Irish Family History Speakers Visiting New Zealand
The 12th Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) Congress, a premier event for Historians and
Family Historians, is held every three years. In 2009 it will be held in New Zealand for the first time in twelve years
and will take place at Kings College, Auckland from 16-20th January 2009. This event is being hosted by the New Zealand
Society of Genealogists (NZSG)
The theme of the Congress is Preserving the past for the future.
We are anticipating that 400 - 600 people will attend. We have arranged a programme that includes over thirty
international and local speakers. A wide selection of lectures and workshops are available to attendees and the
programme will be complemented by trade displays.
We wish to encourage people from all walks of life to take advantage of this unique opportunity to gain knowledge and
understanding of their heritage.
If you are able to promote this event through your business and contacts we would really appreciate it. Should you have any queries regarding this please check our website www.affhocongress2009.org
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The following speakers and their topics may be of interest to your audience:
John Grenham - is the author of numerous books, including Tracing your Irish Ancestors (3rd ed.
Dublin 2006),and Irish Ancestors (Gill & MacMillan, 2004), as well as the CD-ROM Grenham’s Irish
Surnames (Eneclann, 2003). In association with The Irish Times, he runs the “Irish Ancestors” website.
Whatever you’re having yourself: Irish census substitutes
The talk includes a brief summary of the better-known census substitutes, but focuses on more useful and lesser-known
records, including the Loan Funds, the Charleton Marriage Fund, agricultural surveys, official petitions and electoral
records. Since the range of records is by definition infinite, a complete account is mpossible; the aim of the talk is
to sketch the main areas in which these records are being uncovered, to how how they can be used, and to bring hope to
those who have run out of the standard Irish sources.
Naming of the Green – Irish Place Names and Surnames
Beginning with an overview of hereditary naming practices, the talk focuses on the distinctiveness of Irish patronymics,
“O” and “Mac”; the division and subdivision of tribal patronymics, with examples including the O’Neills, Hegartys,
O’Kanes and O’Donnells; genealogy in early Ireland and its relation to naming traditions; Norman influences and the
linguistic background; anglicisation: translation, transliteration and distortion. A section on place names then gives a
summary of Irish territorial divisions, their origins and genealogical relevance. The final section deals with the
connections between place names and surnames, focusing on the territoriality of Irish surnames, with specific examples
from Longford, Donegal and Kerry.
Chasing shadows: Irish genealogy online
For a variety of reasons, few large sets of Irish genealogical records are available online. However, there are many
highly-valuable local or partial record-sets, which can be difficult to track down. The workshop will start with an
outline of the main Irish records and where any online transcripts can be found, and will proceed to guided hands-on
research. Participants will receive complementary subscriptions to the ireland.com Irish Ancestors site."
Improving the Poor: Irish Loan Fund Records
Irish Loan Funds, in particular the Reproductive Loan Fund, can provide wonderful information on the rural poor in the
1830s and 1840s. The lecture describes the background to the records, their formats and locations, and outlines the best
ways of using them.
Sherry Irvine, is an internationally known author, lecturer, and teacher specialising in British Isles family history. She has
lectured in Australia and New Zealand, Canada, USA and in London. Her articles appear in several publications,
electronic and print, including Ancestors Magazine and Ancestry Weekly Journal.
Irish Church Records: Guaranteeing a Complete Search
The workshop demonstrates how to determine exactly what survives for five denominations. It begins with how to identify
the churches that ancestors may have attended and what sources, online and published, indicate the extent and location
of surviving records. There is advice about using resources of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and
those of heritage centres and archives in Ireland.
The purpose of the workshop is entirely practical and two-fold. First, dispel the myth about avoiding Irish research
because nothing survives and secondly show there are straight-forward steps to discovering the situation for your
research problems. There is an added benefit—once the importance of ensuring “complete” searches is understood it will
be beneficial to all research in Ireland.
Visiting Kin - Facts and Fun with Family Travellers
Many years before computers I found a collateral relation visiting in England in 1851. That took time and effort. Today
it is easy to check for travelling kin in census and passenger records, and use the facts to solve problems. This
lecture presents new ideas for searching online censuses and passenger lists that may get you out of genealogical
trouble
Dr Jennifer Harrison is an historian associated with The University of Queensland and since 1987 has been this State's researcher for the
Australian Dictionary of Biography for the Australian National University in Canberra. In addition she was the
Queensland researcher for the New Zealand Dictionary of Biography. In 2006 she delivered presentations at Ulster
universities and in the course of several previous visits, at academic conferences in Dublin, Maynooth, Cork, Limerick
and Galway.
More than maps Using Irish Ordnance Survey records
While researchers may use Ordnance Survey maps, many may not utilise other products which emanated from the years when
Ireland was mapped. The Memoirs series was augmented by the Name Books and the Letters. Several of these have been
reprinted and available in many libraries. These invaluable items will assist in acquiring the essential knowledge of
location required for undertaking Irish research.
Todd Knowles is a member of the British Reference staff of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City Utah. He is an Accredited
Genealogist, specializing in the British Isles and in Jewish genealogy.
A taste of National Archives in England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
This workshop will delve in to the records and resources that are available in the archives preserved by most national
archives. Just which records are always preserved, what are some of the special records that each country stores. The
access to these records and how this differs from country to country. What is available in the Family History Library in
Salt Lake City. And, especially, what is available on line for these countries.
A taste of Civil Registration in England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.
What is Civil Registration and when did it start and under what circumstances and what information was and is collected
in these countries. Are there special years when the information requested changed? What are the special differences
between the countries. What has been preserved and how do we access the information - both at home via the internet and
away when we are visiting our countries or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
Geraldene O’Reilly was born in Wellington, lived in Auckland for 15 years and currently resides at Cambridge in the Waikato. She has had a
long standing association with the NZSG and was instrumental in the formation of the Irish Interest Group (Waikato).
Geraldene has spoken on Irish research at NZSG Conferences and to various NZSG branches throughout N.Z and since 2004
has conducted classes on Irish research for the NZSG Education department.
Irish Emigration: Nominated & assisted immigrants to New Zealand
Ships Passengers Lists are the main source of information on Irish Immigrants arriving in New Zealand. However there are
other resources such as Nomination lists, Promissory Notes and Treasury Account Books that can reveal additional details
on Irish family links. British Parliamentary Papers and Government letters contain nomination lists, some of these
documents for the period prior to the Immigration Works Act of 1870.
ENDS