Over the past four weeks, 30 participants took part in the 'Local Roots, American Routes' project as part of the Connecting Communities Good Relations programme.
The family history project took place throughout September and October and concluded with a guided trip to the Ulster American Folk Park.
Community groups were encouraged to participate together, these included Ballymoney U3A, Cloughmills Community Action Team, Dungiven Glenshane Community Development Ltd and Gornaghey Community Association.
Over the 12 hours of workshops, participants explored how to use key genealogical resources to locate individuals and families within historical records and examine the reasons why people left Ireland; they also discussed the experiences of emigrants during their journeys, what life was like and how they built new lives in America.
During the day trip to the Ulster American Folk Park, the tour guide showed the living conditions of people across the social classes, describing reasons for leaving Ireland and Northern Ireland throughout the years, as well as the thematic parallels of migration we see today as people move in and out of the island.
Jim Whitten of Cloughmills CAT, who participated in the programme said:
"The course was excellent and very well structured in pointing everyone in the right direction for researching their way through public records both in Ireland and the USA (and beyond). The visit to the Ulster -American Folk Park brought out some lived experiences that emigrants had to endure on their journey and the guided tour opened up new avenues for research on how they fared in their new homeland."
The final two programmes will take place early next year in Coleraine and Garvagh and community groups are welcome to apply to join Please inform your community group about your interest and encourage them to email Good.Relations@causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk to express interest.
This project receives financial support from The Executive Office as part of the District Council’s Good Relations Programme.
Participants in Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council's ‘Local Roots, American Routes’ family history project pictured during a guided visit to the Ulster American Folk Park, as part of the Connecting Communities Good Relations Programme.
Participants in Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council's ‘Local Roots, American Routes’ family history project pictured during a guided visit to the Ulster American Folk Park, as part of the Connecting Communities Good Relations Programme.
Participants in Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council's ‘Local Roots, American Routes’ family history project pictured during a guided visit to the Ulster American Folk Park, as part of the Connecting Communities Good Relations Programme.