The Welsh of Harpers Ferry is a fully indexed and cross-referenced historical and genealogical resource documenting the forgotten laboring class of Harpers Ferry and Bakerton, WV.
The Welsh of Harpers Ferry is thoughtfully organized into three major sections, each working together. Like a "choose your own adventure" novel, you can tailor your own path based on your own research.
Stories
People
Evidence
Stories
The heart of our collection, our stories section details the results of our research.
We aren't into traditional genealogical reports which merely list names and dates (but, we do have those too, if you need them). We prefer to bring our ancestors to life through detailed accounts of their actual lives, writing about events as they most likely saw them.
This is real, raw history -- they history you can't learn out of a textbook. To accomplish this, we study our ancestors and their locations from all angles -- from social history, big and small events and happenings, politics, to more traditional records, and even the weather -- it's all here.
People
Our people section houses genealogical profiles, timelines, family files, and other information on the Welsh family of Harpers Ferry and other related lines.
Unrelated people who are important to our research are often profiled as well -- such as employers, family friends, persons of unknown relationship, and people who made significant contributions to the area in which our ancestors lived.
Our people profiles are designed to give you a quick overview and an easy access point for learning about a particular person.
- People
- Family Tree
- Surname Index
- Unrelated Individuals
- Exiles of Erin Database
coming soon
Evidence & Databases
Full of transcribed historical records, digitized documents and images, photographs, data lists, and other material of historical interest.
Our evidence and database section is home to all of the records, family files, interviews, newspaper clippings, heirlooms, and other pieces of information from which we draw our conclusions.
We use our own databases in our research, too! We strive to ensure that all of our database records are cross-referenced to related records throughout the website to help you discover more with less effort.
Whenever we transcribe or digitize records, we place them here -- regardless of whether or not they are of relation to our family or our research.
If your family is from the areas in which our ancestor's lived, this section may be worth a check, regardless of your relationship to the families discussed within these pages.
We are continually adding more resources, databases, and records for Eastern Jefferson County, West Virginia researchers.
- Evidence
- Business & Advertising Database
coming soon - Maps
- Advanced Search
MORE FOR RESEARCHERS
Discover Harpers Ferry and the Irish who built it.
William Flanagan & daughter, Rebecca Daniels
F A Q
Have questions? We're here to help.
If your question is not answered here, please feel free to reach out to us.
We are currently primarily researching the surnames "Welsh/Walsh" and "Flanagan", although other surnames of active research include Caton, Dunn, Gray, Murphy, Murray, and Slavin. Of course, we remain very interested in other connecting surnames as well.
For a listing of surnames discussed on the website, please check the surname index. To view a listing of surnames that we have evidence for, visit our evidence database and click on "surnames" beside "Filter By:".
The residents of the Eastern portion of Jefferson County, WV had strong ties with many areas along the canal route due to their close proximity to the river. For example, many locations in Washington County, MD are frequently referred to as well as Washington D.C.
In order to see an up-to-date listing of all discussed locations please visit our locations index.
We would love to discuss your research; feel free to reach out to us. If you post your research online, we would be happy to link to your website on our connect page.
Please do not rule our databases out! We catalog a wide variety of material so that we can gain a better understanding of the history and historical construct of the area. You may be surprised at what you find!
Website
Search Tips
Basic Searching
An easy-access search is always available by clicking the search icon in the navigation menu to the left. This search will not always pull up all expected material for your search term.
Advanced Searching
Advanced search allows you to more easily narrow in on what you are looking for. The form allows you to narrow your search by content type, names and surnames, and more.