>Jane, > >I did attend BIFHS-USA's Queen Mary Seminar last July and saw a >lectute on just this topic by Kyle J. Betit. This was a very good >talk. Our lecture notes did include many sources for people to find >their family's nuns and priests. I think I have two and a half >pages of sources for this. Our seminar chairman stated that this >was the first time she could ever get anyone to speak on this topic, >and this was the 15th annual seminar. > >Some of the tips for finding: > >- find an obituary for this person, it most likely would mention >which religious order this person belonged to. > >- If the family was living in Ireland, find out where, then find out >which religious order took care of that area (parish or school etc.) > - If another family member was in a religious order, it is more >likely, (not a 100% thing) but more probably this person joined the >same order. > >- Check the Irish Catholic directories over the time period of >interest. This will list all the orders for priest and nuns. For >men the orders listed in 1836 included: --Dominican (OP) >--Franciscans (OFM) --Capuchins (OFM.Cap) --Augustinians (OSA) >--Carmelites (O. Carm) --Discalced Carmelites (OCD) --Society of >Jesus (Jesuits, SJ) --Trappists (Cistercians, O.Cist, or OCSO) >--Christian Brothers (CFC) --Patrician Brothers (FSP) > >---In 1801 there were only six orders for women in Ireland >(Benedictines, Carmalites, Dominicans, Poor Clares, Presentation >Sisters, and Ursulines) and at that time only elevent convents. By >1901 there were 35 orders and 368 convents in Ireland. > >The most two orders with the highest enrollment in the 19th century >were the Presentation Sisters (PBVM, started in 1775) and the >Sisters of Mercy (RSM, started in 1831) See "Nuns in Nineteenth- >Century Ireland by Ciatrona CLEAR, [Dublin: Gill and Macmillian, >1987]. > >Some addresses of organizations relevant to this kind of genealogy: > >-All Hallows College: Grace Park Road, Dublin 9, Ireland; Tel: (01) >373745 > >-Catholic Central Library: 74 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, Ireland; Tel >(01) 6761264 > >-Pontifical Irish College (Rome): Via dei SS Quattro 1, Roma 00184, >Italy; Tel: 6-70476122/70476779; Fax 6-70476150. > >-St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland; Tel: (01) >6285222; Fax: (01) 6289063 > >More addresses of interest can be found in Dwight A. Radford and >Kyle J. Betit's book "A Genealogists Guide to Discovering Your Irish >Ancestors", [Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 2001] > >Here are a few more sources: > >-Betit, Kyle J. "Irish Continental Colleges," The Irish At Home and >Abroad (volume 6, number 2, 2nd Quarter 1999) > >-Betit, Kyle J. "Priests, Nuns, and Brothers in Ireland," Irish >Archives (2002 issue), Reprinted from "The Irish at Home and Abroad" >(volume 5, number 2, 2nd Quarter 1998). > >-Betit, Kyle J. "Researching Catholic Nuns, Brothers and Priests in >the U.S. for Place of Origin," The Irish at Home and Abroad (volume >4, number 3, 3rd Quarter 1997). > >-Caroll, Sister Austin. Annals of the Sisters of Mercy. 4 vols. New >York: Catholic Publication Society, 1882. > >There are many more sources I have here from Kyle J. Betit's lecture >notes. I cannot emphasize enough that for lectures I have seen on >Irish Genealogy, Kyle was the best I had ever seen. Kyle works at >FHC in SLC, Utah. > >If someone wants a more specific reference, mention which order or I >will look for you. > >Jim > > >--- Jane Lyons <jlyons1@iol.ie> wrote: > >>Or, at least I don't think so.............they had taken new names, >>their surname will have stayed the same but they became someone >>else. My Auntie Nun went from being Mary Jane to Mother >>Columcille............she was still Gallivan but she was not buried >>as Mary Jane - and I imagine her death record will show her >>religious name as when she died. >> >>Mother Columcille Gallivan. >> >>I imagine Mother Malachy, Sister Patricia and all those other nuns >>will have gone also unrecognised to their graves. >> >>Sounds hard to say unrecognised - they were recognised by their >>living families - those who knew them - but back then, there were >>very few ancestor seekers.........and so, it comes to be that I >>never see or rarely see anyone looking for the nuns or priests of >>their families........particularly the nuns. > >> >>and what happened all those nuns graveyards and how they are named >>in their death certificates is something I'd like to know - maybe I >>should head off and try to find my Mother Columcille. >> >>Jane