Daniel Kenny

Hello Maureen,

I'm not related and have not been researching the Kenny/Kelly families, but after viewing your post at Ireland Reaching Out I did some preliminary research and found at least 7 baptism records and 7 civil birth records for the children of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly. I didn't find a record for a Nellie Kenny, though did find a records for an Ellen Kelly, who may be Nellie. I didn't find any records at all for Dehlia Kenny. What year was Dehlia born, and was Dehlia her given name or a nickname?

This coming week or sometime next week I'll send you all the information I found about Daniel and Bridget and their children. But it will take a while to compile it all and present in a readable format.

In the meantime if you can let me know what year Dehlia was born, I'll see what I can find out about her.

With Kind Regards,

Dave Boylan

 

Dave, thank you so much for your information. The only info I have is that Nellie was also called Ella and was born in April of 1875. She also had a sister Dehlia born in 1878. Nellie immigrated to US aboard the Lucania and arrived in New York on September 7, 1895. Her Sister Dehlia immigrated to US in 1888.My grandather immigrated in 1900 aboard the SS Campania arriving in New York May 12, 1900. I wonder if you have any information on my great grandmother, Bridget Kelly? That sure is a very common name. Any additional information you can find would be great!!!! I look forward to hearing from you. By the way, feel free to send email to me if you'd like, mkardy@comcast.net.

 

 

 

Hello Maureen,

Since I first wrote a reply on 5 February, I began to help another person with their Irish research. I won't be done with that project until this weekend or perhaps even sometime next week. But after that I'll be able to devote full time to looking into your Irish ancestry. In the preliminary research I had done concerning the Kennys, I didn't look for Bridget Kelly's parents, but will see what I can find if I can locate the names of her father and first and maiden name of her mother. Also, I hope you don't mind if we communicate through the Ireland XO Message Boards rather than through private email, as I get so much email that it is difficult to keep track of it all, and also because email communications can be lost, whereas this message board retains communications for quite a long time.

Thank you Maureen. I'll write back with as much information as I can find about the Kenny/Kelly families.

Dave

Attached Files

Hello Maureen,

I’m not sure how many records you have for the children of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly, but I initially found 7 baptism records for their children, as well as 7 civil birth records for their children as you’ll see later on in this reply.

The names and years of baptism for the Kenny children are:

Thady, 1863
Anne, 1865
Anne, 1869
Ellen, 1872
Bridget, 1875
Margaret 1877
Joseph, 1880
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The baptisms for Thady and the first-born Anne (1865) were recorded in the Kildysart Catholic Parish, while the baptisms for the remaining five children, including your grandfather Joseph, were recorded in the nearby Kilfiddane Catholic Parish. The Kilfiddane Catholic Parish was also known as Coolmeen. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolmeen_(Kilfidane)

You’ll see in the list of children above that two children named Anne were baptized. This usually means that the first-born Ann had died, but I’m not so sure of that in this case. I’ll be commenting about this a little later.

I first located the baptism transcriptions for the Kenny children at the Find My Past (FMP) website. The FMP website is mainly a subscription-based or Pay-As-You-Go website, but FMP does not charge a fee for Catholic Church baptisms, marriages, and available burial transcriptions for all of Ireland for much of the 19th century.

The search engine for the FMP baptism transcriptions can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/jnmqmuv

The search engine for Catholic marriages can be accessed at: http://tinyurl.com/jzylkjy

For Catholic Parish burial transcriptions go to the search engine at: http://tinyurl.com/j9qe5p9

Bear in mind however that not all Catholic Church Parishes in Ireland kept burial records.

To complete the search for transcriptions you’ll have to register with FMP. Registration is free as is access to the transcriptions.

Attached to the baptism, marriage, and burial transcriptions at FMP are copies of the original records held by the National Library of Ireland (NLI).

I haven’t included the FMP baptism transcriptions to this reply as they takes up a lot of room and are under copyright anyway, but have gone straight to the NLI links that will take you to the 7 baptism records themselves. These are all handwritten baptisms, which means some of them can be a challenge to read.

THE BAPTISM RECORDS

Thaddy Kenny was baptized in the Kildysart Catholic Parish on 10 June 1863. There are two facing pages to the baptism register. Thady’s baptism is on the right-hand page, 9th entry up from the bottom of the page at:
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634722#page/196/mode/1up

You can enlarge the page by means of round icons in the upper center/ right of the screen. The icons are white with green backgrounds. You can also access the full-screen function by clicking on the last icon on the right with the two arrows pointing northeast and southwest.

Thady’s parents are Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly. The godparents are John Kenny and Hannah Reidy. John Kenny may have been Daniel’s brother.

The first-born Anne Kenny was baptized in the Kildysart Catholic Parish on 25 December 1865. Her parents are Dl. Kenny and Bid Kelly. The godparents are Daniel Kelly and Mary Kelly, who may have been related to Bridget, though the record doesn’t specify if Daniel Kelly and Mary Kelly were husband and wife. The residence of Daniel, Bridget, and Anne Kenny is recorded as “Gurtnahaha,” which is also spelled “Gortnahaha.” The priest who baptized Anne was Thomas Read.

