Imagine having the ability to reconnect with family members who you thought had disappeared forever. Now, thanks to a new database, Irish immigrants and their families from all walks of life can.
St. Patrick's Day marked the Boston College Irish Studies Program's much anticipated release of "Information Wanted: A Database of Advertisements for Irish Immigrants Published in The Boston Pilot," the first online database of its kind that allows people of Irish descent to trace their lineage.
The release ceremony took place in the Burns Library where University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., presided over the database's official activation at 1 p.m.
The name of the database is aptly derived from a section in the Boston Pilot, a Catholic newspaper that featured advertisements placed by early Irish immigrants in search of others with whom they have lost contact after emigration.
The column that the database is based on was called "Missing Friends" and ran from October 1831 to October 1921. During those years, over 31,438 records were published and they were later compiled and transcribed into book form by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Ruth-Ann Harris, an Irish Studies professor, organized the initiative to digitize the listings and create a comprehensive database. She was the researcher and editor of an eight-volume set of books titled The Search for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in The Boston Pilot (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1989-1993).
The site provides a text record of each published advertisement, simple and advanced search options, a history of Irish Immigration and the Boston Pilot, and links to related print and online resources. It can be accessed by the public at http://infowanted.bc.edu.
The advertisements revealed many details about the missing persons, such as their birthplace, date of departure from Ireland, the assumed port of arrival, age, occupation, and information ranging from hair color to type of shoes.
This database will provide valuable information for people to help rebuild lost ties, to researchers and curious dilettantes alike and will also provide insight to immigration issues past and future, said Harris.
"I look forward to seeing it in ways that will generate better understanding of the Irish emigrant experience in North America," she added.
"As we look at the questions raised, they cause us to question who the immigrants are today, and how we can help them connect," said Leahy, in regards to how this resource can enrich the community.
"It will help us to not only think about the past but to think about the future as well," he said.
The database has been widely publicized through TV news stations, newspapers and wire services including Channel 5 News, The Boston Globe, and the Associated Press, as well as all Irish news and publications.
"I believe [the site] will have a very great impact on Irish communities," said Jack Dunn, University spokesman.
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