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Wrist tattoos???

Hi - I've been talking with older family members collecting stories and on one branch of the family where we are Irish/Scottish/Cherokee there's a story about how the Irish men in our family had wrist tattoos, back between the Great Famine and say, 1920. One elder in the family recalled her father talking about this, and she thought it was the Irish men. We were Irish Catholic, and I have a hard time imagining that the men would get wrist tattoos, particularly ones visible to the priests back at that time. I've never heard of this before, for the Irish, which makes me think this is related to the Cherokee side. Has anyone else ever heard of this? Back in the day, either in Ireland or in the US, might these have been tattoos given to men who were incarcerated at one point?

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Permalink Reply by Margaret Smith-Zoeller on August 1, 2010 at 5:58pm

Thanks, Tom! I do appreciate it! No, we didn't have any navy people. Historically, the men in our family were hod carriers and plasterers. Before that, one owned a saloon and was a mechanic. The elder I heard this from is in her 80's, the daughter of my grandfather's oldest brother. Her father was born 1892, and her father's father was my great grandfather, who was born in 1864. However, both men were born in America. The one who was born in Ireland was my great great grandfather, who would have been her father's grandfather. He was born around 1835 and appears to have come over during the Great Famine. What's interesting about it is that she didn't say it was one man, but that her father told her "the Irish men in the family always had wrist tattoos." So I am thinking that it might be something he remembered seeing as a small child? I do think he was in the military during WWI, but I don't remember what branch. I don't believe that he himself had a wrist tattoo, and I'm fairly certain his own father didn't, either. Seemed more like something he saw and took note of. Oh, and thanks for the information from earlier as well! I am going to keep digging on this, see if other family members of other branches remember hearing of this or any details, and I will be sure to let you know. Intriguing, isn't it?

Permalink Reply by Katie Heitert Wilkinson on August 2, 2010 at 1:35pm

I have four Irish great uncles in my lineage and had the good fortune to meet them all ....the youngest was born in 1909. None of them had the kind of tattoos you describe. What an interesting mystery.

Permalink Reply by Margaret Smith-Zoeller on August 11, 2010 at 9:12pm

Yes, it's kind of curious, isn't it? I'm thinking she got it wrong and it's the Cherokee side of our ancestry, not the Irish side, but I'll keep asking the other family members and will be sure to post here once the mystery is solved!

Permalink Reply by Margaret Smith-Zoeller on August 11, 2010 at 9:10pm

Thanks, Tom! I'll check those out. I'm calling other family members to see if others know anything about this story. Sorry it took such a long while to reply - have been healing from getting my own tattoo, neither celtic in design nor on my wrist! Will definitely post any new findings here. Have a wonderful day!

Wrist tattoos???

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