Anne’s baptism is the first entry on the right-hand baptism register page (Page 241) at:
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634722#page/205/mode/1up

A Google Map shows that Gortnahaha is 3.2 miles west of Kildysart. See the map at: https://is.gd/RtjqPT

For Google Street View of Gortnahaha, see: https://is.gd/z1zSGR

I don’t know how many churches were in the Kildysart Catholic Parish in the 1860s, but it’s my guess that Thady and Anne were likely baptized in the parish church in Kildysart, or Kiladysert/Killadysert, as it is alternately spelled. As you know the Catholic Church in Kildysert is St. Michael’s, which you can view on a Google Map at: https://is.gd/v6PYjX

The next link will bring you to a Google Street View of St. Michael’s Church in Kildysert: https://is.gd/TjwXh7

Information from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website notes that St. Michael’s Church was built in the year 1829. See: https://is.gd/G4563W

You can view the location of St. Michael’s Church in “Killadysert” on an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1841 time period at the GeoHive link at: http://bit.ly/2C2CCfk

On the map the church is labeled as, “R.C. Chapel.”

You can also see the Ordnance Survey Map for Gortnahaha on another map from the same time period at: http://bit.ly/2CdNJCf

The baptisms for the following five Kenny children, including your grandfather Joseph Kenny, took place in the Kilfiddane Catholic Parish. These baptism register entries also include the day of birth for the children. The name of this parish can also be spelled Kilfidane. An alternate name for the parish is Coolmeen.

The second child named Anne Kenny was born on 2 December 1869 and baptized on 4 December 1869. Her birth/baptism is the first entry on the register, which goes across two facing pages at:
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634691#page/14/mode/1up

Anne’s parents are Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly, whose residence is “Gurthnafrehane.” This townland is also spelled, Gurtnafreaghaun/Gurthnafrehane/Gortnavreaghaun, etc. The register also shows that the priest who baptized Anne was James K. O’Doherty. The godparents are Timothy Kenny and Margaret Kelly, who may have been related to Anne’s mother and father.

A Google Map shows that Gortnavreaghaun is only 1.3 miles west of Gortnahaha: https://is.gd/tfOblL

For a Google Street View of the Gortnavreaghaun/Gurtnafrehane area, see: https://is.gd/yKXHjm

To view a colored map of Gortnavreaghaun on an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1841 time period, go to the GeoHive website link at: http://bit.ly/2Uzo3al

Earlier I had mentioned that the Kilfidane Catholic Parish was also known as the Coolmeen Catholic Parish. Five of the seven children of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly may have been baptized in Saint Benedict’s Church, in Coolmeen. A Goolge Map shows that Saint Benedict’s Catholic Church is 1.5 miles south of Gortnavreaghaun: https://is.gd/rJ1nXQ

For a Google Street View of Saint Benedict’s Catholic Church in Coolmeen, see: https://is.gd/rEvmOR

A description of the church from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website notes that Saint Benedict’s Church was built in 1865, while the nearby Parochial House was constructed in 1872, after Anne was born and baptized in 1869. See: http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=CL&…

It appears that a church structure had stood on, or near the same spot as the present day Saint Benedict’s Church, as an Ordnance Survey Map from the 1837 to 1841 time period shows the location of an R.C. Chapel in the same area. See the map from the GeoHive website link at: http://bit.ly/2 UfvMdq

There is another Catholic Church situated in the Catholic Parish of Coolmeen. This is St. Mary’s Church in Cranny, and so it’s also possible that five of the seven children of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly were baptized in this church.

A Google Map shows that Cranny is 3.2 miles north of Gortnavreahaun. See the map at: https://is.gd/HTqXql

An enlarged Google Map view of Cranny shows the Catholic Church there is called Saint Mary’s. See the map at: https://is.gd/NKWpVN

For a Google Street View of Saint Mary’s Church in Cranny, see: https://is.gd/TUkYZw

The green building near the church is a pub called Tír na nÓg, which means, "Land of Youth," in the Irish language. For a closer Google Street View of Tír na nÓg and Saint Mary's Catholic Church just beyond, see: https://is.gd/0pttE1

An Ordnance Survey Map shows there was an R.C. Chapel in Cranny in the 1837 to 1841 time period: http://bit.ly/2UkBryV

To continue with the baptism records, Ellen Kenny was born and baptized after Anne. Ellen was born and baptized on April 28, 1872. Nellie is the nickname of Ellen, and so this Ellen may be the Nellie you referred to in your Ireland XO post. Her parents are Dan Kenny and Bridget Kelly residing in Gurtnafrehane. The Parish Priest who baptized Ellen was Bartholomew Scanlon. The godmother was Anne Kenny, who may have been Daniel’s sister. No godfather is recorded. Ellen’s birth/baptism entry is on Line 360 of the register which you can access at:
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634691#page/28/mode/1up

Next, Bridget Kenny was born on 6 March and baptized on 7 March 1875. Her birth/baptism record is on Line 597 of the register, and can be accessed at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634691#page/45/mode/1up

Bridget’s parents are Danl Kenny and Brigt Kelly of Gurtnafrehane. The name of the priest who baptized Bridget appears to be Danl Courtney, but I could be wrong as the handwriting is difficult to read. Ellen’s godparents are Michl Lynch and Brigt Kenny. Bridget may have been related to Bridget’s father Daniel.

Margaret Kenny was born on 15 November 1877 and baptized on 16 November 1877. Hers is the first entry in the register at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634691#page/59/mode/1up

Margaret’s parents are Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly of Gurtnafrehane. The Parish Priest who baptized Margaret was Bartholomew Scanlan. The godmother is Johanna Kenny. No godfather is recorded.

