How do I follow an Irish family after they arrived in the United States, Canada, Britain or Australia?
Work forwards in the new country before trying to jump back. Begin with what the family itself holds, a ship name, a port, a first address, then find the arrival list, which usually gives age, occupation and last place of residence. Build the household in that country's censuses and civil birth, marriage and death records, in date order. Naturalisation papers, where they exist, and death and burial records are the documents most likely to name an Irish county or townland, so save effort for them. FamilySearch organises records and research guidance by country and by state or province, which is the practical way to find what survives for the exact place the family settled.
Useful pages: The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · The 1926 Census guide · Coming home · Irish around the world · Plan your journey
Sources
- FamilySearch: record guidance for the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia, familysearch.org
More in Surnames and your Irish roots
- Where does the Irish Escapes surname information come from?
- What does the surname map actually show: where a name lives now or where it was rooted in 1890?
- How do I find my surname, its Irish form, meaning and heartland counties?
- My surname is not among the 795 mapped names. What should I do next?
- Does an Irish surname mean I can claim a family coat of arms?