Tracing Your Roots is the series that helps put branches on your family tree.
Each week Sally Magnusson follows the ancestral trail back in time to uncover colourful stories and hidden slices of social history. Resident genealogist Nick Barratt is on hand with tips and inspiration to help you explore your own family's lineage.
Programme details
10 September 2008
Irish ancestors
Potato famine and fire in Irish history. A blight on family records or just an excuse for not digging deeper on the Emerald Isle?
This week Irish genealogy expert Ian Maxwell joins Sally and Nick to dispel some myths about Irish family history research.
Stories in this week’s programme…
The Irish National Foresters Lynne Harling’s ancestor was one of more than a million people who left Ireland during the potato famine. It was a medallion belonging to her great grandfather inscribed with the initials INF that held the key to her Irish roots. With the help of the internet and Irish friends Lynne discovered her great grandfather was the Chief Ranger of a branch of the Irish National Foresters. Historian Tony Buckley tells Lynne all about this fraternal society.
Generations of glassmakers Today a statue of a glassmaker stands alone on the site of a once proud industry in Nailsea, Bristol. Listener Janet Beaven’s ancestors were glassmakers who migrated between Ireland and England to work at the thriving Nailsea Glassworks which was open between 1788 and 1873. Janet visits the site of the former glassworks and quizzes archaeologist Andrew Smith (pictured above with Janet beside the statue) on what working life was like for her forebears.
An Irish Catholic soldier in the British Army Listener Catherine Lambert’s Catholic grandfather signed up to the British army in Ireland during World War 1. Ian Maxwell explains that this was more common than we might imagine and Nick offers tips on researching military records.
Tracing Your Roots is the series that helps put branches on your family tree.