Your grandfather Joseph Kenny was born on 20 May 1880 and baptized on 30 May 1880. His parents are Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly of Gurtnafrehane. This means your grandfather was born in Gurtnafrehane. The priest who baptized Joseph appears to be Hugh J. Gleeson. The godmother is Mary O’Neil. The record for Joseph is on Line 990 in the register, which you can access at:
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634691#page/70/mode/1up

As you’ll see coming up, Daniel and Bridget had at least two more children, but a baptism record isn’t available for one of them to access online as the Kilfiddane baptisms are only extent from 15 August 1868 to 4 February 1881.

CIVIL BIRTH RECORDS

As mentioned earlier I also found the civil registration birth records for 7 children of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly. Before moving on to these records, I’d like to provide some information about civil registration in Ireland:

The government in Ireland commenced with civil registration of Protestant civil and church marriages on 1 April 1845. Catholic marriages were not recorded by the government at the request of the Catholic Church, as the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland did not want the Anglican government to have lists of its parishioners at that time.

Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denomination in Ireland began on 1 January 1864. This means that Thady Kenny, born in 1863, does not have a civil registration birth record. This also means that any births, marriages, and deaths after 1863, would ostensibly have been recorded by county registrars in their respective Civil Registration Districts. However, because civil registration for all religious denominations was new, not all births, marriages, and deaths were recorded in 1864. Even after 1864 there were births, marriages, and deaths that were not recorded, probably because they were not reported to the local registrars. Births, for example, were traditionally reported to the local registrars, or assistant registrars by the mother, the father, a relative, a midwife, or the head of the workhouse, if the child had been born in a workhouse, as many were in Ireland in the 19th century. Marriages were reported to the registrars by the celebrant or clergyman who married the couple.

Deaths were reported to the registrars either by a relative or a friend of the deceased, or the head of the workhouse, if the person had the misfortune of ending up in the workhouse because they couldn’t support themselves.

The irishgenealogy.ie website has digitized, and placed online for free, copies of original civil birth records from 1864 to 1916. Copies of original marriages are online for the years 1870 to 1941. Copies of original death records are available for the years 1878 to 1966. The irishgenealogy.ie website plans to make available online, copies or original marriage records back to 1845, and death records back to 1864. At present there are indexes of birth from 1864 to 1916, indexes of marriages from 1845 to 1869, and death indexes from 1864 to 1877.

Birth, marriage, and death registers are held by the General Register Office (GRO), with locations in Dublin and Roscommon Town, County Roscommon. The civil records of birth, marriage, and death you I’ve accessed online, and which you will see below, are from irishgenealogy.ie. These records in turn originally come from the GRO.
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The first civil registration birth record available for a child of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly is for Anne. Only, her birth records gives her first name as Hannah, whereas the baptism record gives her name as Anne. The baptism record shows she was baptized on 25 December 1865. However, her birth record gives her date of birth as 21 December 1864. It appears the parish priest made an error when he stated that “Anne” was baptized in December of 1865, rather than in December of 1864.

Going back to the birth record, Hannah’s place of birth is Gortnareaghaun Coolmeen. Her father is Daniel Kenny, a Farmer residing in Gortnareaghaun. Her mother is Bridget Kenny, formerly Kelly. Daniel Kelly, the father, of Gortnareaghaun Coolmeen, reported the birth to the local deputy registrar, James Cusack, who recorded the birth on 16 January 1865. Hannah’s birth record is on Line 125 of the birth register and is attached to this reply

The next child is Anne Kenny. She was born on 12 December 1869. Her baptism record has her date of birth as 2 December 1869. I would go with the baptism record for her date of birth. Anne’s birth record shows she was born in Gortnefrehane, Kilfiddane. Her father is Daniel Kenny, a farmer residing in Gortnefrehane. Her mother is Bridget Kenny, formerly Kelly. Daniel reported the birth to the local registrar, M. Bren, M.D., who recorded the birth on 31 December 1869. Anne’s birth record is on Line 294, which is the last birth in the register, and is attached to this reply.

Following Anne is the birth for Ellen Kenny. Ellen was born in “Gorthnafeehane” on 27 April 1872. Her combination birth and baptism record has her date of birth as 28 April 1872. Her father is Daniel Kenny, a farmer residing in Gorthnafrehane. Her mother is Bridget Kenny, formerly Kelly. Daniel reported the birth to the registrar, Jeremiah Vaughan, who recorded the birth on 17 May 1872. Ellen’s birth record is on Line 135 of the birth register and is attached to this reply.

Bridget Kenny was born after Ellen. Bridget was born in Gorthnafrehane on 7 March 1875. Her baptism register entry has her born on 6 March 1875. The birth record shows her father is Daniel Kenny a farmer of Gorthnafrehane. Her mother is Bridget Kenny, formerly Kelly. Daniel reported the birth to the registrar, Jeremiah Vaughan, who recorded the birth on 22 March 1875. Bridget’s birth record is the first entry, Line 84, on the birth register, which is attached to this reply.

Margaret Kenny was born in Gurthnafrehane on 16 November 1877. Her baptism record gives her date of birth as 15 November. Her father is Daniel Kenny, a farmer from Gurthnafrehane. Her mother is Bridget Kenny, formerly Kelly. Daniel reported the birth to Jeremiah Vaughan who recorded the birth on 24 November 1877. Margaret’s birth record is on Line 493 of the birth register, which is attached to this reply.

Your grandfather Joseph Kenny was born in Gurthnafrehane on 29 May 1880. His baptism record gives his date of birth as 20 May. I would tend to go with the baptism record for his actual date of birth. His father is Daniel Kenny, a farmer from Gurthnafrehane. Joseph’s mother is Bridget Kenny, formerly Kelly. Daniel reported the birth to Jeremiah Vaughan who recorded the birth on 11 June 1880. Joseph’s birth record is on Line 96 of the birth register, which is attached to this reply.

