Voices of the Irish Immigrant: Information Wanted Ads inThe Truth Teller, New York City 1825-1844 was compiled by Diane Fitzpatrick Haberstroh, MLS, and Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG.
In the two decades preceding the Famine there was already a considerable Irish immigration to North America, and given the limited communications of the time it was easy to lose track of relatives and friends who had crossed the Atlantic. "Information wanted" ads in newspapers were a means of locating these lost individuals.
Haberstroh and DeGrazia transcribed and indexed all the ads in surviving 1825-1844 issues of The Truth Teller, New York City's first Catholic newspaper. The ads mention names of several thousand immigrants living all over North America and, best of all for the genealogist, they also mention nearly 1,000 places of origin in Ireland.
In addition to a personal name index the authors have created indexes to place names in the U.S., Ireland, and other countries, as well as to New York City streets (since relatives or fellow townsmen often settled in the same neighborhoods).
The Boston Pilot was running similar ads in this period, which have been published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Haberstroh and DeGrazia checked The Truth Teller's ads against those in the Pilot and found almost no duplication. The place index shows entries from all over the U.S. and Canada, but the largest number are in New York and Pennsylvania.
NYG&B members can browse the entire work online in our eLibrary.
Print copies are also available for purchase on our website.