Category: Irish Heritage

Breaking down the brick walls – Where did we come from?

McCrystal Homeplace-circa 1970s
McCrystals’ homeplace – Irish Ridge, circa 1970s

A misconception, call it misinformation:

When you absolutely know  your ancestor came from a specific area and time of history, why would you (or in this case, “ME”) look anywhere else even when confronted with conflicting information?

Yep. I was completely wrong! Sadly, I was many miles from my hometown when many of the elders related to my family were talking to strangers researching their book about the Rock Fences of the Bluegrass area of Kentucky. Their reminiscing’s were documented as the absolute truth about where my ancestors came from in Ireland and the stories behind those journeys. Continue reading “Breaking down the brick walls – Where did we come from?”

2026 – a year to travel again?

For the past 7 or 8 months I have been back to digging into my ancestry.

Brick wall
Brick Wall Background
by goodvibrations/Stocksy

I had given this research up in the late 20-aughts because I felt I had fully explored everything available and had reached a dead-end. The proverbial “brick wall”. I was tired of the blood running in my eyes as I battered at the wall and got nowhere. I had been using Family Tree Maker and even that program had been sold so many times and not updated or maintained. All roads pointed to “give it up”. Continue reading “2026 – a year to travel again?”