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Irish Ancestors Helped Shape Alb. History
by Dave Rivord
March 2020 6 Irish Ancestors Helped Shape Albuquerque History Emerald Isle Culture Still Prominent Today
By Autumn Gray
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Not surprisingly, the vast majority of New Mexico residents trace their lineage to Mexico, Spain or indigenous peoples. Beyond that, the state’s ethnicities begin looking like the larger American melting pot: German heritage being the next largest (8.8 percent), followed by Irish (6.3 percent), according to the Statistical Atlas. Though the number of Emerald Isle
descendants be relatively wee tiny, some prominent Irish helped shape early Albuquerque, and the Irish culture remains a vibrant part of our community.
The Albuquerque-based IrishAmerican Society of New Mexico, a nonprofit that has existed since the 1980s and boasts about 300 members annually, promotes the heritage through regular programs and events.
“The Irish had a large part in the founding of Albuquerque,” said society president Ellen Dowling, an amateur historian who is often asked by local senior centers and other civic and social organizations to give presentations about the Irish in Albuquerque. “We have had some prominent people of Irish descent. The law firm Keleher & McLeod is Irish. Rodey Theatre in Popejoy Hall - Rodey was from Ireland. Several of our governors were of Irish descent.”
Major catalysts for Irish emigration to New Mexico, and Albuquerque in particular, were military service, railroad work, educational and religious opportunities, and health benefits provided by the state’s many sanitoriums, natural springs and dry climate. A few notables who found their way here include: • William McGuinness, who emigrated from Ireland in the 1850s, joined the U.S. Army and was sent to fight the Civil War in New Mexico. He helped build the San Felipe de Neri Church in Albuquerque’s Old Town, and published a local newspaper called The Republican Review. • Bernard Shandon Rodey, born in County Mayo, Ireland, moved to Albuquerque in 1881 and became an employee of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company before leaving to practice law. He introduced legislation to create the University of New Mexico, which earned him the title of “Father of the University.” Rodey eventually founded the law firm of Rodey and Rodey, known today as The Rodey Law Firm.
• John Joseph Dempsey, of Irish descent, served as U.S. Representative from New Mexico and as the state’s 13th governor. • James Allen Menaul, who was born in Ireland, established a boarding school for Spanishspeaking boys primarily from northern New Mexico. The Menaul School for Spanish American Boys (originally an Indian school) was renamed in his honor, as was
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Jim Crowley, who hails from the town of is Mallow in County Cork, Ireland, is among the society’s more recent members. He and his wife, Michelle Tan, moved about three years ago to Albuquerque from Bangkok, where he had worked in technology and she was a university professor. They wanted to be closer to her family in El Paso and in a place where they could take advantage of the outdoors. Crowley, who is also a record producer and musician, said he discovered the Irish-American Society through the weekly Celtic music sessions at Hopps Tap Room in Los Ranchos.
He says many members of the society are interested not only in the broader culture but also in learning more about their Irish own heritage. “It’s usually something people get interested in as they get a bit older – where are my roots from? And it becomes kind of a quest, I guess.” Crowley considers himself fortunate in that his father was somewhat of a local historian. As a result, Crowley has a detailed family history as far back as possible.
Crowley knows his ancestry is mostly from West Cork. And because he’s from Ireland, many members of the society believe he may have insider knowledge about their backgrounds as well.
