Irish immigrants in New York City

The following are sources for Irish immigrants to New York City to help you find the following:

 * Place of origin in Ireland
 * Names of parents

Catholic Cemetery Tombstones/Records
Tombstones in the Catholic cemeteries can be gold mines for finding the place of origin in Ireland. This could include the Irish county or even the Irish parish or townland. In many instances they also include the names of other family members including parents. Burials in Manhattan stopped in the 1840s and all burials were moved to the other boroughs in New York City. For finding the burial of your Irish Catholic immigrant in New York City try searching for Catholic cemeteries in Brooklyn or Queens regardless of where they lived in New York City.


 * Calvary Catholic Cemetery (First Calvary) - The largest Catholic Cemetery in New York City.
 * Calvary Catholic Cemetery (First Calvary) on BillionGraves
 * Transcripts of
 * Our Lady Mount Carmel Catholic Cemetery
 * Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery (Brooklyn)
 * In old New York : the Irish dead in Trinity and St. Paul's churchyards

Emigrant Savings Bank Records
The Irish Emigrant Society set up the Emigrant Savings Bank to help the Irish who had immigrated to New York. There are incredible records associated with the the bank records. The Test books may name parents, town or parish where from, county in Ireland, name of parents, name and how many siblings, year of immigration, occupation, etc.
 * New York Emigrant Savings Bank Records, 1850-1883 Indexes and images on Ancestry.
 * New York Emigrant Savings Bank Records, 1841-1945, browsable images on FamilySearch.


 * Index books
 * Test Books
 * Signature Transfer Books

Almshouse Records
Almshouse records were established to help those in need and many Irish immigrants were in need and went to the almshouse for assistance. These records are great for giving the place of origin in Ireland and can even give additional information on the family.


 * New York, Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1830-1920
 * New York Almshouse Ledgers, 1758-1952 indexes
 * New York Almshouse Ledgers, 1758-1952 original images

New York City Birth Records

 * New York City births, 1846-1909

New York City Marriage records
New York City marriage records are helpful for finding the names of parents and place of origin for those Irish who immigrated to New York during the Famine period. *New York City Marriages, 1829-1938

New York City Death records
Many New York City death records will name the parents of Irish immigrants who came during the Famine period and died in New York City.
 * New York Death images, 1795-1949
 * New York Death indexes, 1852-1896
 * New York City Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948
 * New York City Body in Transit Records, 1859-1894 transcripts - Gives name, age, birth date, birth place, death date, and death place.
 * New York City Body in Transit Records, 1859-1894 images

Catholic Charity Societies
Lincoln Hall was established in 1862 under the name of the Society for the protection of destitute Roman Catholic Children of New York City. The records give detailed family information on many of the Irish families whose children went to Lincoln Hall.

Mission of Our Lady of the Rosary was established in 1883 for the protection of young Irish immigrant women who arrived in New York. While early records were destroyed in the Ellis Island fire, records do exist from 1897-1954. These records name the ship the immigrant came on, where they were from in Ireland including the name of the county and sometimes the townland, age, and to whom they were going and the address of residence.
 * Lincoln Hall Society for the Protection of Desitute Roman Cathoic Children of New York City 'Residents Identification Cards, 1880-1938.'


 * The Irish Mission at Watson House: Information
 * The Irish Mission at Watson House: Records

Catholic Church Records

 * New York City Roman Catholic Baptisms
 * New York City Roman Catholic Marriages
 * New York City Roman Catholic Church Congregational Records

New York Census Records

 * New York U.S. Federal Censuses
 * New York State Censuses
 * New York State Census 1855
 * New York State Census 1865
 * New York State Census 1875
 * New York State Census 1892
 * New York State Census 1905
 * New York State Census 1915
 * New York State Census 1925
 * 1890 Manhattan Police Census
 * After the 1890 U.S. Census was taken, authorities in Manhattan felt they were under-represented and that the 1890 Census did not count all of their population. Because of this, authorities had the police conduct another census. This was called the 1890 Police Census. While much of the 1890 U.S. Census was destroyed, this 1890 Police Census exists for Manhattan and gives the names of everyone in the household.
 * New York City Jury Censuses, 1816, 1819, 1821
 * The New York City Jury Censuses names the head of household, age and birth year, occupation, how many in the household, and street address.
 * The New York City Jury Censuses names the head of household, age and birth year, occupation, how many in the household, and street address.

Passenger lists

 * Irish Immigrant Arrival Records, 1846-1851
 * Irish Famine Immigrants, 1846-1851
 * Irish Emigration Database, 1846-1890
 * Castle Garden Passener Lists, 1820-1890 & Ellis Island Passenger Lists, 1892-1954
 * Ellis Island Oral Histories, 1892-1976 In the birth place type, 'Ireland.' Click voice recording play button to the left of the screen.
 * Ireland Emigration and Immigration

Naturalization

 * New York Naturalization indexes and images, 1791-1980 (NYC - 1907-1924) FamilySearch.org
 * New York Naturalization Index (Soundex), 1792-1906 FamilySearch.org
 * New York, U.S., Index to Petititions for Naturalizations field in New York City, 1792-1989 Ancestry.com
 * New York Naturalization indexes and images, 1794-1943 Ancestry.com
 * New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944 Ancestry.com
 * New York Naturalization indexes, 1907-1924 Ancestry.com
 * New York Denied Naturalization records (Gives Irish county where immigrant was from)

Newspapers
Irish immigrant info wanted ads placed in the Irish Truth Teller newspaper. This was a place for family and friends to inquire about what happened to those who immigrated to New York previously.

The Irish-American, 1849-1915 New York City
 * Info Wanted Ads, 1824-1844
 * Info Wanted Ads, 1850-1871

The Truth Teller, 1825-1855 New York City

New York City Directories

 * New York City Directories
 * New York City Directories at the NYPL

New York Probate Records

 * New York U.S. Wills and Probate, 1659-1999
 * New York Probate Recods, 1629-1971

New York Court Records

 * Governor's Register of Commitments to Prisons, 1842-1908
 * New York's Discharges of Convicts, 1882-1915

New York City Maps

 * Historical NYC Maps & Atlases
 * The Status and History of New York City's Streets
 * Old New York City street photos
 * New York City Neighborhoods

Archives and Libraries Digital Collections
New York Public Library Digital Collections

New York Municipal Library Digital Collections

National Archives of New york City Digital Collections

New York State Digital Collections

Center for Brooklyn Research Digital Collections

Researching your Irish ancestors in New York City

 * Buggy, Joseph. Finding Your Irish Ancestors in New York City. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2014.
 * Historical Insights The Irish in New York City
 * Researching Irish ancestors in New York State: What you need to know
 * Best historically Irish neighborhoods in New York City
 * The Irish Immigrant Community of the Far West Village
 * The Scotch-Irish and New York
 * The Irish in New York
 * Irish Tenement Life in New York City
 * Irish Encyclopedia of New York City
 * When the Irish Came to New York City An Immigrant Story