Welcome

Welcome to my blog! I never thought I would ever have a need for a blog in my lifetime, but my passion for genealogy, and specifically research into my Cosgrove family line, has inspired me to start one.

There are several reasons why I am starting a blog about Cosgrove genealogy.  First, I want to share lessons learned I have collected over my short period of time with others in hopes of helping them overcome brick walls in their genealogy research.  I was shocked how difficult it has been to research my Cosgrove family line.  Since its an uncommon surname, though not entirely rare, I thought it would be much easier to research than other surnames.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.  Brick walls are inevitable and they appear much quicker than we would like.  And of course, it seems like most Irish immigrants listed “Ireland” as their place of origin while few actually listed a specific county or townland by name.  Thus, while you may be able to confirm your Irish ancestors were in fact from Ireland, where exactly they originated is another challenge that you have to overcome.  This blog will give you some ideas where to look.

Second, I have had success incorporating genetic genealogy into my traditional genealogy research methods.  I have personally tested with both AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and Family Tree DNA in recent years.  While I had immediate success breaking down brick walls in other family lines, my Cosgrove line was a bit more stubborn.  However, as I write this first blog entry, I have made recent and significant discoveries through DNA testing that may lead to finally solving where my Cosgrove line originated in Ireland!.   Based on my personal successes and challenges experienced with DNA testing,  I will help you, in layman’s terms, to design a DNA testing strategy and incorporate your test results into your genealogy research.

Third, and somewhat related to the first two reasons, I hope to promote my Cosgrove Surname Project on Family Tree DNA (FTDNA).  I volunteered to start the Cosgrove Surname Project on FTDNA in April 2016.   Family Tree DNA allows volunteers like myself to organize and manage DNA projects on its site…..for free.  People can join FTDNA either by purchasing a DNA test directly from the site or transferring a copy of an existing DNA test from another company (23andMe, AncestryDNA, etc) to the site.  Once you join FTDNA, there are no subscription fees and you can join as many DNA projects as you like.

I originally created the Cosgrove Surname Project to bring people who have taken a DNA test (Y-DNA and/or autosomal DNA test) together in one location to help connect genetic cousins together.   It was meant to serve as a forum to share information on our respective lines and use both traditional genealogy research findings and our DNA results to try to connect families together.  We are a young surname project and currently have 29 members as I write this first blog.  Hopefully, we can expand our membership over time.  I also created a complimentary Facebook group for the surname project as well.  I found that some people do not desire to take a commercial DNA test, but still want to participate in the surname project.  The Facebook group serves as a forum for people to do so.

I have expanded the original purpose of the surname project to include my goal of using our collective Y-DNA results to see if  I can connect males who carry the Cosgrove surname (or one of its surname variants) back to the various Cosgrove Clans that populated Ireland prior to the Norman invasion in 1172.   YDNA is passed through a male’s paternal line and its slow rate of mutations allows genetic genealogists to trace a male’s Y-DNA over hundreds and thousands of years in time.  My research into the Cosgrove surname and the various ancient genealogies suggests that at least 10 – 12 distinct genetic Cosgrove families existed in Ireland during  400-1200 AD (roughly 2-3 distinct Cosgrove clans in each of the four Irish Provinces of Munster, Leinster, Ulster, and Connacht).  I hope to refine my research findings into the various Cosgrove clans and use YDNA results to connect modern Cosgrove lines back to their ancient clan roots.

While my primary focus is on the Irish Cosgrove families, I am aware that there may be an English group of Cosgroves that are genetically distinct from the various Irish Cosgrove families.  Overtime, I hope to expand my research and knowledge to include the English Cosgroves as well.

I’m looking forward to the opportunity of helping each of my readers learn about their Cosgrove families and to expand their knowledge about the Cosgrove surname in general!