Keenans Ireland to Philadelphia

[ocian_c]

Hi everyone,

I am really hoping that someone could help me crack a mystery or at least help me in the right direction.  I have two Great Great Uncles born circa 1872 in Co. Derry Ireland.  One is called John and one is called Thomas.  Both emmigrated to Philadelphia after the late 1880s onwards (I think).  Now i ahve been using three forms of attack on this quest but just cant seem to chisel at the mystery.

I have been trying to search for marriages for John and Thomas Keenan in the Philadelphia city, but is there anyway to find out who the father was registered on a marriage certificate without ordering it? As using their Father's name is one of the only ways i can verify that i might be on the right track?  Their father also being Thomas.

Secondly, i have trawled passenger lists but just unsure if i have exhausted all databases as i only have an ancestry subscription.

Also i have looked at Census' but again i am unable to verify details.

Can anyone who has dealt with American records possibly tell me what is the best avenue i should pursue as i really don't know what to do next?

The only other snippet of info i have is that there used to be a Betty Keenan who lived on Pennsylvania Avenue in Philadelphia.  However, i don't have any dates for this, just what i have been told by an elderly aunt.

I would really appreciarte any help anyone could offer.

Ciaran

[ocian_c]

Hi everyone,

(I'm sorry I also mistakenly posted this in Look-up requests)

I am really hoping that someone could help me crack a mystery or at least help me in the right direction.  I have two Great Great Uncles born circa 1872 in Co. Derry Ireland.  One is called John and one is called Thomas.  Both emmigrated to Philadelphia after the late 1880s onwards (I think).  Now i ahve been using three forms of attack on this quest but just cant seem to chisel at the mystery.

I have been trying to search for marriages for John and Thomas Keenan in the Philadelphia city, but is there anyway to find out who the father was registered on a marriage certificate without ordering it? As using their Father's name is one of the only ways i can verify that i might be on the right track?  Their father also being Thomas.

Secondly, i have trawled passenger lists but just unsure if i have exhausted all databases as i only have an ancestry subscription.

Also i have looked at Census' but again i am unable to verify details.

Can anyone who has dealt with American records possibly tell me what is the best avenue i should pursue as i really don't know what to do next?

The only other snippet of info i have is that there used to be a Betty Keenan who lived on Pennsylvania Avenue in Philadelphia.  However, i don't have any dates for this, just what i have been told by an elderly aunt.

I would really appreciate any help anyone could offer.

Ciaran

Topics on same people merged ~ moderator

[RobMcF]

Hi everyone,

I am really hoping that someone could help me crack a mystery or at least help me in the right direction.  I have two Great Great Uncles born circa 1872 in Co. Derry Ireland.  One is called John and one is called Thomas.  Both emmigrated to Philadelphia after the late 1880s onwards (I think).  Now i ahve been using three forms of attack on this quest but just cant seem to chisel at the mystery.

I have been trying to search for marriages for John and Thomas Keenan in the Philadelphia city, but is there anyway to find out who the father was registered on a marriage certificate without ordering it? As using their Father's name is one of the only ways i can verify that i might be on the right track?  Their father also being Thomas.

Secondly, i have trawled passenger lists but just unsure if i have exhausted all databases as i only have an ancestry subscription.

Also i have looked at Census' but again i am unable to verify details.

Can anyone who has dealt with American records possibly tell me what is the best avenue i should pursue as i really don't know what to do next?

The only other snippet of info i have is that there used to be a Betty Keenan who lived on Pennsylvania Avenue in Philadelphia.  However, i don't have any dates for this, just what i have been told by an elderly aunt.

I would really appreciarte any help anyone could offer.

Ciaran

My mother's side is nothing but Irish immigrants who came to Philadelphia, so I have a little experience with these records.
 - No, I don't know of a way to see the details of Philly marriage records without ordering the certs.
 - Ancestry's Philadelphia passenger lists are extensive, but poorly transcribed in some places and also the Ancestry database can be a bit temperamental.  Just because someone doesn't come up on a search doesn't mean they aren't in there.  Also, many passenger lists from the 1800s contain no more information than names, making them near impossible to confirm without other documentation and generally useless.  Passenger lists in the 1900s can be very helpful though.

Your best bet is census records, city directories and the death records (up to 1915) available for free on familysearch, including scans of the originals.

What were the parents names?  Do you know anything about their occupations?  Are you sure that they married?

[shellyesq]

The WWI draft registration cards cover men born as early as 11 Sep. 1872, so that might be another place to look if they lived long enough. 

The 1900 Census gives a month of birth, so that might be a helpful clue if you can narrow down their date of birth.  It seems to be very common for immigrants of that era (particularly the Irish in my experience) to not be exact about their year of birth from document to document, but the month usually stays consistent.

[ocian_c]

Thanks for your suggestions on where to look.  My ancestor John Keenan was born February 1873 according to his birth certificate.

His parents are Thomas Keenan and Charlotte McCart - his family were agriculture based and Linen weavers so can't really be sure of his occupation.

I cant be sure that John and his brother Thomas were married - but being Irish Catholic its more likely that they were and seemed like a good bet to start there.

I have tried to look at Familysearch but some of their indexes are hard to decipher.

[aghadowey]

I cant be sure that John and his brother Thomas were married - but being Irish Catholic its more likely that they were and seemed like a good bet to start there.

I can assure you that being Irish and Catholic has no bearing on whether or not they married.

[ocian_c]

Thanks for that Aghadowey

[taramcdsmall]

Hi there,

There seems to have been a daughter called Anne born to Thomas & Charlotte

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F54L-CVY

So, just to recap is John or his brother Thomas your direct ancestor or another sibling ??

Did Thomas and Charlotte stay in Ireland or did all the family emmigrate ?

Is this Thomas and Charlotte in 1901?

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Tamlaght/Lisnagroat/1521463/

and Charlotte in 1911

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Londonderry/Tamlaght/Lisnagroat/592481/

Tara

[ocian_c]

Hi Tara,

Yes you have the right family.  No they didn't emmigrate together - i have tracked all branches of the Keenans except Thomas and John who were sons of Thoams and Charlotte.

Thomas and John went to America apparently together and to Philadelphia, circa 1890.

Ciaran