Maureen, I don’t believe your grandfather Joseph’s birth certificate in English and Irish you mentioned would be the original birth certificate. As far as I know, birth, marriage, and death certificates in English and Irish didn’t exist until after the Irish Civil War of 1922, when the 26 counties of the Irish Free State, now the Republic of Ireland, gained their independence.

In going through the irishgenealogy.ie website for Kenny birth records, I came across two more birth records for children of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly. These children are for Mary (1867), and James (1883). The baptisms of these two children were not found at the FMP website, but I did uncover a very faded, hard to read baptism for Mary at the National Library of Ireland website, which shows she was baptized in the Kildysart Catholic Parish. There is no baptism record for James in the Kilfidane Catholic Parish as baptisms are only available online until 4 February 1881. See: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0776

Mary was born in Gurtnafrehane Kilfiddane on 19 October 1867. Her father is Daniel Kenny, a farmer residing in Gurtnafrehane. Her mother is Bridget Kenny, formerly Kelly. Daniel reported the birth to the registrar, whose name I couldn’t read. Mary’s birth was recorded by the registrar on 4 November 1867.

Mary’s baptism record shows she was baptized on 3rd November 1867. Her father is Daniel Kenny. Her mother’s first name however, is erroneously recorded as, “Honora.” Her maiden name is Kelly. They are from Gurthnafrehane. The name of the godfather appears to be Martin Kelly, which is also the blast name of the godmother, whose first name I couldn’t read because the baptism page is too dark and faded. The baptism can be found on the left-hand register page, 9th entry down from the top at the following link:
https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634723#page/9/mode/1up

You may have to enlarge the page to its maximum to read the baptism entry for Mary.

James Kenny was born on 2 February 1883. His place of birth is recorded as, “Dagnieve,” though I could not locate this place in County Clare. His father is Daniel Kenny, a farmer living in Dagnieve, His mother is Bridget Kenny, formerly Kelly. Daniel reported the birth to Jeremiah Vaughan who recorded the birth on 12 February 1883. James’s birth is on Line 167, the last birth in the register, which is attached to this reply.

Maureen, I didn’t find the birth or baptism record for a Dehlia Kenny. But I did uncover an American death record which I believe refers to her. This is her death record transcription found at the FamilySearch website, showing that Delia Bulman, husband of Thomas Bulman and daughter of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly, died in Chicago, Illinois on 12 January 1940. The death record shows she was born in County Clare on 6 March 1875. The birth record for Bridget Kenny shows she was born on 7 March 1875, but her baptism record shows she was born on 6 March 1875. And so, I believe that Bridget Kenny is Delia Bulman, formerly Kenny, as shown in the death record transcription below:

Illinois, Cook County Deaths

Name Delia Bulman
Event Type Death
Event Date 12 Jan 1940
Event Place Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
Address 5346 Crystal
Gender Female
Age 63
Marital Status Married
Race White
Occupation Housewife

Birth Date 06 Mar 1875
Birthplace Clare, Ireland
Burial Date 15 Jan 1940

Burial Place Proviso, Illinois
Cemetery Mt Carmel

Father's Name Daniel Kenny
Mother's Name Bridget Kelly

Spouse's Name Thomas
Informant's Name William Bulman
Entry Number 1272

Citing this Record
"Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1994," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MK-SJ5J : 18 March 2018), Daniel Kenny in entry for Delia Bulman, 12 Jan 1940; citing Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, source reference , record number , Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .
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Concerning the Anne Kenny born in 1865 and Anne/Hannah Kenny born in 1869: I looked for the death index for the Anne Kenny born in 1865, but didn’t find it at the irishgenealogy.ie website. Full death records are not available at the site until the year 1878. It’s possible then that Daniel and Bridget had named one of their daughters Anne, and one Hannah, though there is that possibility that the Anne Kenny born in 1865 had died, but that her death was not reported to the local registrar.

Below is a revised list of the children of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly. I found 9 children. I also changed the birth year for Anne Kenny from 1865 to 1864, based on her attached birth record. I also added the birth of Mary Kenny (1867), and the birth of James Kenny to the list (1883):

Thady, 1863
Anne, 1864
Mary, 1867
Anne, 1869
Ellen, 1872
Bridget, 1875
Margaret 1877
Joseph, 1880
James, 1883
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Just think, Thady turned 20 years old in 1883 when his brother James was born.

The next search involved looking for Daniel and Bridget Kenny and any of their adult children in the 1901 census of Ireland. I located the family in the 1901 census living at house 3, Gurtnafreaghaun, Coolmeen, County Clare. House 3 is not the house number but refers to the number of the census form. Bridget Kenny, age 60, is not the head of the household though. She is shown to be a widow who could read and write and speak English. The head of the house is her son, 37 year old Timothy, a farmer who could read and write and speak Irish and English. Timothy?? I didn’t find a birth record or a baptism record for a Timothy Kenny, son of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly. I determined to look for more information about him later on.

Timothy’s wife is 23 year old Bridget, who is listed as a “Farmers Wife. She could read and write and speak English. Also in the Kenny household are two servants, 30 year old John O’Driscoll, and 24 year old Ellen Mahoney. Both were not married. All the residents of the household were Roman Catholic and all were born in County Clare.

