It's Irish Roots Week on Roots Television. First in our lineup this week is Ancestors 202, Family Records:
Suzanne was lucky. Her great-grandfather left a tiny slip of paper upon which he'd written the townland from which her family originated in Ireland. It also included the name of his uncle, who just happened to be famous. That scrap of paper, given to Suzanne by her grandmother, was the catalyst which took her Irish genealogical line back to 1685!Suzanne began her journey of discovery by going to the Family History Library where attendants helped her find references to the famous uncle, "Honest John" Martin. He had been a member of Parliament and a Young Irelander. Researching the Young Irelanders, she learned that John was accused of treason and sentenced to exile in Tasmania.
On a return trip to Salt Lake City, Suzanne focused on researching the records of the church the family had attended. After some digging, she was thrilled to find a book by Rev. Cowan that included a genealogy for both of Honest John's parents! When she read the book, she discovered that most of the genealogical information came from the diaries of James Harshaw, an uncle of Honest John's. Suzanne was determined to read those diaries!
Check out our entire lineup of Irish programming, and stay tuned for more updates on Irish Roots Week!
Og from RootsTelevision.com