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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Kerry => Topic started by: Amy M on Wednesday 26 April 06 07:11 BST (UK)

Title: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Amy M on Wednesday 26 April 06 07:11 BST (UK)
I am descended from at least 3 James Kearneys from Kilmurry in Castleisland.  I have the following information about my Kearneys (I apologize beforehand, as this is a bit lengthy.  I did try to highlight the key points):

James J. Kearney, son of James, was b. abt 1845 in Kilmurry.  He married Catherine Prendiville from Ballygree, daughter of John, b. abt. 1855 in Kileentierna.  The marriage was in Currens at the Currow RC Church.  I believe they had 5 sons, & at least 1 daughter.  I’m not sure how many children they had.

Eldest son James J. (my great-grandfather) was b. 1880 in Kilmurry.  He immigrated to New York in 1897.  There he married an acquaintance from Ireland, Mary J. O'Connor (b. 1880 in Shanaknock), and they promptly moved to Boston.  He also lived in Quincy, Massachusetts for awhile.

Daughter Mary never married.  She lived & worked in New York for awhile, then retired back to Ireland.

Son John, I was told, went to Australia, where he was a Postmaster General.  Now told that John was in the Irish Constabulary & died in Galway in 1921.  So, possibly there was another son that went to Australia.

There was another son who went to South Africa.  He was either in the army or police there, I can't remember which.

One of the sons was shot  (not killed) by the British over a dispute with the family's land in Ireland.  Brother James then shot dead the one who shot his brother.  I believe this would have been in early 1897.  James  then promptly left Ireland in fear for his life.

Last thing, I was also told the family owned a store (believe in Dublin).  [Correction, that apparently was the O’Connor side of the family.]   

Can anyone add to this information?  I'd be interested to know if anyone is researching this family.
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Amy M on Thursday 27 May 10 05:37 BST (UK)
Slight update:

I have baptisms for the following children for James Kearney & Catherine Prendeville in Castleisland (all were born in Kilmurry):


I believe John was the brother who was shot (not killed) by the British.  I had also been told there were 4 or 5 sons, so there are probably more children.

I have 2 different marriage dates for James & Catherine.  The civil record has 3 Jun 1876, & the church record has 30 May 1876.

Catherine was probably the daughter of John Prendeville & Mary Lyons that was baptized 3 Jun 1855 in Killeentierna.

Daughter Bridget (b. 1891) married Thomas (Mc)Sweeney in 5 Nov 1922 in New York City, where she lived in Manhattan & the Bronx.

A daughter Catherine (Kate) (b. 1886?) also lived in the US, but not sure where.

One daughter married a brother of my ancestor Mary O’Connor  (wife of James Kearney b. 1880).

There was also a son Patrick, who I believe was born in 1888.
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Kerry-jh on Sunday 22 May 11 00:39 BST (UK)
Hi Amy,

I sent  a short reply to your posting re Killeentierna before I saw this message, so I apologise for repeating myself here. My mother was Kearney from Kilmurry and I have been trying to research that branch of my family. My grandfather, also James Kearney, was a first cousin of your great-grandfather, James J.There seems to have been about 9 children in their fathers' family;  Catherine, b. 1824, in Kilquane. She married Charles Donoghue of Kilmurry.
-Bridget, b.1827, in Kilquane.
-Patrick, b.1829. He possibly married a Margaret Prendiville or Lyne of -Ballygree, Killeentierna.
-Daniel,b.1832/33 approx.(my great-grandfather). He married Margaret Kelliher of Clounagh and lived in Kilmurry.
-Thomas, b.1836, in Kilmurry.
-James, your great-great-grandfather, who married Catherine Prendiville and also lived in Kilmurry.
-Mary, who married Pat Brosnan of Ballybeg, Killeentierna.
-Richard, b.1838 in Kilmurry, and
-Margaret, b.1841 in Kilmurry.
Their parents were James Kearney and Mary Keefe who got married in Castleisland in 1823.She was from Kilquane, a townland beside Kilmurry ,and it seems that they started married life there before moving to Kilmurry.According to the Tithe Applotment records of 1827 approx., James Kearney shared land worth £53 with Dan Keefe, Tim? Keefe and Denis Cullinane in Kilquane.
So it seems we are long lost cousins! I never knew your branch emigrated and am delighted to make the connection.
Kind Regards ,
Joan
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Amy M on Monday 23 May 11 00:39 BST (UK)
I knew that Kearney family had to be related somehow.  I had been trying to sort out the other Kearneys from the Castleisland area.  I was suspecting that James Kearney & Mary Keefe were the parents of my ancestor James b. in 1845.  Now I have another Keefe in my tree (my grandfather Maurice Kearney married a Keefe in the US, her family was from Co. Cork though).

