Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mopinko

(71,685 posts)
Sun Aug 7, 2022, 09:18 AM Aug 2022

i have a ?? about returnees.

i know sometime folks come back and find a title that is their's. but do they ever get title to family land?
i doubt there's anything i could id. the last ones over came in coffin ships. i believe my grandma was a maid, and my grandpa was a laborer, a 20 yr veteran, 10 yrs out and on a coffin ship w his wife and 3 small kids. i'd rly like to know how that works, but....

i'd think the irish govt would want this. esp if the lands arent being used atm.

does it happen?

10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
i have a ?? about returnees. (Original Post) mopinko Aug 2022 OP
I would think most immigrants would have sold their property to cover expenses of the trip to US. Thomas Hurt Aug 2022 #1
i'm figuring i may not have a claim, but mopinko Aug 2022 #2
That thought crossed my mind with GG Grandfather's house. Thomas Hurt Aug 2022 #3
a lot of irish records are a mess. mopinko Aug 2022 #4
That fire was actually 1922 during the Irish Civil war. greatauntoftriplets Aug 2022 #6
It's hghly unlikely that your ancestors owned land. greatauntoftriplets Aug 2022 #5
At a guess I wouldn't be optimistic. OnDoutside Aug 2022 #7
the last of them, for sure. mopinko Aug 2022 #8
Is it the Carlow section ? OnDoutside Aug 2022 #9
it's an expedia franchise mopinko Aug 2022 #10

Thomas Hurt

(13,925 posts)
1. I would think most immigrants would have sold their property to cover expenses of the trip to US.
Sun Aug 7, 2022, 10:04 AM
Aug 2022

That is if they had any in first place. I suppose you might find some records of where your ancestors lived or worked and if still existing you could take a look.

My great great grandfather is supposed to have built a house in Columbia MS. I haven't seen it, but a nice lady at the local history organization told it was still there. Even that was 25 years ago, so it could be gone now.

Also, unclaimed land in the US is often sold for back taxes. There may not be anyone on the property but that doesn't stop the gov't from taxing it.

Ireland may have something similar.

Thomas Hurt

(13,925 posts)
3. That thought crossed my mind with GG Grandfather's house.
Sun Aug 7, 2022, 10:35 AM
Aug 2022

I have no desire to live in MS so I never seriously considered it.

I imagine Ireland has title records and you could id the property and might be able to discover who owns the property currently.

It sounds like you have an adventure before you. I hope you can find some connections there.

mopinko

(71,685 posts)
4. a lot of irish records are a mess.
Sun Aug 7, 2022, 10:59 AM
Aug 2022

there was a big fire in 1860-ish, i think, that wiped out a lot. i think i read recently that they managed to recreate most of what was lost from copies in england and in local govt/church records. i think they're sketchy around the '20's and independence.

i already do have connections. found a couple of dna cousins, including an adoptee. we're thick as thieves on fb. she's in donegal. also found a 3-5th cousin in my the last town on my da's side of the family. kinnitty, about an hour outside dublin.
havent totally nailed it down, but i believe michael dwyer's brother is my 5g grandfather. so i think anything in the wicklow mountains would feel like home.

a lot of irish arent too fond of irish americans who think they're irish. but between having the passport, knowing my exact ties, my history, and knowing most of the drinking songs, i think i would get by. i can fake a lilt, if not a brogue. and i own an authentic shillelagh.

greatauntoftriplets

(176,769 posts)
5. It's hghly unlikely that your ancestors owned land.
Sun Aug 7, 2022, 11:12 AM
Aug 2022

Mine certainly didn't

You can thank Cromwell and the Penal Laws for that. https://hilo.hawaii.edu/campuscenter/hohonu/volumes/documents/FromOppressiontoNationalism-TheIrishPenalLawsof1695SamanthaHowell.pdf

Here's a list of the Penal Laws:

https://www.libraryireland.com/HistoryIreland/Penal-Laws.php

As late as 1870, 97 percent of the land in Ireland was leased to tenant farmers. It was a lease-at-will system where the tenants could be thrown out if they owed rent money. That's why you read about so many evictions during the famine years. My great-great grandmother was one of those. Her husband died in 1848. At some point, she and her six children had to move into a nearby town where she worked in a mill. I'm not sure of the exact timeline. When she emigrated in 1853, the landlord paid the passage on a coffin ship (the Robert Kelly out of Liverpool to New York). He then sent her to a mill that he owned in Portland, ME, to work off the cost of the passage for seven family members.

One of her daughters married a brewer from Chicago, which is why I don't live in Maine.

http://www.historyhome.co.uk/c-eight/ireland/ire-land.htm

mopinko

(71,685 posts)
8. the last of them, for sure.
Sun Aug 7, 2022, 12:35 PM
Aug 2022

i havent found all that much about any of them before they left.
back a few gen, tho, a cousin, from the last known town on one side, who told me mine was a pretty powerful.

dont rly care about the title part, would just like a connection.
my nephew books cruises, and he does heritage tours. finds the olde haunts for ya, and transports you around.

Latest Discussions»Alliance Forums»Irish Affairs»i have a ?? about returne...