I am trying to identify the parish and townland in Ireland that my great-grandfather Thomas Mullen came from. I have bits of information that hint that he may have come from Kilkerrin. I would much appreciate hearing from any / all that can provide me with additional information related to my quest. I will list my contact information below so you can get back to me. But first let me tell you what I know to date:
1. My great-grandfather Thomas Mullen was born on February 16, 1854. His obituary states that he came from "County Galway in Ireland".
2. My "Mullen" ancestors moved to Enfield, Connecticut USA. In the town of Enfield land records I learned that in 1860 my great-great-grandfather; Laurence Mullen purchased a ten acre farm in Enfield, Connecticut, USA with John Gavin. Here I am assuming that Laurence and John immigrated to the USA together from Ireland and became partners in this farm. An old Mullen family story is that Laurence bought the farm in Enfield and then went back to Ireland to pick up the family. My great-grandfather Thomas Mullen's obituary says that he immigrated to the USA with his parents....this tells me that Laurence made it back to Ireland and was on the return to the USA. Unfortunately that's where Laurence's trail ends....I'm not sure if he died on the return trip to the USA or what happened to him but he is never mentioned again. The Enfield land records indicate that John Gavin paid off the mortgage on the Enfield farm in 1865 but that's the end of any information I can find on John Gavin (to date). In summary, there seems to be a good connection between the Mullen and Gavin families which develops even more as you will see later in these notes.
3. My great-great-grandfather Laurence Mullen and great-great-grandmother Mary (Mullery) Mullen immigrated to the USA in 1862/1863 with my great-grandfather Thomas. And they also brought along Bryan Gavin (born 1849). I have a copy of Bryan's death certificate and it indicates that Bryan's parents were Nicholas and Mary (Mullery) Gavin. I am assuming that Mary Mullen Gavin and Laurence Mullen were related....maybe as brother and sister. So as I stated earlier I think there were numerous connections between the Mullen and Gavin families.
4. An old Mullen family story says that my great-great-grandmother Mary (Mullery) Mullen and great-grandfather Thomas Mullen were good friends with their Enfield neighbors the Wards. The 1880 USA census records indicate that my great-great-grandmother Mary (Mullery) Mullen even moved in with the Wards for a time when my great-grandfather Thomas Mullen first got married and took over the original Mullen homestead. I did some research and learned that Patrick Ward immigrated to the USA in 1868 and purchased the farm in Enfield, Connecticut next to the Mullen/Gavin property. And in reviewing the Enfield land records and USA census records I learned that Patrick married Mary Gavin (I think she immigrated to the USA in 1870). So here I have a connection between the Wards and the Gavins.
5. There is another old Mullen family story that says that Thomas returned to Ireland when he was 21 years old (1875) with Pat Ward. Here I am assuming that they went back to finish up some old business maybe involving property or to pick up and bring back additional family members to the USA....but I really don't know the purpose of their trip.
6. Back here in Enfield, Connecticut USA I located the Ward family tombstone in St Patrick's cemetery. And from the inscription on the stone I learned that Mary Gavin Ward "came from County Galway in Ireland in the town of Kilcurn." I tried to find a "Kilcurn" on a map of Ireland I got locally here from AAA without success. But I learned from the Enfield land records and the USA census that the Mullen/Gavin/Ward folks didn't read or write so I thought that maybe in the verbal translation "Kilcurn" could have been spelled a different way. Well I had that thought for a long time until I came across IrelandXO.com. I placed a message on their website and Mrs. Doyle and Roger McDonnell got back to me and thought that "Kilcurn" could be Kilkerrin and that was very exciting news! They gave me the Kilkerrin records from the 1856 Griffin Survey. And those records provided me with the following townland records:
· "Curragh More"; Matthew and Patrick Mullen were shown to own property there. And they may have been related to my great-great-grandfather Laurence Mullen?
· "Carrowntober West"; Andrew and Nicholas Gavin were shown to own property there. Bryan Gavin's obituary stated that his father was Nicholas Gavin! Could this be the same Nicholas Gavin? And were the Nicholas and Andrew Gavin listed in the survey related to the John and Mary Gavins I discussed earlier?
· "Shannagh Beg"; Thomas, Laurence, and William Ward were shown to own property there. Are these gentlemen related to the Patrick Ward who moved to Enfield, Connecticut USA? .
Well that sums up my Kilkerrin research to date and with nowhere else to turn I am hoping that someone reading this can help me get some additional information and answers that identify where Laurence and Mary (Mullery) and Thomas Mullen lived in Ireland? And maybe can also answer the Gavin and Ward questions I have.
If you have more information, please edit this entry and add your information at the bottom.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 16th Feb 1854 | |
| Townland born | Thomas Mullen was a good friend of Patrick Ward who was from Rushestown before they both immigrated to the USA in the 1860s. | |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Mother was Mary Mullery Gavin Mullen - Father was Laurence Mullen Mullen and they may be associated with Kilkerrin. | |