Post Archive by Year

Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France baptized in Kenmare Co. Kerry …???!!! Helen Kelly, F.A.G.I. During the course of a search of Kenmare R.C. Parish registers on www.nli.ie, I was fascinated with an entry which was recorded in the baptismal register 30 June 1823 by Ed. O’ Callaghan. The entry, part of which is difficult to decipher, states: ‘Ego Ed O’Callaghan Bap. Napoleon Francis Charles Bonaparte, Emperor of France, King of Italy and Protector ? of the …………..of the………? At first glance, one could be forgiven for concluding that Napoleon Francis Charles Bonaparte was baptised in Kenmare R.C. Parish, 30th June … Read More

Vivian Johnson: Forever Young Gill Johnson, AGI affiliate As a child, I always enjoyed listening to family lore as told by my grandparents, especially my grandad Digby Johnson. I listened intently to all their stories and spent hours going through old photographs of faces that had long passed before my existence. However, one in particular always stood out to me, a picture of my great grandmother Vivian Johnson nee Bestall holding who we believe to be my grandad, or his younger brother Wilvy. I always loved this photograph as I was drawn to Vivian and she bears a striking resemblance … Read More

In collaboration with Dublin City Council’s Culture Club and under the title ‘Ask the Genealogist’, the National Archives of Ireland is hosting a talk to be given by Vincent Brogan, a member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland, on ‘ Researching your Family History in the North of Ireland’.    After the partition of Ireland in 1922, accessing sources in Northern Ireland (NI) gradually became different, and all aspects of undertaking research in NI will be discussed in this lecture. Vincent Brogan developed an interest in genealogy at an early age thanks to his grandmother who was a native of the Sperrin … Read More

We in AGI, as a group, were saddened by the news of the death of our much loved colleague Patricia Moorhead. Pat was one of our number since 2000.  She retired from professional genealogy in 2014 and the following year AGI introduced the new category of Emeritus Member, and Patricia was the first to receive the honour. Pat was particularly interested in the history of her native Kenilworth Square, Rathgar, and in the achievements of her granduncle Thomas Joseph Crean, VC, DSO.  She had a gift of serendipity, in life and in genealogy.  She was a great raconteur and regaled … Read More

Sir William Betham 1779-1853 Georgina Scally M.A.G.I. A recent commission to explore some gravestones at Carrickbrennan Graveyard in the south Dublin suburb of Monsktown provided a welcome excuse for an excursion. Entering the graveyard through a small gate in a ivy clad high stone wall on the east side of Carrickbrennan Road the atmosphere, familiar to those used to visiting old, disused, and overgrown graveyards, was immediate. ate. Carrickbrennan Graveyard is the final resting place of many individuals who provide a window into historical events of the 18th and 19th centuries in Ireland (amongst them Charles Haliday [1789-1866] historian and … Read More

AGI Member Paul Gorry is running an Irish GenPod series on the Senior Times Podcast platform starting today, Wednesday, 20th April 2022. It’s beginning just ahead of the Senior Times LIVE Show which runs from Friday to Sunday, 22th to 24th April at the RDS Halls in the Dublin suburb of Ballsbridge. Senior Times LIVE incorporates the genealogy and family history show, Back To Our Past, now running for more than a decade. There are four episodes in the GenPod sereies, all of which will be released on successive Wednesdays. The first guest is high profile genealogist Nicola Morris, the … Read More

The next lecture in the National Archives of Ireland evening lecture series, titled ‘Researching your Church of Ireland Ancestors’, will be given by Sandra Doble, MAGI. It will cover records of genealogical interest produced by parishes such as church registers and vestry minute books. Access to these records will be outlined and advice given on using online transcriptions of baptism, marriage and burial records. Sandra Doble is a former accountant but switched career to pursue her passion for family history. In 2012 she set up her own research company, Irish Family Footsteps. She became a member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland … Read More

HAND IN HAND WITH MARGARET AULSBERRY IN HER WIDOW’S WEEDS Tony Hennessy, M.A.G.I. Here’s a lovely old photo of my great grandmother Margaret Power nee Aulsberry at  her home at Whelansbridge in Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford. The child holding her hand is probably my mother Breda (nee O’Connor), as all her siblings had curly hair – so 1934 or thereabouts. Margaret was baptized on 17 June 1860 in the local catholic church of Ballyduff.  She was the daughter of Thomas Aulsberry and Mary Cuddihy, locally known as Cuddy, who were married during the Famine in 1847.  Aulsberry is a rare surname … Read More

FOR THEM AND POSTERITY Eilish Feeley M.A. The living come with grassy tread To read the gravestones on the hill; The graveyard draws the living still, But never anymore the dead. (From “In a Disused Graveyard” by Robert Frost) Graveyards hold a particular attraction for genealogists and nothing beats that sense of discovery when you uncover the inscription and carvings on an ancient memorial lost to the world for decades under a heavy mantle of moss and ivy. The best time to visit a graveyard is in early morning sunlight when the oblique rays of the sun shine on the … Read More

In collaboration with Dublin City Council’s Culture Club and under the title ‘Ask the Genealogist’, the National Archives of Ireland is hosting a talk to be given by leading Irish genealogist, John Grenham.  The last decade has seen an explosion in the online availability of Irish genealogical records, mostly free, meaning that most people with Irish ancestors can now easily and cheaply take their family back at least to the early nineteenth century. This talk by John Grenham, a founding member of Accredited Genealogists Ireland and author of the key-guide to Irish geneaslogy, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, will give details … Read More