Cornelius and Mary Shea of Lauraugh/Tuosist/Kerry

Ann Marie:

Welcome back to Ireland Reaching Out!

I went back and read our exchange of messages in June. Can you clarify the names on the headstone that you mention? Were their names Cornelius Sugrue and Mary Shea or Cornelius and Mary Shea?

The surnames Shea and Sugrue were very common in Co.Kerry and certainly Cornelius and Mary were also common. Whether this other family is related to your g-g grandparents is unknown at this time. Tuosist parish, however, is a possibility because baptismal records start in 1844 and marriage records are not available until 1879. 

Here is an IRO Insight article for your consideration  https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/irelandxo-insight-how-dna-can-help-you-connect-ireland

Roger McDonnell

Thank you, again, Roger!

I found the Calvary cemetery headstone for Cornelius and Mary Shea on the Find a Grave site.  I am not sure it is related to my family.....but the notation of the town and parish on the headstone is certainly a good find for someone- and MIGHT be connected.

My g-g grandparents were Mary Shea Sugrue (1836-1890) and Cornelius Sugrue (?).

Mary's parents (per her death certificate in 1890) were Mary and Cornelius Shea.

As for the Irish naming pattern, the children of Mary Shea Sugrue and Cornelius Sugrue were:

John, Kate, Denis, Anna, Bridget Veronica

SO, no hints there..........and a definite change of tradition?

Will check out that IRO site today!

Hope all is well!  And THANKYOU again!

Ann Marie

Ann Marie,

I see the gravestone you referred to and it reads, "Erected by Cornelius & Mary Shea, natives of Lauragh, Parish of Tuosist, Co.Kerry, Ireland in memory of their children, Mary, Annie, Francis, & Willie, who died in infancy. Cornelius died May ?, 19??, Mary Shea died July 26, 1923.

There were 3 Cornelius Shea in Lauragh in 1911, ages 73 36 and 20. In 1901 there was 1 age 23.

The Shea family was in Lauragh in 1852 according to the Griffith's Valuation. A James Shea was born in Lauragh in 1845.

Shea was the second most name in Tuosist after Sullivan.

I am related to the Sheas from Lehid and Garranes which are nearby to Lauragh.

Don Flinn

Good afternoon, Don!

The headstone states death of Cornelius Shea as May 8, 1911

                                   and              Mary Shea in 1923

No death info for their children.  Have not searched for their death records- did find William was baptized in 1880 at Transfiguration Church downtown NYC.

Mary was baptized in same church in 1875.

Not yet sure about Francis or Annie because it seems there was a physical move in NYC......and Annie might have been baptized in a different church.........Francis might have had another first name because I could not find him in Find My Past.

The information was noted by a Bronx Policeperson who has since passed away.

Curious thing about my Mary Shea Sugrue is that her 1890 obituary in NY newspaper asked for the obit to be sent to the newspapers in St. Joseph, Missouri.    Have not found any Sugrues in Missouri, but have found a boatload of Shea families!  Do you have connection to that area of the USA?

Thanks for the information on how many Shea/Sugrue were noted at the time......hard to imagine Sugrue being a very common name.....and it has been so strange to not find our Cornelius yet.  His first child was born in 1856  (records vary) and MAYBE in Ireland.  All others were born in New York....from 1858- 1868- with Mary Shea as their mother.  The first child, John Shugrue, had a death record which said his mother's name was Mary Mack.....???  He is buried in the grave with  other Sugrue kids (Dennis and Annie) and their mother, Mary Shea Sugrue....

Thanks for more to work on these indoor days!

Ann Marie

Ann

Ann Marie

Since Your GG Grandmother Mary Shea Sugrue was born in 1836, here are 2 possible marriages of your GGG GrandParents Cornelius Shea and Mary Shea. (From https://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/)

Marriage of CORNELIUS SHEA of CASTLE TOWN and MARY SHEA of NR

on 11 February 1833 (BASED ON OTHER DATE INFORMATION)

Parish/Church/Congregation - CASTLETOWNBERE

Area - KERRY (RC)

Marriage of CORNELIUS SHEA of BUNNANE and MARY SHEA of NR

on 5 February 1834

Parish/Church/Congregation - ADRIGOLE

Area - KERRY (RC)

I do not see the baptism record for Mary Shea (1836). 

