I am passing this on from Mary Dunn who sent it to the list. She can be reached at: [email protected] Before the upcoming holiday whirl begins next week with its demands on time and attention, here's some genealogical news that you may want to note for next spring. The Ballykilcline Society will hold its annual Reunion in Albany, NY and Rutland, VT from June 25-27, 2006 with a line-up of great speakers. The Society will welcome local genealogists who are NOT members to all or part of the planned events, which will take place at the College of Saint Rose in Albany on Sunday, June 25, the Holiday Inn Turf in Albany and the Rutland Holiday Inn the following day, and the Rutland Holiday Inn on Tuesday, June 27. The speakers in Albany will include Ruth-Ann Harris of Boston College's Irish Studies program, who is a historian and lead editor of the well-known Missing Friends book series which presents immigrants' Boston Pilot ads for lost family members; John J. McEneney, New York State legislator and former Albany County historian; and Jeannie O'Keefe, webmaster and a founding member of the Troy Irish Genealogical Society. In Rutland, the main speaker will be Michael Austin of Castleton College, whose doctoral dissertation dealt with Rutland's Irish immigrant history. The Ballykilcline Society is a non-profit international organization which aims to trace the histories of the tenant farmers evicted from a townland near Strokestown in County Roscommon during 1847 and 1848 and to foster the local history of that part of Ireland, especially during the early and middle 1800s. The Ballykilcline rent strike, evictions, and forced emigration of several hundred people were the subjects of historian Robert Scally in his 1995 book, The End of Hidden Ireland. For 40 years, Ballykilcline was part of the Mahon estate in Strokestown where Ireland's Famine Museum is now located. Many immigrants "assisted" from the Mahon estate died at Grosse Ile in Quebec during the calamity there in the summer of 1847. The Society's web site, which lists the Ballykilcline evictees by name, is at www.ballykilcline.com; annual membership is $15 a year. Previous Reunions have been held in Ireland, Canada, and the U.S. The Society has learned that dozens of immigrants from Ballykilcline settled in or stayed for a time in Rutland, which had social, commercial, and economic contacts with Troy and Albany due to proximity, connecting rail lines, markets, and so forth. This event should be of interest to anyone whose ancestors came out of Famine Ireland. This notice is a heads-up. Further information will be posted after the holidays when the Reunion registration period begins. -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com

Hi Pat, I have recently added my name to NYRENSSE in hopes of finding info on my Patten relatives from R. County. (And I did!) Your info below tells me that I might find even more information about my grandfather Patten who married a Kerr whose father was born in Albany (marriage certificate) of Irish immigrant parents (1880 census). Was there a large Irish settlement in Albany at that time? I can't believe all the connections that can come from signing onto one email list! Incidently, my g grandfather Kerr married an O'Connor. Close to yours, but...how many spellings are there of that name! Thanks for the "heads up"! dpk > From: Pat Connors <[email protected]> > Reply-To: [email protected] > Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 12:49:39 -0800 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Rensselaer] Heads up for Irish genealogy and history next June > Resent-From: [email protected] > Resent-Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 13:49:44 -0700 > > am passing this on from Mary Dunn who sent it to the list. She can be > reached at: [email protected] > > Before the upcoming holiday whirl begins next week with its demands on time > and attention, here's some genealogical news that you may want to note for > next spring. > > > The Ballykilcline Society will hold its annual Reunion in Albany, NY and > Rutland, VT from June 25-27, 2006 with a line-up of great speakers. The > Society will welcome local genealogists who are NOT members to all or part of > the planned events, which will take place at the College of Saint Rose in > Albany on Sunday, June 25, the Holiday Inn Turf in Albany and the Rutland > Holiday Inn the following day, and the Rutland Holiday Inn on Tuesday, June > 27. > > The speakers in Albany will include Ruth-Ann Harris of Boston College's Irish > Studies program, who is a historian and lead editor of the well-known Missing > Friends book series which presents immigrants' Boston Pilot ads for lost > family members; John J. McEneney, New York State legislator and former Albany > County historian; and Jeannie O'Keefe, webmaster and a founding member of the > Troy Irish Genealogical Society. In Rutland, the main speaker will be Michael > Austin of Castleton College, whose doctoral dissertation dealt with Rutland's > Irish immigrant history. > > The Ballykilcline Society is a non-profit international organization which > aims to trace the histories of the tenant farmers evicted from a townland near > Strokestown in County Roscommon during 1847 and 1848 and to foster the local > history of that part of Ireland, especially during the early and middle 1800s. > The Ballykilcline rent strike, evictions, and forced emigration of several > hundred people were the subjects of historian Robert Scally in his 1995 book, > The End of Hidden Ireland. For 40 years, Ballykilcline was part of the Mahon > estate in Strokestown where Ireland's Famine Museum is now located. Many > immigrants "assisted" from the Mahon estate died at Grosse Ile in Quebec > during the calamity there in the summer of 1847. > > The Society's web site, which lists the Ballykilcline evictees by name, is at > www.ballykilcline.com; annual membership is $15 a year. Previous Reunions > have been held in Ireland, Canada, and the U.S. The Society has learned that > dozens of immigrants from Ballykilcline settled in or stayed for a time in > Rutland, which had social, commercial, and economic contacts with Troy and > Albany due to proximity, connecting rail lines, markets, and so forth. > > This event should be of interest to anyone whose ancestors came out of Famine > Ireland. This notice is a heads-up. Further information will be posted after > the holidays when the Reunion registration period begins. > > > -- > Pat Connors, Sacramento CA > http://www.connorsgenealogy.com > > > > ==== NYRENSSE Mailing List ==== > The NYRENSSE Mailing List Website > http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/NYRensse/ > A place to unsub, change your subscription, access the archives and links.