The 1901 census transcription below is from the National Archives of Ireland website at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

1901 Census of Ireland

Residents of a house 3 in Gurtnafreaghaun (Coolmeen, Clare)

Surname Forename Age Sex Relation to head Religion Birthplace Occupation Literacy
Irish Language Marital Status Specified Illnesses

Kenny Timothy 37 Male Head of Family R Catholic Co Clare Farmer Read and write Irish and English Married
Kenny Bridget 23 Female Wife Roman Catholic Co Clare Farmers Wife Read and write English Married
Kenny Bridget 60 Female Mother Roman Catholic Co Clare Read and write English Widow
O Driscoll John 30 Male Servant Roman Catholic Co Clare Farm Servant Read and write English
Not Married
Mahoney Ellen 24 Female Servant Roman Catholic Co Clare General Servant Domestic
Read and write English Not Married
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You can view a copy of the original 1901 census for the Kenny family at the following National Archives of Ireland link at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000473551/

The 1901 census shows that Bridget Kenny is a widow, which means her husband Daniel had died either immediately before, during, or sometime after the birth of their son James in 1883. I went back to the irishgenealogy.ie website to see if I could find Daniel’s death record. After several searches I located Daniel’s civil registration death record, which shows he died in Dagnieve on 22 December 1891. At the time of death Daniel was a 57 year old married farmer. The cause of death was, “Hernia with Peritonitis 6 days. Certified.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the registrar, Jeremiah Vaughan, was Daniel’s son, Timothy, residing in Dagnieve. The death was recorded on 28 December 1891 and is attached to this reply.

I now wanted to see if I could find the marriage record for Timothy Kenny and Bridget, as this would tell what Bridget’s maiden name was, as well as the name of her father and Timothy’s father, along with their residence at the time of marriage, the name of the church where they married, the name of the priest who married them, and the witnesses to the marriage.

I found the marriage record at the irishgenealogy.ie website, which shows that Timothy went by two names, as I’ll describe. The marriage record shows that Thady Kenny, of “full age,” and Bridget Coghlin, “of full” age were married in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Cranny on 11 February 1899. At the time of marriage Thady was a Bachelor, and a farmer whose residence was “Gurthnafrehaun, Coolmeen.” His father was Daniel Kenny, a farmer.

At the time of marriage Bridget was a “Spinster,” meaning she had not been married before. Her residence at the time of marriage was “Cross, Cranny.” Her father was Martin Coghlin, a farmer. The priest who married Thady and Bridget was Michael Hayes. Thady signed the marriage register with the first name of “Timothy, which shows that the Thady Kenny in the 1863 baptism record and the Timothy Kenny in the 1901 census were one and the same person. The witnesses to the marriage were your grandfather, Joseph Kenny, Margaret O’Dea, and Mary O’Brien. The registrar, Jeremiah Vaughan, recorded the marriage on 14 April 1899. There are four marriages recorded in the register. The marriage for Thady/Timothy Kenny and Bridget Coghlin is the last marriage entry on the register, which is attached to this reply.

The Catholic Chapel in Cranny is St. Mary’s Church, which was described earlier in this reply. Catholic marriages traditionally took place in the bride’s parish, but it’s also possible that Thady’s younger siblings had been baptized in St. Mary’s in Cranny rather than in St. Benedict’s Catholic Church in Coolmeen, as Cranny is not far from Gortnfrehane.

I next went to the 1911 census of Ireland, where once again I found 71 Bridget Kenny, a widow, living in the household of her son and daughter-in-law, 47 year old Timothy and 33 year old Bridget Kenny at house 3, Gortnavreaghaun, Coolmeen, County Clare. The census shows that Timothy was a farmer. Also, on the census line for his wife Bridget, you’ll see the numbers 12, 5, 5. These numbers mean that Timothy and Bridget had been married for 12 years as of the 1911 census, and in that time had 5 children with all 5 children living. All the children are in the household, and include 9 year old Mary; 8 year old Bridget; 6 year old Daniel; 4 year old Martin; and 1 year old Diana.

You’ll see that the ages of Timothy, his wife Bridget, and his mother Bridget, are pretty consistent when compared to the 1901 census. In the 1901 census Timothy is 37, while in the 1911 census he is 47. In the 1901 census his wife Bridget is 23, while in the 1911 census she is 33. Timothy’s mother in the 1901 census is 60. In the 1911 census she is 71.

The 1911 census transcription, from the National Archives of Ireland, follows:

1911 Census of Ireland

Residents of a house 3 in Gortnavreaghaun (Coolmeen, Clare)

Surname Forename Age Sex Relation to head Religion Birthplace Occupation Literacy
Irish Language Marital Status Specified Illnesses Years Married Children Born Children Living

Kenny Timothy 47 Male Head of Family Roman Catholic Co Clare Farmer Read and write Married
Kenny Bridget 33 Female Wife Roman Catholic Co Clare Read and write Married 12 5 5
Kenny Mary 9 Female Daughter Roman Catholic Co Clare Scholar Read and write Single
Kenny Bridget 8 Female Daughter Roman Catholic Co Clare Scholar Read and write Single
Kenny Daniel 6 Male Son Roman Catholic Co Clare Scholar Read Single
Kenny Martin 4 Male Son Roman Catholic Co Clare Scholar Read Single
Kenny Diana 1 Female Daughter Roman Catholic Co Clare Scholar Cannot read Single
Kenny Bridget 71 Female Mother Roman Catholic Co Clare Read and write Widow
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To view a copy of the original 1911 census for the Kenny family go to: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001780293/

I next found the civil registration death record for 81 year old Bridget Kenny. The record shows she died in Gurtnefrehane on 15 May 1921. At the time of death she was a widow and a farmer. The cause of death was, “Senile decay fourteen days. No Med Att,” which means “No medical attendant.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the local registrar, Michael James McAuliffe, was Bridget’s granddaughter, Bridget Kenny, of Gurtnefrehane. The death record is attached to this reply. The death record for Bridget is Item 156 in the death register.