Don Flinn

Thank you for the information, Don.

I am confused about a few things (guess that is fortunate it is only a few).

Castletownbere and Adrigole on today's map appear in County Cork.  Were they in County Kerry during the 1830s?

Since both marriages seem to be endogomous, was that a common practice in that area of Ireland? (husband and wife had same last names in both marriage records).       Can you suggest how I might search to see how they might have been related in each of those two marriages?  Perhaps records of the four baptisms?   

Does NR mean not recorded?

Thanks again!

Ann Marie

Ann Marie

The County confusion is because the records come from Church records, not Civil records. Look at the Diocese of Kerry site https://www.dioceseofkerry.ie/parish-map/.  The Parishes of Adrigole and Castletownbere are in the Beara Pastoral Area of the Diocese of Kerry. While at this site, check out the the Genealogy page, https://www.dioceseofkerry.ie/our-diocese/genealogy/.

There were not a lot of eligible mates in these sparsely populated areas (today about 450 people in Adrigole).  So marriage to relatives was probably common.

I'm afraid there are no 1800-1845 birth records back that far for you to find. I was surprised to find the 1930's marriage records. Your best option would be to contact people in that area to see if there are any family records.

Yes, NR means not recorded or no record.

Don

I dont know how this message managed to come to.me but maybe i can help ...if you are on Facebook there's a group called Friends of Tuosist ... it would be worth joining and may get some information there

LOL- technology mysteries have entered this site too!

Thank you for the idea of Facebook Friends of Tuosist.  If you read earlier in this thread, the headstone in NYC is of a native family from Tuosist- and I was sharing the information for anyone who might be searching.....

The mystery of my SHEA connections continues!  How the RC church could allow a SHEA to marry a SHEA is a real mystery to me.....I understand the rural areas did not have much population, but I thought there had to be dispensations noted when someone married into the same family (endogomy....).   I followed the link and did not notice any notations from those two SHEA to SHEA weddings.....

Happy Searching!

Ann Marie

Hello - I am new to the site

In Upper Lauragh - A Cornelius Shea lived next to the person that I believe is my great-great-grandfather, Cornelius Driscoll, according to the 1852 Griffith Valuation.  There is also a Michael Shea listed.  This area is also refered to as "Furnace"

There are so many common names it is difficult to keep things straight.

Is it possible that the children listed on the grave stone died in Ireland? - It says "in memory of" and it was important to state that they were from Lauraugh (also spelled Lauragh) - just a thought

I have my DNA information if anyone would like to compare notes

Thank you and take care - Michael (Francis Michael Sheehan)

I was born and raised in Lauragh, in the parish of Tuosist. I just want to clarify a few points.

Shea marrying Shea is not unusual at all. As far as I can recall O'Shea (Shea in the US) is the most common surname (last name) in Tuosist, about 35% if I recall correctly. It is closely followed by O'Sullivan (Sullivan) Therefore, if a Shea marries a Shea, it does not mean that they are related. Yes, they may be distant cousins. 

Francis Michael Sheehan made reference to a Corneilus O'Shea who lived in Furnace (Upper Lauragh) but was married to my great-grandaunt Julia O'Shea (not related) so that rules out one of the three Cornelius Shea that he referred to.

While Shea is a very common name in Tuosist, Sugrue is almost not-existant. Yes, they exist further to the west of this peninsula (Co. Cork part) but they are very small in number.

If you are very lucky, you may come across Church Records as far back as about 1835, but records are very incomplete. A fire in the Sarcristy of the Church in Lauragh about 1880 resulted in the loss of many pages of the Register before is was rescued from the fire. Priests did not always enter the names and very often only the father's name was recorded. The mother was not usually present for the baptism.

