Publications
Irish Palatine Special Interest Group
To assist Irish Palatines in learning about their genealogy and connecting with other Irish Palatines
Ontario Genealogical Society
Ontario Genealogical Society - Irish Palatine Special Interest Group
28 April 2009
Greetings from the Irish Palatine Special Interest Group
First, I want to welcome you and thank you for supporting this group dedicated to the Irish Palatines. While some of you have been receiving emails as we developed the group, this is the first time I have had the actual membership list so as to include you all.
We are over 100 strong already!
Just as knowledge of our Irish Palatine ancestry has grown so rapidly in the past decade, so this group has seemingly sprung up over night. However, it was through the dedicated work of Denis Jones, Brian Dunk, Phyllis Chapman, Beth McMillan and Cindy Smith that it was possible. When you see them at the conference next month, be sure to thank them.
That brings us to the most important step in our development: Our First Conference. The OGS conference was held May 29 - 31 in Oakville, Ontario. On Friday, May 29, in the afternoon, the SIG-IP sponsored a workshop where participants learned about the history of our ancestors and how they arrived in Ontario.
We are still working on the best way to host this site, so please be patient as we might have to change the address in the future. Also, please make suggestions for design and content.
Most of us, as we were bringing the group together, were, of course, focused on gathering genealogical information. And even in the process of bringing the group together, I have met new relatives and learned new information about the migration of our ancestors. In fact, one of the most amazing aspects of the Irish Palatines to me is the degree to which we are all related.
For us to make this all worth your expense and effort, however, we need to hear from the membership about what they would like:
Now that you have joined, what do you want for your membership?
What were your expectations in joining and what are they now?
Some suggestions I received recently include:
- Descriptions on the Publications page of some of the books available to researchers (Eula Lapp's book, Patrick J. O'Connor's books, or any of those by Hank Jones) with links where people can go if they are interested in buying them. This is being done and will be available soon.
- A message board where people can post questions and others can post answers. We are working on this. See Members' Page.
- A "wall" page devoted to specific stumbling blocks;
- A link to the United Empire Loyalists of Canada website (since so many of our ancestors who went from Ireland to the US also ended up
coming north as loyalists). Done!
- Links to other Irish Palatine sites. This also is being done.
These will be implemented as quickly as possible, but I am sure that you have more. Please send them.
Whether using regular post or email, please send us your questions and suggestions. Your Executive is listed below. Contact Bob Fizzell with questions and suggestions.
Chair: Denis Jones
Secretary/Treasurer: Brian Dunk
Members:
Phyllis Chapman
Beth McMillan
Barb Madry
Bert Smith
Cindy Smith
Mary Wallace
Laurie Wheeler
Communications Chair: Bob Fizzell
or
SIG-IP
The Ontario Genealogical Society
40 Orchard View Blvd., Suite 102
Toronto, ON M4R 1B9 Canada
Irish Roots Magazine is an excellent resource for tracing your Irish ancestry and for learning about Ireland and its genealogical resources.
Click on the link above to visit their website.