DANIEL KENNY AND BRIDGET KELLY

Unfortunately, I didn’t find any information about the names of the parents of Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly in the research. Without the names of their parents, it would only be guess work as to who their parents were with further research in the parish registers of baptism.

Daniel’s death record shows he was 57 years old at the time of his death in 1891. At 57 years old in 1891, he would have been born circa 1834.

On the other hand there are three records which give the age of Bridget Kenny. The 1901 census shows she was 60 years old while the 1911 census gives her age as 71. Her 1921 death record shows she was 81 at the time of death. Her age in these three documents place her year of birth circa 1840-1841. If either Daniel or Bridget had been born within the Catholic Parish of Kilfiddane, there won’t be any baptism records available for them, as the National Library of Ireland website shows that Kilfiddane baptism records commence on 15 August 1868, while Kilfiddane marriages begin on 8 January 1869. See: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0776

The Kidysert/Kiladysert baptisms begin in July 1829. Marriage records for the Kildysert Catholic Parish start in January of 1867. See: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0787

I didn’t find any baptism transcription at the FMP website for a Daniel Kenny in the Kildysert Catholic Parish anytime during the late 1820s, or the 1830s, or even the 1840s.

I then looked for the baptism transcriptions of children named Bridget Kelly at FMP between 1838 and 1848 and found 15 transcriptions for those years. See the transcriptions at: https://is.gd/PIoEkV

Of those 15 there are three Kildysert baptism transcriptions for the year 1840 and none for 1841. The two years are her estimated years of birth based on the 1901 and 1911 census and on Bridget’s age of 81 in her 1921 death record. This means that there is the possibility that one of the three baptisms is for your Bridget Kelly. The parents of the three children are:

Pk Kelly and Mary Dillon
John Kelly and Hanna Doyle
Michael Kelly and Mary Creagh
____

Even with this information however, there is no way of telling which, if any of the three 1840 baptism transcriptions, or any of the other transcriptions, refer to your Bridget Kelly from any of the records I’ve uncovered thus far.

GRIFFITHS VALUATION

I next wanted to see if I could find anyone named Kenny or Kelly in an Irish property tax record known as Griffiths Valuation. Specifically, I wanted to search Griffiths Valuation to see if anyone named Kenny or Kelly had leased property in the townlands of Gortnahahah, Gortnavreaghaun, or Dagnieve, though I couldn’t find Dagnieve on a map of Clare. The Kenny birth and baptism records had shown that the family had lived in one of these three places.

Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland between 1847 and 1864. The valuation for County Clare was completed by the year 1855.

Unlike a census, Griffiths Valuation did not enumerate individual members of a family, such as husband, wife, and children in a household residence. Those named in the valuation were individuals who leased property. Each person who paid to lease the property was called an “Occupier.” The other person listed in Griffiths Valuation was the person who owned the property, or who worked as the middleman for the owner. This person was called the “Immediate Lessor.”

You can access Griffiths Valuation indexes, transcriptions and original copies for free at the askaboutireland website link at: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

Griffiths Valuation shows only three Occupiers leasing property in Gortnavreahaun, Civil Parish of Killadysert. These are John Kenny, James Lynch, and John Kenny. John Kenny and James Lynch had leased their land in common, but their houses separately, and so the Griffiths valuation transcription below pertains to them. I’ll have the transcription for James Kenny a little later. In the Griffiths Valuation transcription below you’ll see three different references to Ordnance Survey Map numbers, but don’t let these intimidate you, as I’ll explain them as best as I can following the transcription:

No. and Letters of Reference to Map for John Kenny: 1A Aa
No. and Letters of Reference to Map for James Lynch: 1A b
No. and Letters of Reference to Map for John Kenny and James Lynch: 1 A, 1B
Civil Parish: Killadysert
Townland: Gortnavreaghaun
Occupier: John Kenny
Occupier: James Lynch
Immediate Lessor: Dr. Kenny
Description of Tenement, John Kenny : House, offices, land
Description of Tenement, James Lynch : House, offices, land
Area of Land, 1st Parcel: 109 Acres, 2 Roods, 1 Perch
Area of Land, 2nd Parcel: 2 Acres, 1 Rood, 30 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land, 1st Parcel: 20 Pounds
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land, 2nd Parcel: 1 Pound, 4 shillings, 0 Pence
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings, John Kenny: 1 Pound, 6 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings, James Lynch: 2 Pounds
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property, John Kenny: 11 Pounds, 18 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property, James Lynch: 12 Pounds, 12 Shillings
____

Griffiths Valuation shows that John Kenny and James Lynch had leased their property in Gortnavreaghaun, Civil Parish of Killadysert from an Immediate Lessor named Dr. Kenny, who may have been the middle man for the actual un-named owner of the property. Dr. Kenny may have been related to John Kenny.

John Kenny and James Lynched leased their houses seperately, but leased two different parcels of land they farmed in common. The first parcel of land is over 109 acres in size, while the second parcel is a lot smaller at over 2 acres. The first parcel of land was valued at 20 Pounds, while the second parcel was valued at 1 Pound and 4 Shillings. The house and offices for John Kenny were valued at 1 Pound and 6 Shillings. The house and offices for James Lynch were valued at 2 Pounds.

