Hire me to give any of these lectures either virtually or in-person in the Greater Boston area

Lecture Fee

$200 per presentation.

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Irish lectures: US and North American focus

Using US Records to Find Irish Immigrant Origins 


Discovering an Irish ancestor’s place of origin in Ireland is a much sought-after goal. Successful research in Irish records first starts with thorough research in US records. Learn what sources to examine, identify overlooked records, and explore strategies to locate that elusive Irish location for your ancestor. See the lecture handout. 

Where Did They Come From? Irish Migration Routes


Passenger lists don’t always exist for early Irish immigrants to the U.S. and Canada. Surviving or existing lists may not provide enough details about passengers to reliably identify them. However, looking at broader migration routes out of Ireland and their destinations can provide historical context and shed light on immigrant origins. See the lecture handout. 

Irish Chain Migration to North America


Our Irish ancestors did not immigrate on a whim. They often followed in the footsteps of other family members or their neighbors and friends. Learn about the history of chain migration including well known routes from specific Irish locations to cities and regions in North America. Discover strategies for recognizing and exploring chain migration in your family. See the lecture handout. 

Irish lectures: Ireland focus

Researching in Irish Records

Finding genealogy records in Ireland can be confusing. There is no "one-stop" site for all your research needs and different websites offer different records . Follow along as we research an Irish couple and learn all we can about them. Besides well-known records, like census, civil, church, and land, infrequently used resources like placenames, local sources and mapping tools will be covered. See the lecture handout. 

Mapping Irish Locations Online

Discover online mapping tools to locate Poor Law Unions, Civil Parishes, Catholic Parishes and Townlands. Learn what Irish records were created in each jurisdiction and how to access them. See the lecture handout.


Irish lectures on more advanced topics

Identifying the Right Ancestor: Searching Irish Catholic Records

Searching Irish Catholic records seems like a simple task because of indexed databases provided on various websites. However, missing records, confusing parishes, name variations and the databases themselves may be skewing your search results without you knowing it. Learn how to make confident conclusions when working with these records. See the lecture handout. 

Going Beyond Griffith’s Valuation: Tracing Irish Families in Revision Land Books

Learn how these records may hold clues to death and immigration dates. Discover who later occupied the land and track families forward to modern times. See the lecture handout. 

Irish Estate Records: An Overlooked Source for Information

Irish researchers are often frustrated by the lack of records, especially for people who were poor and tenant farmers. But estate papers may be able to fill the gaps. Learn what kinds of estate records may be available, how to identify the landlord, how to find and use these records, and the genealogical information they can contain. See the lecture handout.


DNA lectures

Discovering Cousins Using DNA - Exploring Your Autosomal DNA Matches

This talk will show you how to explore your matches and use the tools available at the major DNA testing companies: AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage and 23andMe. It will focus on practical ways to discover how you are related to your Autosomal DNA Cousins. Case studies using matches at each testing company will illustrate methods you can use to connect with new cousins who can help you grow your family tree. This talk assumes you are considering testing or have tested at one of the DNA testing companies. See the lecture handout.

DNA Painter and Chromosome Mapping 

DNA Painter is a colorful, easy-to-use tool for understanding the chromosome segments you received from an ancestor. This free programs lets you map DNA segments and assign or "paint" them various colors on your different chromosomes. Learn how to create a chromosome map for your own research using DNA results from FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage or GEDmatch. Please note that AncestryDNA cannot be used in DNA Painter unless you have transferred your results to GEDmatch. See the lecture handout.


Social History lecture

Finding the Stories of Your Ancestors - Using Social History to bring your ancestor's history to life

This talk illustrates how to move beyond the traditional sources of just names and dates and use social history to learn what a typical day, or not so typical day, was like in your ancestor's life. What did your ancestors eat or wear, what was their daily life like, why did they do the things they did? Discover where to find a variety of resources that answer these questions and provide rich context to bring your ancestor's history to life. See the lecture handout.