Upcoming Presentation: Irish in the Great Lakes
On Saturday, May 30 at 1:00 p.m. Central, I’ll be presenting Irish in the Great Lakes for the Wheaton Public Library, co-sponsored by the DuPage County Genealogical Society. This free webinar is open to all, and registration is now open here.
If you have Irish ancestors whose movements you want to understand better, who appear suddenly in Midwestern records—or who seem to move fluidly between the U.S. and Canada—this talk is designed with you in mind.
Program Description
This presentation explores how and why Irish communities took root across the Great Lakes region—from major cities like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Milwaukee to smaller lake-port towns and inland farming communities. We’ll examine the major waves of Irish immigration, the global and local forces that shaped them, the often-overlooked role of Canada in the immigration process, and what daily life looked like for Irish immigrants once they arrived.
Spanning Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ontario—and covering periods both before and after U.S. statehood—this talk helps genealogists place Irish ancestors within the broader historical, political, and geographic context that shaped their lives and records.
What You’ll Learn
Why the Great Lakes region became a major destination for Irish immigrants—and how this differed by city, port, and rural community
How major Irish immigration waves intersected with industrialization, agriculture, and transportation networks in the Midwest
The critical (and often overlooked) role of Canada, especially Quebec and Ontario, in Irish migration to the United States
How shifting political boundaries before and after U.S. statehood affect where Irish records are found today
What life looked like for Irish immigrants in both large cities and smaller Great Lakes communities
How understanding settlement patterns can help break through Irish research brick walls and guide more effective record searches
I hope you’ll join us!
