The Irish Workhouse and Finding Your Poor Irish Ancestors

with NATHALIE BODLE

The Poor Law Act of 1838 established workhouses in Ireland to provide relief to the destitute. The workhouse was designed to be harsh; inmates were separated from family members, forced to do hard labor, and fed scant rations. During the Famine, overcrowding, starvation, and disease led to a massive increase in deaths. Speaker Nathalie Bodle, joining us from Ireland, will discuss records produced by the workhouses, including those for inmates and for staff. She will also cover the 19th – century Poverty Relief Loans, which name both the lender and the guarantor.

Professional genealogist Nathalie Bodle is the author of Tracing Your Family History Using Irish Newspapers and Other Printed Material. Her company, Roots Revealed, is based in Ballymena, Co. Antrim.