“It’s always a conversation that comes up,” he says. “They think I’m an expert on (genealogy). The Irish-American Society will hold its annual St. Patrick’s Day party March 15. Monthly meetings usually include a program about Irish music, culture, language, or history. To learn more about the Irish-American Society, programming, and membership, visit http://www. irishamericansociety-nm.com/. Ellen Dowling, president of the Irish-American Society of New Mexico, traces her immediate ancestors to Ireland. Left to right: Patrick McGovern, her grandfather, born in County Cavan; Catherine McCarthy, her grandmother, born in County Kerry; and her father and mother, John and Patricia McGovern Dowling. Credit: Ellen Dowling
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All Rights Reserved. † 24/7 Member Care is provided by Allianz Global Assistance, AAA’s preferred travel insurance provider. 24/7 Member Care is not travel insurance. †† If you make a booking with us for a land or cruise vacation o ered by one of our Preferred Travel Providers or a “Qualifying AAA Vacations®” and you fi nd a Valid Better Rate for the exact same itinerary within 24 hours of your booking, AAA or AAA Vacations®, as applicable, will match the lower rate and send you a $50 AAA or AAA Vacations® Future Travel Credit Certifi cate (limit one certifi cate per booking). For complete terms and conditions for the AAA Travel and AAA Vacations® Best Price Guarantee (Terms and Conditions), contact your local AAA branch or visit AAA.com/Bestprice. A Valid Better Rate is a lower rate o ered by a North American IATA/ARC registered business that satisfi es the requirements of the Terms and Conditions as determined by the Club in its sole discretion. *Must be booked by December 31, 2020. 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Advertised rates do not include any applicable daily resort or facility fees payable directly to the hotel at check-out; such fee amounts will be advised at the time of booking. Rates, terms, conditions, availability, itinerary, taxes, fees, surcharges, deposit, payment, cancellation terms/conditions & policies subject to change without notice at any time. Cruise rates capacity controlled. Advance reservations through AAA Travel required to obtain Member Benefi ts & savings which may vary based on departure date. Rates may be subject to increase after full payment for increases in government-imposed taxes or fees & supplier-imposed fees. Blackout dates & other restrictions may apply. Not responsible for errors or omissions. Your local AAA club acts as an agent for cruise & tour providers listed. CST 1016202-80. To learn how we collect and use your information, visit the privacy link at AAA.com. ©2019 Auto Club Services, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
March 2020 8 Genealogy Offers Insight Into Self-Identity – At A Cost
By Autumn Gray
Who am I? It’s a question we tend to seek answers to the older we get. Fortunately, we no longer have to rely on yellowing newspaper clippings squirreled away in an attic or on stories passed down through the generations. Technological advances are providing us with the tools to construct a more comprehensive, colorful, and sometimes unexpected personal origin story through genealogy.
The accessibility of historical records and a multitude of online DNA testing sites can help a person determine their heritage dating back to the1600s, and sometimes as long ago as the 1400s. According to market research firms, the genealogy products and services market was valued at over $3 billion in 2019 and is projected to be worth more than $12 billion from 2019 to 2029. It has been widely reported that genealogy is the second most popular hobby in America, behind gardening. “Increasing curiosity regarding culture and heritage alongside a lack of formal records is fueling the growth of the market,” said Medium reporter Shubham Bh in an August 2019 article.
But at what cost to you? That depends. Every person’s motivation for seeking their heritage is different – from basic curiosity about their family tree to a deep need to find their biological parents. What you decide a search is worth will largely be based on how important the answers are to you. Generally, there are three ways you’ll potentially pay for discovering your ancestral identity, and you should be prepared for all: financial costs, loss of privacy, and emotional/mental distress.
Financial costs A journey into your past could cost nothing or a few thousand dollars, based on a multitude of factors. These include how much information you want, where you seek it, and whether your ancestors were of the status and wealth to have had well-documented records. While some federal citizenship and immigration documents can still be obtained at no charge, that is changing. A new fee proposal by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services could raise costs of obtaining some citizenship/visa records by 380 percent, or up to $600, for a single document.
A good amount of genealogical research can be done for free. Albuquerque’s Main Library downtown at Copper and 5th Street houses the Albuquerque Genealogy Center on its second floor. It provides anyone with a library card free access to many popular ancestry websites that usually require a subscription, as well as one-on-one research help from volunteers, several of whom are certified in research specialties. The library estimates that more than 3,000 people, mostly retired, use the center monthly.
“There’s a lot of people who have done research at home, but they come down for help with us.
“We’re good at finding things, working with multiple (web)sites. … Any type of research you’ve got. It doesn’t matter if its Yugoslavia or Irish or Italian,” said volunteer Bob Harper, treasurer of the Genealogy Center, who has been an amateur genealogist for 25 years.
“We also have microfiche, which is not on the (ancestry) sites” and that is especially useful for New Mexico-specific research. People of Latinx backgrounds, as well as blacks and Asians, have had more difficulty obtaining specific ethnicity information since ancestry companies initially used Europeancentric DNA samples based upon demand. That is changing but still lags.
The Center also has three people who are professionals in DNA research. “You may take a DNA test but don’t understand what you’re looking at. They can help explain it and help you find your second cousin twice removed.”
A DNA test costs between
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$100 and $150, depending on the depth of the genomic sequence you wish to obtain. Phil Spivey a local genetic genealogist who recently presented at the Genealogical Center about how DNA Testing Can Open New Doors in Your Brick Walls, says it is worth the small investment to incorporate DNA research into your investigation because it enables a degree of accuracy you won’t otherwise achieve.
