Gerard O'Connor/Connor/Connors and daughter Johanna of Tralee

[Kyle_Welch]

I am a novice at ancestry research so please forgive my ignorance. My apologies if I'm violating  forum protocol by posting this here.

I'm researching my great great grandmother Johanna Connors (b 1835 Tralee d 1914 Beaver Dam, Wisconsin) who immigrated from Tralee to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin about 1853.  Her obituary said she was the only daughter of "Gerrard and Mary Conners", and was born in Tralee on May 15th, 1834. When nineteen years of age she came with a party of emigrants from that part of Ireland directly to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

The spelling of her maiden name in the obituary is Conners which I suspect is incorrect. Probably Connors or O'Connor/Connor.  Her father's first name could also be Gerard.   

I've been searching parish registers and can't find her being born in Tralee on May 15th, 1834. I see a Gerard O'Connor, a magistrate and an insurance agent living on Denny Street in Tralee. As far as I can tell he was b 1802 and d 1884. It may be Johanna's father but I'm unable to find any connection to a daughter Johanna nor a wife Mary prior to Johanna's stated year of birth. I suppose her year of birth in the obituary could be wrong. US Census records show her as being born between 1829-1831, depending on the year of census.

Any other O'Connor relatives out there connected to Gerard O'Connor of Tralee b 1802 and d 1884?

Best,
Kyle Welch
Sunnyvale, California

[shanreagh]

Was Johanna her Latin baptismal name?  Often the day to day name would be slightly different eg Johanna = Jane, Joan, Jean and Honora.

https://www.from-ireland.net/irish-names/latin-names-in-english/

[heywood]

Welcome to Rootschat, Kyle 


Gerard O’Connor who died in 1884 was unmarried.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1884/06311/4809823.pdf

[shanreagh]

Was just about to post that.....also Gerard can some times be used interchangeably with Jeremiah eg Jer, then Gerard....

Looking for Jeremiah opens the field up considerably, understatement!

Welcome Kyle..once you have spent a couple of hours, days on this search you be far from being a newbie/novice. 

There are several Joanna Connors baptised in 1834.  What I would do is to search and note the parents of all of them.  Then look at the names of the children of Johanna.  If she married a fellow Irish then chances are, and with a little bit of homesickness thrown in, that she/they would have followed the Irish naming pattern
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ireland_Personal_Names

The Irish, being Irish, didn't slavishly follow this pattern -  mother's maiden name comes in, names of well regarded clergy or local notables or even the name of a distant and wealthy relative.

[Kyle_Welch]

Thank you for the reply.  I am not certain if Johanna was her Latin baptismal name.  When I search I do look at variations.  I hadn't thought of searching with Honora though. I'll keep that in mind. 

I didn't find many records for a Gerard O'Connor/Connors in Tralee that looked promising.

Best,
Kyle

[heywood]

I don’t have access to newspapers, but looking at snippets 1850s, there are some references to Wisconsin. I wonder if there was a tradition of Kerry/Tralee people emigrating to that place. If so, there might be references in newspapers in both areas.

I just say this because there was a tradition of emigration to Pennsylvania from my family’s area and to Massachusetts from my husband’s family area.

[shanreagh]

The other thought I had is that there may have been a history done either of the immigration scheme or of Beaver Dam Wisconsin that might have more names.

It is a good practice to try to obtain certificates where the person themselves may have completed the paperwork....so have a look for her marriage certificate. She will have had to sign this and many certificates had a requirement for parents names. 

History of some of the RC churches in Beaver Dam.
https://www.chapelofthearchangels.com/history.htm

Did she come by herself?
Who/when did she marry?
What were the names of her children? 

https://www.archmil.org/AboutUs/History/A-Closer-Look/Immigrant-Church.htm

[Kyle_Welch]

Heywood, thank you for sharing that.  Well I guess I can rule out that Gerard O'Connor, the magistrate and insurance agent who lived on Denny Street and died in 1884! 

I found a link to Ireland Calendar of Wills and Administrations and in it there is a Gerard O'Connor who died in Tralee in 1884 and his estate went to his sister Mary who was a spinster.  Probably because he was a bachelor.         

http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/reels/cwa/005014899/005014899_00331.pdf

[Kyle_Welch]

Shanreagh ... very good point. I have to try to locate certificates where Johanna married John Welch in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.  He also emigrated from Ireland.

Thank you for the great tip on the naming conventions. I'll study that link you provided.

I've been looking at variations of Gerard, anything remotely close with a daughter Johanna and wife Mary.  I also saw there are many variations on Mary ... including Maria, Minnie, May, Marie, Molly, Mariae, Maureen, Mollie, Maire, MRY, Mai, MY, May! 

Best,
Kyle