irish to Upper Canada (Ontario);
- Famine Migration (1846-1850);
- What information is available on these specific groups of Irish migrants to Canada including The McCabe List, early Irish in the Ottawa Valley, Peter Robinson Settlers from 1825 (Cork to Ottawa Valley), Grosse Ile, Quebec (1832-1837); and,
- Irish Canadians to the U.S.
Professional genealogist Tammy Priolo (BASc Honours, PLCGS) has 28 years’ experience in the genealogy world. She has run her own business, The Ancestor Investigator, since 2000 and has consulted, researched, written, and given workshops and lectures nationally and internationally since 1997. She published 1000 genealogical articles online, over 100 biographies and two books “The Ancestor Whisperer” and “The Ancestor Whisperer Attic Treasures”. Tammy volunteered for the LDS FHC for nine years, for OGS in many capacities, and is Past Chair of the Ontario Chapter of The Association for Professional Genealogists. She graduated with a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies with Distinction from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies in 2003, is a member of APG, OCAPG, GSG, OGS and a longstanding member of the Ancestry.ca Advisor Board. She has had her DNA tested and manages several other family members’ DNA tests. Tammy’s experience personally researching her own Canadian Irish ancestors (Fitzgeralds from Kilkenny, Brennans from Carlow, Scarfes, Higgins and Cains) will make this a learning opportunity you won’t want to miss!
This FREE webinar is available to all CIG and IGSI members. A recording of the webinar will be available for later viewing to IGSI and CIG members on their respective websites.
You can register HERE. Space is limited so register today!
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Saturday, April 25
How to Get Ready to Search Irish Records (Classes)
10:30 am to 12:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
How to Get Ready to Search Irish Records
Instructor: Kevin Cassidy
Saturday, April 25, 2020 - 10:30 AM - Noon
$15.00 IGSI members $20.00 non-members
My purpose in giving this talk is to help those interested in their Irish roots with the research process. Specifically, I want to encourage you to begin or continue your quest to find three crucial pieces of information: the name of your Irish immigrant ancestor, his/her parents' names and his/her Irish place of origin.
This presentation details what researchers must do before they can expect to have success in Irish records. It can not be stressed enough that researchers must turn every stone in their North American records set to discover three things: the names of their Irish immigrants, the names of the immigrants' parents and their place of origin in Ireland. It is extremely difficult if not impossible to have success in Irish records without these facts. The talk takes researchers from starting with what they know to interviewing relations and then researching records. Strategies and records sets are discussed at length to develop a full set of immigrant relatives to look for answers to parents' names and places of origin in Ireland. The program is an hour-long Keynote presentation with slides that depict examples of records that researchers will find necessary in their pursuit of their Irish roots. Questions are encouraged at the end of the presentation to further discussion and provide guidance for future research. Records to be discussed will include: Death certificate, Obituary, Cemetery, Probate, Funeral Home, Marriage(s), Censuses, Naturalization, Passenger lists, Passport applications, Religious Order Biographies, Newspaper clippings, Military Enlistment, Military Pension, Church records, County Histories and Bank records.
Kevin Cassidy is an avid researcher and lecturer on genealogy topics. He has searched his own family tree back to the 8 Irish townlands of origin for his great-grandparents since 1994. Kevin has also had several pieces published in newsletters and genealogy magazines including Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy and Your Genealogy Today. His talks are research and strategy centered. Each family tree is unique to itself and he encourages researchers with a plethora of examples and research approaches that will advance their own research goals. He has spoken across the United States and in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Canada through July 2020. He has history and law degrees and a diploma in family history.
This class is intended for the general and intermediate level researcher.
To insure space, pre-registration is requested. However, walk-ins are welcome. You can register in the IGSI Store on this website.
