Potato Genealogy

According to this article, the Irish potato famine originated in the Andes of South America.  You know, sometimes I become very frustrated in my own research, but can you imagine the difficulties i nvolved in potato genealogy?  There are no census entries, immigration records, birth/death records...I don't even think there are any surnames involved.  This "potato genealogy" is really using DNA to identify the strains of the fungus involved in the Irish potato famine.   It appears to me that most people only look at names and dates while doing genealogy research, but I find it much more interesting to look at world events and how that impacted on the choices my ancestors made.  A big part of Irish American genealogy is the potato famine - this event, and it is as much of a political event as well as a potato event, impacted the vast majority of Irish immigrants to the US, and if you want to understand your your ancestors decisions, you have to understand the potato famine

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[Miriam Robbins Midkiff]

There were also potato famines in other parts of Europe. In the late 1800s, a wave of Frisians—-an ethnic minority from the provinces of Friesland and Groningen—-emigrated to established Dutch settlements in North America after a potato famine wiped out the economy.

[Miriam Robbins Midkiff]

There was also potato famines in other parts of Europe. In the late 1800s, a wave of Frisians—an ethnic minority from the provinces of Friesland and Groningen—emigrated to established Dutch settlements in North America after a potato famine wiped out the economy.