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The story of Irish immigration is part of the fabric of Greater Boston, and the historic Foresters Mortuary Records offer amazing views into the life of our local immigrant communities.
The National Archives at Boston, located in Waltham, is offering a presentation and workshop on Thursday, Jan. 17 about tracing Irish immigration history.
In 1879, a group of Irish immigrants founded the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters to provide life insurance benefits for its members. The Foresters maintained meticulous records documenting the policy holder’s membership, death, and benefits. Preserved at UMass Boston, these records reveal of wealth of information about family structure, places of birth, health, mortality, mobility and occupations of predominantly Irish immigrants and their descendants who settled in Massachusetts.
On Jan. 17, at 6 p.m., Virginia Wright of the Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA) will share her experiences with the project and strategies for researching these amazing records. The program is free, but registration is requested. To register for the workshop “They Came from Ireland,” call toll free 866-406-2379, local 781-663-0144, or email boston.archives@nara.gov.
After the lecture, the public is invited to utilize the resources of the National Archives, which holds many records related to immigration history.
The local branch of the National Archives is located at 380 Trapelo Road, Waltham. For more about the agency, visit archives.gov/northeast/boston.