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Saturday, May 9
Planning a Research Trip to Ireland (Classes)
10:30 am to 1:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
Planning a Research Trip to Ireland
Saturday, May 9, 2020 - 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
NOTE: This class extends beyond the usual 10:30am - Noon so members can enjoy a panel presentation over their own brown bag lunch after Ann's formal presentation. You won't want to leave early!
Instructor: Ann Eccles
$15.00 IGSI members/$20.00 non-members
The ultimate dream can come true! Perhaps you have a trip already planned. If so, great! Let Ann help you learn about the major genealogy research repositories in Ireland and what you might expect to find in them. You will come away with hints and trips for research when in Ireland.
If you do not yet have your trip planned, Ann's session will be followed by a brown bag lunch plus a panel of people like you who have done research in Ireland and a travel expert to help answer your basic questions like "When is the best time to go to Ireland?" and "How can I get around once I am there?"
Ann Eccles is the current president of IGSI, editor of The Septs, and a research volunteer on Irish Saturdays. A retired librarian, she has used her experience in researching to trace her many Irish family lines.
To insure space, pre-registration is requested. However, walk-ins are welcome. You can register in the IGSI Store on this website.
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Saturday, June 13
Irish Catholic Church Records (Classes)
10:30 am to 12:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
Irish Catholic Church Records
Saturday, June 13, 2020 - 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Instructor: Tom Rice, CG
$15.00 IGSI members/$20.00 non-members
For most family history researchers, parish registers provide the earliest direct source of family information. Unlike many other records, parish registers provide evidence of direct links between one generation and the next (via baptismal registers) and one family and another (via marriage registers). They are also, for the majority of Irish people who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries, the only record of their existence.
The National Library of Ireland (NLI) microfilmed registers from most Catholic parishes in Ireland and Northern Ireland during the 1950s and 1960s. Digital images from these microfilms are now freely available on their website.
Tom will be guilding us through this treasure trove of information. Don't miss this one if your Irish ancestors were Catholic!
Tom Rice, CG is a professional genealogy writer, lecturer and researcher. He is a past officer and director of IGSI and past director of the Minnesota Genealogical Society. He is managing editor of The Septs and is a genealogy desk volunteer at the Minnesota Historical Society Library.
To insure space, pre-registration is requested. However, walk-ins are welcome. You can register in the IGSI Store on this website.
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Saturday, July 18
The Connemaras: Despair in the Heartland (Classes)
10:30 am to 12:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
The Connemaras: Despair in the Heartland
Saturday, July 18, 2020 - 10:30 AM - Noon
Instructor: Jane Kennedy, M.A.
$15.00 IGSI members/$20.00 non-members
When 24 families left Connemara, near Galway, in 1880 to flee the ravages of famine, they knew little about their final destination in the upper Midwest. They arrived with gaunt faces and few items of clothing, hoping for a much-improved life. But controversy tormented them in Graceville, MN and their misery continued untl they settled in St. Paul. Theirs is an immigrant story that speaks of hardship, determination and hope. This fascinating story and Jane's experience finding the information is bound to help you with researching your Irish ancestors, no matter where in Ireland they hailed from.
Jane Kennedy, M.A., a proud Tike descendant, lives in St. Paul, MN. She obtained Irish citizenship in 2016 (dual citizenship) following two visits to her grandfather's homeland in the Belmullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo.
To insure space, pre-registration is requested. However, walk-ins are welcome. You can register in the IGSI Store on this website.
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Thursday, July 30
DNA Workshops - Celtic Connections Pre-Conference events (Classes)
The Westin Hotel, Wheeling, IL
Lois Mackin, IGSI member, will present:
Introduction to DNA & Solving Research Problems with DNA
Thursday, July 30
If you are new to working with DNA, attend one or both basic-level DNA workshops at the conference hotel on Thursday, July 30. These introductory sessions with Lois Mackin will help you get up-to-speed for the more advanced DNA classes offered by DNA specialists at the conference.
Note: The DNA workshops will have a limit on the number of participants, so please register early.
Registration open!
