This sort of information, including the first installment on the Ancient Order of Hibernians, is invaluable - especially to those of us looking (so far unsuccessfully) for elusive Irish ancestors in New York. Many blessings on you for undertaking this project. Sarah > > Subject: [IRISH-NYC] Irish-American Organizations > Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 01:57:09 EDT > From: GaelEire@aol.com > To: IRISH-NEW-YORK-CITY-L@rootsweb.com > > Many Irish-American organizations came about in the United States due to the > large influx of Irish immigrants. Some organizations started to help > immigrants with the transition to a new country, others to preserve the > cultural tradition they left behind, while others to continue the fights of > the Old Sod. Membership criteria differed: some required you be of > particular faith, some required that you hold a certain political view, some > required that you be from a specific county in Ireland. > > Whether we now approve of the purposes and workings of these organizations or > not, we can't deny the role they played in the lives of our immigrant > ancestors. Many of our ancestors belonged to one or more of these groups. > > We are going to start examining these organizations to help us better > understand our ancestors and the times in which they lived. Some possess > records that may be helpful in our searches. > > NOTE: Discussion of these organizations does *not* imply endorsement by, or > political or religious views held by, Rootsweb or the list administrators. > > Take care, > Jim & Tracy > IRISH-NEW-YORK-CITY list admins > > ______________________________