Episode 2.24 (Timothy Lynch): Traces of the Truth: Using Public Records to Track Down Forgotten Family History

In season two of the "Finding Home" podcast series, Irish American Archives Society Executive Director Margaret Lynch interviews an array of Clevelanders with specialized knowledge and stories about the history of the Irish in Cleveland. This episode features an interview with Timothy Lynch. Timothy Lynch, an Airbnb proprietor and home rehabber by day, talks about the research tools he uses in his family history research, particularly when tracking the immigrant servants and laborers who often fall between the cracks in public records. The Cleveland Public Library has scanned and digitized numerous records that are available for free (with a library card)--including city directories, historic insurance maps, the Plain Dealer (going back to 1845), and Blue Book" directories of Cleveland's social elite. Librarians and archivists at CPL, Cleveland State University, and the Police History Museum have helped identify relevant photos from extensive digitized photo collections.