I've been fascinated by Genealogy for over 20 years after I initially traced my family roots to Ireland. Back then I knew very little; sometimes I think I still do. When I was about 13 I ventured into Boston City Hall. A very kind woman led me into a basement vault and let me look through all the original volumes going back to the 1850's. Within two hours I had traced my family all the way back to 1858 and in the "place of birth" column it said Ireland.
Ireland had always fascinated me. My best friend's parents growing up were from Ireland. I think I was 12 when I traveled to Ireland with them. After that trip I wanted to feel a part of something. Growing up surrounded by first generation Irish Americans (and looking as stereoptypically Irish as I did) many of the kids I knew could say they were from Mayo or Limerick or Cork. My family only thought our last name, Boylen, might be Irish but noone knew for sure. Was Boylen its own clan name? Was it a derivative of Boleyn, like Anne Boleyn? Or were we actually part of the Boylan clan?
Well to make a long story short 20 years later I finally have some answers. Through a lucky break in my paper trail and with the help of DNA testing I am able to say my family is from Ireland. They are famine Irish from the village of Dromin in County Louth. And before they left they spelled their last name Boylan.
I was looking for a way to put my family information out there, connect with others who are researching similar or related families, explore what DNA genealogy can tell us about our Irish ancestors pre-1800 etc etc. If you are interested I hope you will check back occasionally. Thanks for reading!
The Boylan Roots Blog is run by a very amateur genealogist interested in Irish genealogy, the Boylan clan, the history of the Boston Irish, genetic genealogy, and the ancestry of counties Louth and Cavan.
Blog Archive
About Me
- Boylen
- I'll admit it: I'm a hack when it comes to these topics - an amateur at best. I've been researching various branches of my family tree for about 20 years. About 70% of those branches lead me back to Ireland. My library of books is heavy towards Irish American and Famine Irish History. I have a recent and budding interest in what DNA testing can tell us about our Irish ancestors when our paper trail ends.
Useful Boylan Links
Useful Louth Links
1 comment:
Hey there Amateur Genaologist. Just so you folks in the blogosphere are all aware, this fellow is one of the most modest people that I know - he knows a lot more than he lets on about all of this, but as it seems in the world of genaology, every time one overturns a promise-filled stone, a multitude of questions spring forth from the sun-starved earth beneath. So here's to further discovery about the past, family and self...
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