A Salt Lake City native, Radford has been in the professional genealogy business for more than three decades. He’s co-authored several Irish family history resources, including the book A Genealogist’s Guide to Discovering Your Irish Ancestors and the magazine The Irish at Home and Abroad, which was devoted to Irish life and culture. He writes the genealogy blog The Journey Home Genealogy. He’s also traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada, giving talks and providing family historians with best practices for conducting research.
“Families face many roadblocks on the journey to discovering Irish heritage,” says Radford. “Irish family history is some of the most difficult to uncover. This is due in part to the poor record keeping in Ireland, illiteracy among many families and the complex turmoil found in Irish political and religious life.”
Throughout the workshop attendees learned about tools and helpful tips to help overcome those challenges. Radford presented a series of online resources dedicated specifically to understanding Irish family history.
Researching Your Irish Ancestors was held on Tues., Aug. 11, 2015, from 7–9 p.m. at the Ohio History Center at I-71 & 17th Avenue in Columbus. Cost is $20. If you are a member of either the Ohio History Connection or the Franklin County Genealogical and Historical Society, you receive a 25% discount on workshop pricing ($15.00 for members of either organization). Advance registration is recommended.
For more information or to register for any of our workshops, visit our Genealogy Workshops and Webinars page or call 614.297.2510.
Ohioans With Irish Ancestry
We have started compiling a list of well-known people in Ohio who have Irish or Scots-Irish ancestry. You can see the list with links to more information about the person below. Help us add to our list. Please send comments/suggested additions for our Ohio’s Irish Ancestry list to Lisa Long at [email protected].
Anthony Wayne (b. 1745/d. 1796): United States Army General & negotiator for the Treaty of Greeneville
John Johnston (b. 1775/d. 1861): Federal Indian Agent who lived in Miami County, Ohio
Wilson Shannon (b. 1802/d. 1877): 16th Ohio Governor
Thomas Kirker (b. 1760/d. 1837): 2nd Ohio Governor
Allen Trimble (b. 1783/d. 1870): 8th Ohio Governor
Jeremiah Morrow (b. 1771/d. 1852): 9th Ohio Governor
Joseph Vance (b. 1786/d. 1852): 13th Ohio Governor
William Medill (b. 1802/d. 1865): 22nd Ohio Governor
Thomas Lowry Young (b. 1832/d. 1888): 33rd Ohio Governor
Joseph Benson Foraker (b. 1846/d. 1917): 37th Ohio Governor & United States Senator
William McKinley, Jr. (b. 1843/d. 1901): 39th Ohio Governor & 25th President of the United States
Andrew Lowry Harris (b. 1835/d. 1915): 44th Ohio Governor
Alvin Victor Donahey (b. 1873/d. 1946): 50th Ohio Governor
John William Bricker (b. 1893/d. 1986): Ohio Governor
C. William O’Neill (b. 1916/d. 1978): 59th Ohio Governor
Ulysses Simpson Grant (b. 1822/d. 1885): United States Army General & 18th President of the United States
Benjamin Harrison (b. 1833/d. 1901): 23rd President of the United States
John Davison Rockefeller (b. 1839/d. 1937): Business & Philanthropy
Neil Alden Armstrong (b. 1930/d. 2012): Pilot & Astronaut
John Glenn, Jr. (b. 1921-): Pilot, Astronaut & United States Senator
Phillip Donahue (b. 1935-): Author & Television Host
Martin Sheen (b. 1940-): Actor
Francis Dunlavey (b. 1761/d. 1839): Ohio Politician
James Findlay (b. 1770/d. 1835): Military, Ohio Politician & United States House of Representatives
Edward James Delahanty (b. 1867/d. 1903): Baseball