The value of John Kenny’s share of the land and his house was tabulated at 11 Pounds and 18 Shillings, while the value of James Lynch’s house and his share of the land was valued at 12 Pounds and 12 Shillings. They each would have paid a percentage of the value of the land toward the tax.

An office in a Griffiths Valuation record could refer to any type of outbuilding, such as a barn, stable, blacksmith shop, piggery, etc. The map numbers and letters you see at the top of the Griffiths Valuation entry refer to the soil type of the land as well as the location of the property James and John had leased as shown on an Ordnance Survey Map compiled before Griffiths Valuation took place. In fact, you saw this map for Gortneavreaghuan earlier, but without the map reference numbers. The capital Letter A denotes the quality of the land that John and James had leased, with A being of one soil type for growing crops, and B as another soil type for growing crops.

The lower case a for John Kenny and the lower case b for James Lynch refers to the location of their respective houses on an Ordnance Survey Map, with the letters and numbers added by the Griffiths Valuation team to the map, to show where the properties were situated in Gortnevreaghuan. You can access this map from the Griffiths Valuation indexes for John Kenny and James Lynch at the askaboutireland website.

I have not been able to link or attach the Griffiths Valuation Maps to replies such as this. I’m not sure why, but I can shows you where I believe the individual houses for John Kenny and James Lynch were located on the Ordnance Survey Map for Gortnavreaghuan you saw earlier at: http://bit.ly/2Uzo3al

When you access the map you’ll see that the size of Gortnavreaghaun was 180 acres, 1 Rood, and 13 Perches in size. Just below the number 180, you’ll see a cluster of 5 buildings. These buildings on the Griffiths Map are at location lower case b, meaning these were the house and outbuildings leased by James Lynch. Just below these you’ll see two structures side-by-side. The structure on the right looks like an upside-down letter L. On the Griffiths Map this area is designated as location lower-case a, which means these structures were leased by John Kenny. This may be the actual location for the Kenny family in the 1901 and 1911 census enumerations you saw earlier.

A GeoHive aerial view of Gortnavreaghuan from the 2005 to 2012 time period, shows there are still structures in the same area. See: http://bit.ly/2UxEdkw

Below is the Griffiths Valuation transcription for James Kenny, showing he leased a house, offices, and over 68 acres of land from Dr. Kenny in Gortnavreaghuan at Map Reference 2a.. The land was valued at 11 Pounds, while the house and offices were valued at 1 Pound and 5 Shillings:

No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 2a
Civil Parish: Killadysert
Townland: Gortnavreaghaun
Occupier: James Kenny
Immediate Lessor: Dr. Kenny
Description of Tenement, John Kenny : House, offices, land
Area of Land: 68 Acres, 1 Rood, 22 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 11 Pounds
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 1 Pound, 5 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 12 Pounds, 5 Shillings
____

In adding up all the area of the land that was leased by John Kenny, James Lynch, and James Kenny, Griffiths Valuation comes up with a total of 180 Acres, 3 Roods, and 13 Perches. If you go back to GeoHive the Ordnance Survey Map at http://bit.ly/2UxEdkw, you’ll see the numbers 180, 3, and 13. This refers to the size of Gortnavreaghuan itself. In other words, John Kenny, James Lynch, and James Kenny had leased the whole townland from the Immediate Lessor named Dr. Kenny, who may or may not have owned the property, and who may have been related to John and James Kenny.

Also on the GeoHive Ordnance Survey Map for Gortnavreaghuan, you’ll see three structurers on the red borderline to the left of John Kenny’s property. I believe these were the house and outbuildings leased by James Kenny at Map Reference 2a, along with most of the land to the south and west of the buildings.

By decreasing the magnification of the Gortnavreahaun Ordnance Survey Map, you’ll see the red boundary line surrounding the whole townland: http://bit.ly/2CdVd83

Just past the eastern boundary line of Gortnavreaghuan is the townland of Gortnahaha: http://bit.ly/2Cc6hm1

Anne/Hannah Kenny’s baptism record notes she was born in Gortnahah, though her birth records states she was born in Gortnavreaghan..

Speaking of which Griffiths valuation shows that a Patrick Kelly, at Map Reference 7, had leased over 13 acres of land in Gortnahaha valued at 4 Pounds and 5 Shillings from an Immediate Lessor named William Hodges. The valuation doesn’t show that Patrick Kelly leased a house, which means he either was living in the household of another Occupier who paid the rent, or that he didn’t live in Gortnahaha at all. See the transcription at:

No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 7
Civil Parish: Killadysert
Townland: Gortnahaha
Occupier: Patrick Kelly
Immediate Lessor: William Hodges
Description of Tenement: Land
Area of Land: 13 Acres, 0 Rood, 7 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 4 Pounds, 5 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: -
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 4 Pounds, 5 Shillings
____

Patrick Kelly would not have been required to pay a tax on this property as only those leases valued over 5 Pounds were subject to the tax.

I also found that Patrick Kelly was the Immediate Lessor for an Occupier named Patrick O’Connor, who leased the schoolhouse at Map Reference 7a. Patrick O’Connor may have actually lived in the schoolhouse, which was valued at 4 Shillings. See the Griffiths Valuation transcription below:

No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 7a
Civil Parish: Killadysert
Townland: Gortnahaha
Occupier: Patrick O’Connor
Immediate Lessor: Patrick Kelly
Description of Tenement: School-house
Area of Land: -
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: -
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 4 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 4 Shillings
____

Patrick Kelly may have been related to Bridget Kelly Kenny. He could have been her father, but there’s no way to prove that conclusively from the Griffith Valuation entries.

