An' the joy that's ivrywhere -
Shure, the whole blue vault of heaven is wan grand triumphal arch,
An' the earth below is gay
Wid its tender green th'-day,
Fur the whole world is Irish on the Seventeenth o' March!
~Thomas Augustin Daly
A few of you might already know that I am very much into genealogy and discovering my family's roots. For well over a decade I have searched, researched and followed paths that sometimes were good but often led to dead ends or misinformation.
May you have -
Walls for the wind
And a roof for the rain,
And drinks bedside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire
- Celtic Blessing
HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!
Searching for our ancestors is like trying to fit together a million piece puzzle and the pieces can be very tiny sometimes. The other thing is that it is never ending, there is always something new to discover. Betsy knows what I mean, you can see some of her ancestors by checking the sidebar on her blog.
As Saint Patrick's Day was approaching I got to thinking about some of my ancestors. There are several branches of the family that lead back to Ireland, Country Antrim to be exact. The most notable being my maternal grandfather's family. The McDowell's came to the New World in the 1700's (I have found one who was a Revolutionary War officer) from Ireland. I have gone a little farther back and can place them in Scotland as the MacDowell's. Going even farther back I have, as of now, tentatively tracked that side of our family back to Ucthred MacDowall, the Tenth Laird of Garthland,1546 - 1593. I'm still researching Ucthred, the history of that era is quite interesting.
As Saint Patrick's Day was approaching I got to thinking about some of my ancestors. There are several branches of the family that lead back to Ireland, Country Antrim to be exact. The most notable being my maternal grandfather's family. The McDowell's came to the New World in the 1700's (I have found one who was a Revolutionary War officer) from Ireland. I have gone a little farther back and can place them in Scotland as the MacDowell's. Going even farther back I have, as of now, tentatively tracked that side of our family back to Ucthred MacDowall, the Tenth Laird of Garthland,1546 - 1593. I'm still researching Ucthred, the history of that era is quite interesting.
And all of this brings me to today's Thursday Two Questions:
1) Have you researched your ancestors?
2) If you have what is the most interesting thing you have found? If not what would you like to find in your family tree?
May you have -
Walls for the wind
And a roof for the rain,
And drinks bedside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire
- Celtic Blessing
HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!
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21 comments:
J
What a wonderful post full of so much information and written like a true Irish Lass.
My best friend's husband recently finished research on his family. Now he is working on my friends.
She was so appalled to learn some of her relatives in the 1800's married cousins. She said that explains why her brother is so weird!! LOL There is a very good
genealogy library very close by us in Virginia. I'd be interested in do it but I don't even know where to begin. Maybe that is a good retirement project. HA
We inherited the Madam A dolls when our daughter moved out. After hearing some of the things my friend's children left behind
I don't think Madam A is that bad. HA
Hugs from one Southern Irish/English lass to another.
Madi and Mom
My Irish roots really like this post a lot. Happy St. Paddy's to you.
I haven't researched my ancestors, but my brother has, and I have enjoyed the fruits of his research. I've got some Irish somewhere in there, but mostly Scotch, Welsh, and Spanish. They got around, my ancestors!
i only know the history that is written in my bible. about 5 generations back. father Irish Mother Scot. never have researched and only know what was told to me by my parents and grandparents which is not much. I do know i love the lilting accent of Scot or Irish, it makes my heart sing. there is a show on BBC that the man is from Scotland, i watch it to hear him talk. if i were not afraid to float or fly i would go to Scotland before any other place.
Delightful video and such lovely smiling faces!
I have done a little genealogical research but a far, far flung cousin has done much more and traced the family back to the 11th century in France.
No have never researched mine. Don't speak Japanese and can't read it....
Judy, that's fascinating about your ancestors, and now it leaves me to wonder.
I've not search for my family roots yet, though the idea is beginning to form in my head.
Happy St. Patrick's Day, Judy!
1. My ancestors all came from Holland (The Netherlands) and have therefore been fairly easy to trace. My older brother has done most of the research, plus family members in Holland.
2. Interesting facts: My grandfather owned a Harley and the royal family purchased the ornate gate that once lead to his family's property.
A beautiful video!! I love the children and the cute altar boys! I adore Irish music, and have all the Riverdance series, lots of Clannad and other Irish groups.
1) yes, i have. i started it a few years ago and "discovered" an aunt who does the same. our ancestors came from Spain.
2) both my parents' last names are towns in Spain, and my mom's family has a crest.:p i also found that both my maternal great-grandfather and grandfather were beheaded. local bandits killed and beheaded my great-grandfather, while my grandfather was executed by the Japanese during WW II.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Ahhh, love th video...I haven't a lick of Irish in me but I love Celtic music, especially Celtic Woman...they are lovely and sing like angels.
My great aunt did ALL the research on my mom's side of the family and put it in a book for all of us so that is pretty cool!
Tanks !! Kisses
That is awesome Judy that you are researching on your ancestors. I would love to, but I think for me it would be like digging for a pin in the sea. I want to know beyond my grandparents, and how they lived. Also love to know about my dad's mom, I heard she was very determined (translates to woman power to me) even in those days-
I have always known of two sort of famous people in my tree. And they were both emphatically religious. Lord, how I yearn for a dissolute horse thief.
1. I have not researched my ancestors because I think for me as a migrant black woman, it would be much harder to do so.
however I've thought about what it would be like to do it and I'd love to know more about where we started in history's line.
Aloha! :)
I can't say that I have searched ma ancestors...It would be cool to do tho! *smile* If I could research I guess I would like for it to be something pretty spectacular...like, athletic, secret agent, LOL! Just something pretty awesome...but then ma family already is! Enjoy ya Friday, ma! *smile*
I grew up in a culture that values the family connection so at a young age we know our great grandparents, their sisters, cousins, and we grew up acknowledging a huge list of relations which crosses to other lands and cities because of migration. Needless to say, the internet made everybody connected all the time!
Interesting things unearth from my ancestors border from scandalous to the quirky, to the noble ones, to the artistic, and the loonies. I guess all these things add up to belonging, connection and memory.
I love Ireland. My cousin married an Irish and they visit us every other year!
What a beautiful video - I loved the music and the photos made me long to return to that beautiful country!
I, personally, have not researched my family tree, but others have. We have some interesting, ahem, characters, some I wouldn't want to admit I was related to!
Thanks for that beautiful video on the early morning :-)
1) I'm not a good researcher, so I'll have to wait for someone else to do the job in our family :-)
2) I'd love to find some long lost relatives..
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