The Margaret Prendeville who married Patrick Kearney, I suspect, is actually the mother-in-law of my James b. in 1845 (Margaret nee Lyne/Lyons, widow of John Prendeville).  I know Patrick & Margaret had a son Richard who lived in New Hampshire in the US.

I'm realizing I need to update the info posted on my Kearneys, so I'll have to go work on that.

Also want to point out that I have my Kearney family in a tree online at (which apparently I also need to update now) http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=SHOW&db=amich&recno=3077
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Kerry-jh on Wednesday 17 August 11 02:11 BST (UK)
Hi Amy,

        You said that your James was aquainted with Mary J. O Connor Shanaknock, Ballymacelligott, before they left Ireland. I believe this was because  the  Kearney family moved to Ballinknock, O Brennan, Ballymacelligott after they left Kilmurry. The 1901 Census has Catherine as a widow living in Ballinknock with  Margaret, John, Patrick and Bridget.
         I also agree with your theory that  the Margaret who married Patrick Kearney was James' mother-in-law. When registering their children she sometimes uses the surname Prendeville and sometimes Lyne. Do you know anything about the New Hampshire branch of the family?

Joan
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: gracie23 on Wednesday 17 August 11 03:14 BST (UK)
Hi Amy, Joan,
Please forgive me for jumping into your thread but I'll try to keep this as simple as I can...
My ggggrandfather is Patrick Joseph Kearney b.1839 in Ireland (Kerry or outside of Dublin ::)
He names Denis Kearney and Mary Quinlan as his (deceased) parents on his marriage certificate (1868 in Montreal Canada). I have yet to connect these three in any other records I have searched.
The only Denis Kearney/Mary Quinlan I have come across anywhere I found in Keene, New Hampshire.
Denis & Mary have 6 more children: James, Thomas, Mary, Elizabeth, Margaret and Denis from 1853 or so on. I never knew of any relatives living in New Hampshire before this. My Patrick also moved to Boston from Montreal in 1880 to 1900, then he moved to New York City where he died in 1916. Just trying to see if we have any possible connections, especially in New Hampshire. My theory :o is that Denis/Mary had Patrick at a very young age and he was possibly raised by other relatives and did not have a relationship with his parents. Welcome to my Kearney brick wall. Desperate? you bet ;D
Thank you,
Deb
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Kerry-jh on Thursday 18 August 11 00:11 BST (UK)
Hi Deb,

I've had a look through my records but unfortunately I can't find anything on your branch. Sorry!

Joan
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: gracie23 on Thursday 18 August 11 01:16 BST (UK)
Thank you much Joan for the effort. I am convinced I am the only person in the entire universe looking for this branch of the Kearneys! ;D
Deb
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Amy M on Thursday 18 August 11 01:42 BST (UK)
To Joan:

In regards to Margaret (Lyne/Lyons) Prendeville being the wife of Partrick Kearney. . . Daughter Catherine seems to be the only child of her husband John Prendeville, & he was deceased before daughter Catherine married.  Also, Catherine & her husband Jas. Kearney were the godparents of Patrick & Margaret's daughter Bridget shortly before they married.  Finally, I know there was a cousin of some sort to my Kearney family living in New Hampshire.

What I have for the NH family. . .


Children (all born in Manchester, NH):
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Amy M on Thursday 18 August 11 02:12 BST (UK)
To Deb:

I'm not having any luck finding anything more on your family either. 

