Seeley's in Tipperary?

[Criostoir1971]

I am researching the Seeley family, which came from Tipperary in the late 1800's and settled in Joliet, Illinois, just south of Chicago. Almost every source I've come across shows *no* Seeley's living in Tipperary in the mid-late 1800's. Death certificates and parish records in America record Tipperary as their home, but I'm having no luck finding any trace of them in Irish records. The name itself is English, but they were Catholic and married Catholics (Doyles, Walshes, etc.), and had large families. In the 1901 Irish census, only *1* Seeley is listed outside of Ulster, and very few in total. Am I safe to assume the spelling likely changed when they arrived in America, and does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed from here?

Many thanks in advance!

[ShaunJ]

The variant Sealy brings up a few hits (6 baptisms in Tipperary on rootsireland.ie)

[Criostoir1971]

Yeah, I've seen those - they aren't the Seeley's/Sealy's I'm looking for. For example, the oldest Seeley I've found in Joliet is John Joseph, born on Jan. 15, 1863 in Tipperary, who's wife was named Mary Walsh. They had at least 12 children, with 3 born in Ireland: Thomas in 1885, Richard Joseph in 1887, and Martin in 1888... And John Joseph had 3 brothers who also emigrated: William, Edward and Richard.

I've been able to find quite a few Seeley's in Joliet who are from Tipperary, but *very* few in Ireland itself, whether it's civil birth records, Griffith's Valuation, or Tithe Applotment Books.

[ShaunJ]

Have you looked at this Sealy family in Co Kilkenny?

John Sealy married Anne Walsh in 1884

Baptisms of children of John Sealy and Anne Walsh (these seem to fit exactly):

Thomas 1885
Richard  1887
Martin    1888

The births of Richard and Martin were registered in Urlingford RD

wife was named Mary Walsh.

Looks like Ann or Anne on the 1900 census.

[Criostoir1971]

You are correct - I meant to type Anne Walsh, and that is indeed the right family. Anne is documented in her son William's marriage record in Joliet as being born in Kilkenny. Did you happen to find that on rootsireland.ie or a different site? I have yet to dive too deeply into the rootsireland website yet. In any event, thank you for finding reference.

John Sealy/Seeley had at least 3 brothers who emigrated with him - Richard, Edward and William. I haven't been able to find anything other than U.S. census records of the first two, but William (married Mary Doyle in America) has been documented as being "born and educated" in Tipperary. I haven't been able to find any record of any Seeley/Sealy in Tipperary.

Their father's name was John, unsure about mother's name.

[ShaunJ]

Yes they are all on rootsireland.ie, and you would need to buy some credits to view the transcriptions. 

[Criostoir1971]

Yeah, it's not cheap. I'd be willing to go that route if there was evidence of any variation of Seeley in Tipperary in it's database, but haven't found any yet.

Interesting that the same record is indexed under Scealy on ancestry.co.uk.

[susanmj]

I don't know if this will help or not but I am a seeley (maiden name) my dad was born in Ireland along with his siblings john seeley james seeley Charles seeley eilgah seeley was Charles twin bro but died at 6 months old ? francis seeley )my dad) and Kathleen seeley

[Criostoir1971]

Well, with a little guidance from a rootschat moderator, I was able to find the records I was looking for. The Seeley's I'm researching originally spelled their surname Sealy in Ireland. For some reason, most (but not all) adopted the Seeley spelling once they immigrated to America. They descend from Richard Sealy, a RIC officer raised in a Church of Ireland family from Dingle, County Kerry. He married Catherine Barry (multiple variations in surname spelling recorded), a Roman Catholic from Danesfort, County Kilkenny. RIC records show Richard served in Kilkenny and Tipperary, and returned to Kerry in retirement. They raised their children in the Catholic Church, and several emigrated in the late 1800's.