See www.celtic-connections.org for details and registration. |
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Friday, July 31 through Saturday, August 1
Celtic Connections Conference 2020 (Classes)
The Westin Hotel, Wheeling, IL
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Saturday, September 12
FamilySearch: In-Depth (Classes)
10:30 am to 12:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
FamilySearch: In-Depth
Saturday, September 12, 2020 - 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Instructor: Tom Rice, CG
$15.00 IGSI members/$20.00 non-members
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world - and it's over 4+ billion records are available to you for free! Now if you could only find 'your' people among those billions. But have no fear, Tom Rice will be here to help you navigate among the FamilyWearch website. You NEED to attend this clss whether you are a beginner or experienced researcher. You are sure to find tips and techniques to help full in the branches on your tree.
Tom Rice, CG is a professional genealogy writer, lecturer and researcher. He is a past officer and director of IGSI and past director of the Minnesota Genealogical Society. He is managing editor of The Septs and is a genealogy desk volunteer at the Minnesota Historical Society Library.
To insure space, pre-registration is requested. However, walk-ins are welcome. You can register in the IGSI Store on this website.
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Saturday, October 17
"Tracing Your Irish Ancestors": Come Along with Tom and Mary on a Journey with John Grenham (Classes)
10:30 am to 12:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
"Tracing Your Irish Ancestors" - Come Along with Tom and Mary on a Journey with John Grenham
Saturday, October 17, 2020 - 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Instructor: Tom Rice, CG and Mary Wickersham
$15.00 IGSI members/$20.00 non-members
John Grenham's "Tracing Your Irish Ancestors" is often called the 'bible' for anyone researching their Irish roots. Now in its 5th edition (published by Gill Books in April 2019), it is available through local bookstores and on Amazon.
Per Amazon, "The fifth edition of "Tracing Your Irish Ancestors" retains its familiar three-part structure, combining a detailed guide for beginners with thorough descriptions of all the useful sources and county-by-county reference lists. Additionally, all the changes that have been brought about by modern technology - internet records and DNA testing, which make research your family background easier than ever - are explained in this indispensable guide." If your schedule permits, you NEED to attend this class!
Mary Wickersham and Tom Rice will lead us through this amazing resource that "can be used by the absolute beginner, the keen amateur and even the more experienced genealogist" (The Irish Times).
Tom Rice, CG is a professional genealogy writer, lecturer and researcher. He is a past officer and director of IGSI and past director of the Minnesota Genealogical Society. He is managing editor of The Septs and is a genealogy desk volunteer at the Minnesota Historical Society Library.
Mary Wickersham is a longtime member of the Irish Genealogical Society International and the Minnesota Genealogical Society, and a part director for both societies. She has over 12 years' experience as a professional genealogist and lecturer. Her background is in software and websites.
To insure space, pre-registration is requested. However, walk-ins are welcome. You can register in the IGSI Store on this website.
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Saturday, November 14
Finding Your Overseas Irish Ancestors: A Case Study (Classes)
10:30 am to 12:00 pm Minnesota Genealogy Center 1385 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120
Finding Your Overseas Irish Ancestors: A Case Study
Saturday, November 14, 2020 - 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Instructor: Lois Abromitis Mackin, PhD
$15.00 IGSI members/$20.00 non-members
Most of our ancestors came here from overseas and often we don't know their place of origin. This talk, featuring a Wisconsin Irishman, shows how to find his/her Irish place of origin using the American records he/she and their family left behind.
Lois Abromitis Mackin, PhD is a professional genealogist focusing on American and English research. Lois writes for several publications, including The Septs, and teaches about genealogical records and methods, including DNA. In her spare time, she volunteers for several genealogical and lineage societies. She is a past president of the Northland chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists and a past officer and education chair of the Minnesota Genealogical Society.
To insure space, pre-registration is requested. However, walk-ins are welcome. You can register in the IGSI Store on this website.
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