I've found that I'm hitting dead ends with all my Irish lines by the early 1800s (sometimes even later in the century).  I understand your frustration.
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: gracie23 on Thursday 18 August 11 02:28 BST (UK)
Thank you Amy for trying. I am still holding out hope for the latest records to be released on Irish genealogy in September. Otherwise, Denis Kearney and Mary Quinlan will become my eternal brick wall!
How I now wished I had listened to my Grandmom better when she was still alive :-\
Deb
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Shellga on Friday 26 August 11 07:51 BST (UK)
Hi Amy
I noted in one of your posts in 2005 that you refer to a Kearney that left Ireland for South Africa. My great -grand father was a James Cecil Kearney born 14 December 1886 and he is buried  in Bronkhorstspruit South Africa. I have no history of where he came from(I only know that he left Ireland for South Africa).

 Would you or anyone else be able to shed some light on how he came to South Africa. James Cecil married an Anna Katarina Pretorius (who was the Great Grand daughter of the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief and Martinus Wessel Pretorius) and had one son James Henning Pretorius Kearney who in turn had one son James Henning Pretorius Donavan Kearney who had one dauhgter which is me. I am so interested to track the Irish side of the family.

Thank you
Shelley
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Amy M on Saturday 27 August 11 00:42 BST (UK)
Unfortunately, I have been unable to get any information about the Kearney that went to South Africa.  I don't even know his name.   Your ancestor is about the correct age, but has the wrong name.  My ancestor was named James, so I know his brother that went to South Africa wasn't a James.

Now, this a bit of speculation on my part, but. . . Was your James Protestant?  The name Cecil sounds like an English/Protestant name, which makes me think Northern Ireland.  Also, I noticed the name Henning, which is a surname, & probably a family name.  Using surnames as part of a given name is also a Protestant tradition.  Finally, if I do a search to see where there were both Hennings & Kearneys in Ireland, I come up with the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down & Belfast City--all in Northern Ireland (see http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/). 

I'm not familiar with researching these counties.  I know there are some records online for these counties at http://www.rootsireland.ie/, but you do have to pay to see them.  Possibly there are some free records online somewhere too.
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Kerry-jh on Saturday 27 August 11 02:08 BST (UK)
Hi Shelley,
I also had a look at my extended Kearney tree and can't find a James born in 1886. I agree with Amy that the Cecil seems to indicate a Protestant background. Or perhaps his mother's maiden name was Cecil? I did however find a record of a James Kearney b. Oct.-Dec.1886 in Kinsale. No other details were given. If this is your James he could have come from a very well to do branch of the Kearneys-details on ; http://www.landedestates.ie, but one where they had to change their name from Cuthbert to Kearney to inherit land from a James Kearney who died without heirs!
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: Amy M on Saturday 27 August 11 06:01 BST (UK)
Keep in mind, where James Cecil Kearney was born in December, he may have been registered in the next quarter (Jan-Mar 1887), which adds several more possibilities.   Coincidentally, there was a James registered in Co. Armagh for that quarter.  (There's also one in Dublin-South, Kells, Omagh, Ballycastle, & Navan).

I usually recommend to look for his marriage & death record to see if his mother's name is listed.  If you could find out that, it would be a good start.  The records possibly could list where he was from as well. 
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: nick.vdlinde on Tuesday 26 February 13 12:28 GMT (UK)
Hi Shelley,
Please PM if you get this. I am also a descendant of Anna Catherina Pretorius from one of her previous husbands.
Your help and info will be valuable.
thanks and Regards
Nick
Title: Re: Kearneys from Castleisland (Kilmurry)
Post by: LeeBlunden on Monday 15 July 24 14:24 BST (UK)
Quote from: nick.vdlinde on Tuesday 26 February 13 12:28 GMT (UK)
Hi Shelley,
Please PM if you get this. I am also a descendant of Anna Catherina Pretorius from one of her previous husbands.
Your help and info will be valuable.
thanks and Regards
Nick

Hi Nick,

I know my message comes years after yours, but there's always a chance you still monitor the site.

I am also decended from the Retief line - Piet's brother, Francois, was my 5x great-grandfather, and so his daughter, Anna Steenkamp is my 4x great-grandmother.

I am always interested in contacting relatives, no matter how close or distant, so if you are still active on here to see this, and researching this line, I would love to hear from you.