I located the Griffiths Valuation Ordnance Survey Map at the askaboutireland website, and found Map Reference Numbers 7 and 7a in Gortnahah, and compared that map with the Ordnance Survey Map without the reference numbers from the GeoHive website. See the GeoHive map at: http://bit.ly/2Ut4uAn

In the center of the map you’ll see a parcel of land in the shape of a kite with a portion of the right-hand section of the kite missing. Patrick Kelly leased the left portion of the kite at Map Reference 7. There’s a little structure on or near the land he leased, but this structure was not included in the Griffiths Valuation for Patrick Kelly.

On the map you’ll also see a structure just above the double dotted line and a red boundary line. This structure would be the schoolhouse that Patrick O’Connor leased from Patrick Kelly at Map Reference 7a.

THE TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS

I next wanted to see if I could find the Kenny and Kelly surnames in Gortnavreaghaun and Gortnahaha, County Clare, in an even earlier Irish land record known as the Tithe Applotment Books, which were compiled between 1823 and 1837. In this land record farmers who leased over an acre of land were required to pay tithes to the established Church of Ireland. Paying tithes to the Church of Ireland was not popular with farmers as most of them belonged to the Catholic Church.

For a comprehensive overview of what the Tithe Applotment Books were, go to the National Archives of Ireland links below:

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/about.jsp

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/aboutmore.jsp

You can search the Tithe Applotment Books at the National Archives of Ireland website for 30 of the 32 counties of Ireland

I first searched the Tithe Applotment Books for any farmers in Gortnavreaghuan, and once again found John and “Jas” Kenny. In the Tithe books however, the name of the townland is spelled, “Gortnavreeghan.”

Tithe payments in Gortnavreeghan were enumerated in the year 1825.

To view the Tithe Applotment Book indexes for John Kenny and James Kenny in “Gortnavreeghan see:
https://is.gd/Nyy34Z

To access a copy of the original Tithe Applotment Book page entries for John and Jas Kenny in Gortnavreeghan see: https://is.gd/jX42Iv

On the original Tithe page the name of the townland is spelled “Gortnafrehane,” which on the page is located just below the townland of Lisaverehane. The tithe books show that John and James did not lease any 1st quality land for growing crops, but had leased 24 acres of 2nd quality land, 14 acres of 3rd quality land, and 53 acres of 4th quality land. The total amount of land they leased was 91 acres. The amount of money that John and James Kenny paid is broken down between “Rectorial Tithes,” and “Vicarial Tithes.” For an explanation of Rectorial and Vicarial tithes see: https://is.gd/7RP1qu

John and James paid two Rectorial Tithes, one in the amount of 2 Pounds, 8 Shillings, and 5 Pence, and another in the amount of 9 Pounds, 2 Shillings, and 2 pence. They also paid Vicarial Tithes in the amount of 1 Pound, 3 Shillings, and 8 3/4 Pence. The total amount of tithes they paid to the Church of Ireland was 3 Pounds, 12 Pence, and 1 ¾ Shillings. John and James Kenny are the only two famers recorded in Gortnafrehane who paid tithes. The record doesn’t tell if there were any farmers in Gortnafrehane who farmed under an acre of land, and therefore not subject to paying tithes to the Church of Ireland

I also searched the Tithe Applotment Books to see if any Kennys or Kellys had paid tithes in Gortnahaha. This townland is spelled, “Gurtnahaha,” in the tithe books.

I found no Kennys or Kellys enumerated in Gurtnahaha. Go to the following National Archives of Ireland links to see the names of the tithe payers in Gurtnahaha: https://is.gd/QLqE18 and https://is.gd/zvhVvB

While going through the Tithe Applotment Book entries at the National Archives of Ireland website, I came across 16 farmers from a townland called, “Daugnive,” who paid tithes to the Church of Ireland in 1824. Daugnive would be the alternate spelling for Dagnieve, where James Kenny was born in 1883. The next townland enumerated after Daugnive in the Tithe Applotment Books was Coolmeen Beg. “Beg” comes from the Irish word “beag,” which means Little. In other words, “Coolmeen Little.”. See: https://is.gd/v3q275

I looked again but still was unsuccessful is locating Dagnieve/Daugnive on a map of County Clare. When next you visit Ireland, you may want to stop by the Killadysert Post Office and ask the postmaster or postmistress there if they know where Dagnieve is, or was located.

CONCLUSION

Maureen, from the baptism and birth records, coupled with Griffiths Valuation , the Tithe Applotment Books, and the 1901 and 1911 census returns, I would say that Gortnavreaghuan is the ancestral townland of your Kenny ancestors who had lived there for most of the 19th century and into the early 20th century.

On another observation, that Daniel Kenny and Bridget Kelly had survived the Great Famine between 1845 and 1851, is a testament to the strength of their families during a time when historians estimate that a million Irish died as a result of famine and disease, and that another million Irish people had immigrated to the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

The famine in Ireland at the time was known as “an Gorta Mór,” or “The Great Hunger.” See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)

There are 11 attachments with this reply. They include:

Hannah Kenny’s 1864 birth record
Mary Kenny’s 1867 birth record
Anne Kenny’s 1869 birth record
Ellen Kenny’s 1872 birth record
Bridget Kenny’s 1875 birth record
Margaret Kenny’s 1877 birth record
Joseph Kenny’s 1880 birth record
James Kenny’s 1883 birth record
Thady Kenny’s 1899 marriage record
Daniel Kenny’s 1891 death record
Bridget Kenny’s 1921 death record
____

With Kind Regards,

Dave Boylan