Hello and thank you for the above information - I am fairly sure that my great-great grandparents are Cornelius Driscoll and Margaret Shea from Furnace and that my great-grandfater C. John Driscoll (1859-1927) is their son.  He married a Mary Sheehan from Sronebrane (Shronebirrane) and they went to the US in the 1880s to Holyoke, Mass

My assumption is that Margaret Shea Driscoll lived until 1907 and passed away at the age of 92.  This is based on the 1901 census and Kenmare death record.  Her son Michael was present at her death.  Michael had a son John in the 1911 census where he was 29.

There is another Driscoll family in Furnace today but I do not believe that they track to my relatives.

I am interested if you have any thoughts  - my email is:  micshe9@gmail.com

Also if anyone is on GEDmatch, my number is:  RM660590C1

Thank you - Francis Michael Sheehan (Eugene, Oregon)

Hello,

I am new to the site and came across it today while researching my Shea/Sullivan ancestors. 

An earlier post mentioned "A James Shea was born in Lauragh in 1845." which got my attention.  I believe that James is my 2nd great-uncle.  He died in young in 1860.  His parents are Eugene Shea (1815-1892) and Julia Sullivan (c.1822-1912).  They had 2 other sons born in Ireland - a Patrick (1843-1910) and Denis (1847-1906).  Two more sons born in Massachusetts, one of which is my 2nd great-grandfater, Daniel Eugene Shea (1856-1894) and another son John Shea (1866-unknown).  Their were probably several other children born as on census records in the late 1800's Julia reported having 10 or 11 children and but only a few still living.

U.S. citizenship records for Eugene Shea show his birth is being in Larough Kerry, Ireland.  He came to Boston about 1847.  I think that his wife Julia came a few years later, perhaps 1850.  I haven't determined when the children might have come to Boston but I do find the family together in census records in 1860 living in Somerville, Massachusetts.

The parents of Eugene Shea are a John Shea and Mary Sheehan.

The parents of Julia Sullivan are Sylvester Sullivan and Johanna Sullivan.

On many documents, such as citizenship record and census records, Eugene Shea lists his occupation as a blacksmith.  I find it very interesting the the area is known as "The Furnace"!

Bye,

Susan Murphy Lawrence

The townland's correct name is Upper Lauragh, but it is known locally as Furnace because there was an Iron Foundary located there

Thank you very much, Pat.  It is interesting to learn more about where my ancestors came from.

During my research I found some stories about people associated with Lauragh that people on this thread might enjoy reading.

Liam O'Shea - a blacksmith in Lauragh

http://www.turtlebunbury.com/interviews/interviews_ireland/vanishing_tw…

https://www.facebook.com/Vanishing-Ireland-110498185666457/photos/liam-…

Dr. Kathy Sullivan - First woman to walk in space is also the first female to go to the deepest point of the ocean.  Her grandfather was from Lauragh.

https://irishamerica.com/2020/06/outer-space-to-the-depths-of-the-ocean…

------

There is also someone on twitter with an old picture labeled "The Forge, Lauragh, Kenmare, Co. Kerry":  https://twitter.com/pmkcshea

Pat
Did Julia and Cornelius shea have a daughter abbey? A abbey shea from furnce lauragh married pats/Patrick Driscoll from shronebrane

Speaking of Shea, does anyone have a connection to a male Shea/female McCarthy marriage in Tuosist Parish?  I have sketchy info that a younger sister to my g-g-gfather, Patrick McCathy, b.1810, married a man named Shea.  It has been assumed, but not proven, that they stayed behind after Patrick emigrated to U.S.   Although Patricks birthplace is unknown, his five children were all born between 1844 & 1852 in the townland of Derreenatlooig, which is between Lauragh and Bunaw.   Given the lack of official records, it will probably take dna to track down any connections.  (My GED # is AZ3369886)   The "sketchy" info also said another sister married a Hennessey, and that has held true, as their son is in the will of Patrick's brother.