DNA & STILL A BRICK WALL

[aghadowey]

Is Edward's date of birth taken from his death certificate? if so, the information is possibly not reliable.

[dwelch]

This is the best I can do at the moment.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9524442/edward-welch

[shanreagh]

Is Edward's date of birth taken from his death certificate? if so, the information is possibly not reliable.

I did find an 1860  census, possibly of this family, where there is a 5 year old  Abby, Ebby or ? but female and this may be Edward? Shows that he was stated as being born in Ireland as are his mother and father.  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M82J-RGK

I think it is conjecture worth following up on that Edward Welch/Walsh was possibly born in Ireland  and came to the US with his parents during the period 1855 and 1857 when his sister Mary Welch/Walsh was born in Iowa. 

Earlier in the thread it states that a Bridget Hennessey, the daughter of Timothy, and from Lisvarrinane was married to a Dwyer 21/2/1845.  This might be worth following up as well....I did look on the parish register for the date but could not see the marriage. 

On the same census the John Walsh states his birth year to 1823 so about 48 when he died in 1871.

Still pondering, perhaps the oldest child Edward is the son of Bridget but not of John?  o Bridget may have come to the US with Edward (and his father perhaps) and met John Walsh later.   

[Lisa in California]

…Deb, I see that Bridget is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Akron, Iowa.  Have you contacted the cemetery office for her details?  Or, perhaps you know her actual place of birth - I don’t remember if that was previously stated.

As well as contacting the office for details about Bridget, you could also ask them about Edward.

Some cemetery office staff cannot/will not offer assistance, but I’ve found several who have gone above and beyond when I’ve written.  I very briefly explained how I am related to the deceased and that I am trying to find/verify information for my family tree.

In one case, I wrote and explained who I was and gave them plot details for the deceased.  The gentleman not only gave me my ancestor’s information from their records, he also gave me details for those who were buried in the same plot (they were all my ancestor’s family members). On top of that, the man provided me with the ancestor’s wife’s burial information (she died decades prior to his death) as she was buried in a different area of the cemetery.

The best part - all I knew about my ancestor’s birth was that he was born in England - which really narrowed down my search.    The kind staff member supplied me with the ancestor’s exact place of birth which allowed me to find three more confirmed generations of ancestors.

Of course there’s always the possibility that the cemetery office staff may not be allowed to help you, but I think it is well worth the time to write. You never know what might be included in your family’s records…places of birth, possibly exact birthdates, etc.

PS Be sure to include the fact that you cannot travel to their cemetery if that is in fact true. 

Note: I’ve only made inquiries for deaths from 1922 and prior.  Staff may be more reluctant or cannot give you details for those passing more recently. I also gave pertinent details that I new about the individuals to help verify that I was family.

[Maiden Stone]

Looking for possible siblings, could this be one?
Micheal Welch
Birth c1819, Ireland
1860 Elk, Delaware, Iowa census -
Michael and his family with first child, Mary Ann, born c1842 in Illinois

I have not continued the search.  Michael could be a wild goose chase but I thought I would mention him.

ADDED: Coincidence that John and Michael were both in Elk

You may already have the following information.
M. Welch,  farmer, residence section 35 in Elk Township. I don't know if it was the same person as Michael Welch.
J. Hennessy, renter, residence section 27.
(Biographical Township Directory, Elk Township, Delaware County, Iowa History Center. Sourced from "History of Delaware County, Iowa" pages 625-636)
iagenweb.org/delaware/history/1878/632-636.htm
Unfortunately no biographical information for M. Welch or J. Hennesy is included. There's biographical information about some others on the list. Among those with biographical info are a few Irish-born residents, Henry Barr, James Fitzpatrick, Cornelius Kennedy, Abram Parliaman and a man named Young. Each took a different route from Ireland to Iowa. Some names in the directory were early settlers in 1840s & 1850s.

Elk Township and Greeley were mentioned in extracts from "History of Delaware County, Iowa and Its People", published 1914, which are online. Some include names of early settlers in 1840s & 1850s. Greeley was a village until railway arrived in 1870s. Greeley population in 1914 was 400.

Considering the apparently small populations of Elk Township and Greely in 1860, I think Michael Welch is a lead to follow. 

[Maiden Stone]

I truly think this is a lost cause search for a man who doesn't want to be found.
I'm sorry I put you all through this mess.

No need to apologise. Many of us are on RootsChat because we enjoy research and puzzles. 

[Carmella]

Hi Deb,

Is your DNA on all the main databases?  ie Ancestry, MyHeritage, FTDNA, 23andme & LivingDNA.

If funds allow it's worth trying them all as different people have their autosomal DNA on different databases. (There are sales from time to time & some sites allow uploads which are usually cheaper).

Here's an info article -

https://dna-explained.com/2022/07/29/in-search-ofvendor-features-strengths-and-testing-strategies/

(apologies if you've tried this already)

[Lisa in California]

Looking for possible siblings, could this be one?
Micheal Welch
Birth c1819, Ireland
1860 Elk, Delaware, Iowa census -
Michael and his family with first child, Mary Ann, born c1842 in Illinois

Considering the apparently small populations of Elk Township and Greely in 1860, I think Michael Welch is a lead to follow.

Margaret, one of Michael’s children, has parents recorded on her death certificate: Michael Welch and it looks like Margaret Glenn (both born in Ireland).

Someone has a tree on Ancestry with Michael Welch and Margaret Glynn.  One of the sons, John Michael Welch (who appears to use his middle name) was, according to the information from the tree, born in 1811 in Kerry, Ireland.

There is additional information about John Michael’s family but I cannot research further at the moment.  I will be back later today.  Apologies for stopping at this point.

If anyone wants to check this family for a possible connection to Deb’s family my feelings won’t be hurt. 

[Lisa in California]

Looking for possible siblings, could this be one?
Micheal Welch
Birth c1819, Ireland
1860 Elk, Delaware, Iowa census -
Michael and his family with first child, Mary Ann, born c1842 in Illinois

I have not continued the search.  Michael could be a wild goose chase but I thought I would mention him.

You may already have the following information.
M. Welch,  farmer, residence section 35 in Elk Township. I don't know if it was the same person as Michael Welch.
J. Hennessy, renter, residence section 27.
(Biographical Township Directory, Elk Township, Delaware County, Iowa History Center. Sourced from "History of Delaware County, Iowa" pages 625-636)
iagenweb.org/delaware/history/1878/632-636.htm
Unfortunately no biographical information for M. Welch or J. Hennesy is included

Considering the apparently small populations of Elk Township and Greely in 1860, I think Michael Welch is a lead to follow.

Possibly J. Hennessy from above?
1880 Elk, Delaware, Iowa census
John Hennesy, age 35 (born c1845) in Illinois, married, parents born in Ireland, occupation - Farming

Strange how Ireland, Illinois and Iowa keep popping up.