“People work their way back in their tree and hit what’s called a brick wall,” Spivey said. “For example, they’ll find three John Smiths of the same age, in the same place, at the same time, but you don’t know which is yours. DNA allows us to … find out which matches us. For some genealogists, … DNA has proved they picked the wrong John Smith,” rendering their tree inaccurate.
Spivey hit his brick wall right out of the gate. Adopted, with an adopted sister, and not knowing his father’s name, he turned immediately to DNA testing. “A lot of people will buy several different DNA tests, which is what I did, and so that’s like $500,” he said. However, most folks may find all they need with a simple $100 test that typically reveals relationships dating back about four generations by matching your DNA with others who have submitted their DNA for testing. More detailed tests involve tracking through maternal and paternal lines going back a thousand years or more.
It took Spivey two years to learn who his father was. “He had died by the time I found out,” he said.
Mental & Emotional Costs Just as “life is like a box of chocolates,” so is genealogy - you never know what you may get. So, it’s best to be prepared for anything once you start pulling those DNA strands.
“Genealogists will tell you we’re looking for the horse thief in the family,” Spivey said. “We want to find interesting things about our past. I didn’t find anything that shocked me. I didn’t find a serial killer in the batch.
“But we all react differently to different things. I found a marriage that my half siblings did not know about. Most took it in stride.”
In his work helping others with their family trees, Spivey said he has discovered some people who claim to be widowed but were not. There have been many cases nationwide where people have discovered their mom and dad weren’t really their biological parents, or that they had siblings no one ever mentioned, or that their grandfather begat children with other women.
“History is history,” said Harper, whose personal search dug up a relative who was a slave owner and murderer. “You take the good with the bad and the bad with the good. Sometimes people find out things they don’t want to know. You might find out that your next-door neighbor visited your grandmother more than your grandfather did.”
Costs to Privacy It should go without saying that once you share your genome with a genetic testing company, you’ve lost some degree of control over what is arguably your most personal possession.
Yes, online companies ask permission to share your DNA with third parties. These are usually medical testing and research agencies. And yes, genetic testing companies promise digital security. But if you give permission for your DNA to be released, as the majority of people do (thinking that furthering medical research will be for the good of humanity), you have no way of knowing the privacy policies of those third parties. Further, there is always a risk that hackers could breach the technology of testing companies, or that in time, privacy policies may change.
Your DNA can also be accessed by law enforcement and the courts seeking to crack a criminal case. Remember that when you provide your genetic information, you are also releasing information about your relatives.
“The tools we use for figuring out our old ancestors are the same as those used to find the Golden State Killer,” Spivey said.
If you’d like to learn more about genealogical research, the Albuquerque Genealogy Center is offering a class on getting started March 21. Other upcoming classes include “Mining Census Records” on March 28; Internet Resources on April 14; and Genealogy Software to Assist with Research on April 18. The Center also schedules regular presentations from experts and hosts Genealogy Research Days on the third Saturday and last Tuesday of each month. For details and a full schedule of offerings, visit https:// abqgen.org/events.html, or call (505) 768-5131. A genealogy center brochure in PDF format can also be downloaded at https://abqlibrary. org/friendly.php?s=genealogy#s-lgbox-3040819.
Free parking is available for two hours at the parking garage on the southeast corner from the library. Be sure to get your ticket stamped at the library.
Top Reasons People Start Genealogy Research Identify and locate living relatives: Learning about family members from the distant past is fascinating, but genealogy research can also put you in touch with living relatives in different parts of the country or world, enlarging your family circle. Possibly a great excuse for an overseas vacation! Establish personal medical history: Knowing your family history can help you reduce the risk of certain disease or medical conditions that tend to run in families, such as asthma, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Strengthen family bonds: Conducting research with family members engenders meaningful conversation, is educational and sets relatives on a unified mission that everyone can get excited about. Tap into your identity and ethnic culture: DNA tests may reveal your bloodline is composed of various ethnicities. This could motivate you to learn more about the other countries, people and culture that have influenced all that makes you, you. Create a family tree: As ancestry is determined, it’s a good idea to keep the basics organized by documenting lineage on a family tree. Keep memories alive: Genealogy is about the discovery of stories that are personal and the ability to preserve that knowledge for future generations. Discover ancestral involvement in historical events: Many people discover relatives who fought in significant wars, were royalty, or who through their actions, helped shape a community. Fun and mystery: Who doesn’t enjoy a quest?
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