Dennis Killeen m Minnie Bernard

Hello Linda,

I believe I found information about Dennis Killeen and his family, including your grandmother Annie. I also uncovered information about Annie's siblings and her father and mother in Ireland, and will send this to you sometime in the coming days, as I’d like to do a little more research connerning American as well as Irish records.

Merry Christmas,

Dave Boylan

Hello Linda,

In your research into your grnadmother Annie's family, have you come across the last names of Barnard/Bernard and Lane?

Thank you.

Dave

Yes. James Bernard m Johanna Lane in Mallow Cork County. She is my gggma.
Thank you

Yes. James Bernard m Johanna Lane in Mallow Cork County. She is my gggma.
Thank you

Attached Files

Hello Linda,

When I didn’t receive a reply after a couple of days I thought you may not have gotten the message I had posted to Ireland Reaching Out, and so I deleted the information I originally found just before Christmas of 2021 concerning Dennis Killeen, and began to help another person with their Irish genealogy.

In any case I’m sending as much information as I can find. I don’t know if you have copies of original records, transcriptions, or indexes, but as much as possible I’ll provide indexes, transcriptions as well as copies of original records for your ancestors.

DENNIS KILLEEN

Much of the information uncovered about Denis Killeen comes from the Ancestry.com subscription website.

One of the last bits of information I found when searching for information about Dennis Killeen at Ancestry.com, was a user submitted copy of his obituary from the San Francisco Call newspaper, Volume 80, Number 37, page 15, dated July 7, 1896.

But the obituary was extremely small and impossible to read. I had to “print screen” the image of the obituary and then enlarge it, but when enlarged the obituary became very blurry, though I could make out some of the information in the obituary. For example, the obit shows Dennis died on July 5, 1896, and that he was the “beloved husband of Minnie Killeen.”

The obituary is attached to this reply, and also shows that Dennis was born in Kings County, Ireland. Today Kings County is called County Offaly.

His county of birth was exactly what I had been looking for.

Also at Ancestry.com I found a baptism index, as well as a copy of the original baptism record for a Denis “Killan.” His baptism took place in the Catholic Parish of Lusmagh, on 17 May 1845. His father is John Killan. His mother is Mary Martin.

Lusmagh was also a civil parish in Kings County and was and still is a Catholic parish as well.

See the baptism index below:

Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915

Name: Dennis Killan
Baptism Age: 0
Event Type: Baptism
Birth Date: 1845
Baptism Date: 17 May 1845
Baptism Place: Offaly, Lusmagh, Ireland
Diocese: Clonfert
Father: John Killan
Mother: Mary Martin

Source Citation
National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 02433 / 13

Source Information
Ancestry.com. Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016
____

According to the John Grenham website, Killeen is an alternate spelling for Killan. The majority of those with the name are found in counties Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, and Offaly. See the John Grenham link at: https://www.johngrenham.com/findasurname.php?surname=Killeen

The copy of the original baptism record from Ancestry.com is attached to this reply. The baptism record comes from the National Library of Ireland. I’ll have more information about the National Library of Ireland later in this reply.

Dennis’s baptism is the 3rd entry down from the top of the baptism register. As you’ll notice, Dennis’s last name in the original baptism record looks more like Killeen than Killan.

The baptism record shows that his godparents were Michl (Michael) Gibbons and Mary Killeen.

Mary Killeen may have been John Killeen’s sister.

Without previous knowledge about who Dennis’s parents were however, there is no way to tell with complete certainty if this baptism refers to the Dennis Killeen you are looking for. You would need to uncover a U.S. record to see whether or not the baptism recorded in the Lusmagh Catholic Parish is for your Dennis Killeen. For now you can look at this baptism record as circumstantial evidence, rather than direct evidence for your Dennis Killeen in Ireland. I’ll have more information about circumstantial evidence later in this reply.

Linda, have you come across the last name of Martin in any of your research concerning Denis Killeen?

The Find A Grave submission for Dennis gives his date of birth as 1848, and his age as 47-48, but his age on the gravestone may be off by a few years. The graves of some of my ancestors from Ireland do not have their correct years of birth.

See the Find A Grave entry for Dennis at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106511349/dennis-killeen

Dennis would have been born during the Great Famine. The worst years of the famine took place between 1845 and 1851. During this time historians estimate that approximately a million in people in Ireland had died from starvation and disease, while another million left Ireland for places such as England, the U.S. Canada, and Australia/New Zealand.

U.S. RECORDS

Before I located the baptism index and copy of the original baptism record for Dennis Killan/Killeen at Ancestry.com, I found him in the 1880 census where he is recorded with his wife Minnie and their son Walter. The census lines for the Killeen family are highlighted in green/yellow. The 1880 census is attached to this reply. You’ll be able to enlarge the census page from the attachment.

The census shows that 30 year old Denis, his 24 year old wife Minnie, and their infant son Walter were living at 907 23rd Street in San Francisco. Denis is shown to be a “Carriage Painter,” who had been out of work for 4 months during 1880. This means he only worked two months in 1880. The census taker named E.J. Sweeny came by the Killeen home on 14 June of that year.

The census shows that Denis and Minnie were from Ireland and that their son Walter was born in California. Minnie’s occupation is “Keeping house.”

The census gives Walter’s age as 11/12, meaning he was 11 months old when the census taker came by. This is an indication that Walter was born in 1879, and that his parents were likely married sometime in the mid to late 1870s.

The Killeens are living on 23rd Street, but the census shows that the residents before as well as after the Killeen household were living on Chattanooga Street in San Francisco. You can see the location of 23rd Street and Chattanooga Street on the Google Map at: https://tinyurl.com/yckrnufm

The following links will take you to Google Street Views where 23rd Street and Chattanooga Street cross one another:
https://tinyurl.com/2p8cdmfm https://tinyurl.com/2p8nj2wb https://tinyurl.com/2p9d9z5x https://tinyurl.com/36chw9ye

I looked for both a church marriage record and a civil registration marriage record for Denis Killeen and Minnie/Mary Bernard in Ireland and the U.S., but didn’t find them.

I looked for their marriage record at the Ancestry.com website as well as the FamilySearch website. Linda, have you found their marriage record?

I found a collection at Ancstry.com called, “California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898.” Dennis is recorded in the California Voter Registers at least six times, the earliest for the year 1868.

The voting registers not only give Dennis’s age, and country of birth, but also his occupation, street address, and the date of his naturalization when he became an American citizen. As you’ll see in the index below for 1868, Dennis was 22 years old and living at 321 Jesse Street in San Francisco. He was employed as a painter. His date of naturalization was 19 October 1868. The place of Naturalization was San Francisco. The year of the voter registration and the year of his naturalization are both 1868, which means he registered to vote as soon as he became an American citizen. See the index below:

California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898

Name: Dennis Killeen
Age: 22
Birth Year: abt 1846
Birth Place: Ireland
Occupation: Painter
Residence Year: 1868
Residence Address: 321 Jessie
Residence Place: San Francisco, California, USA
Naturalization Date: 19 Oct 1868
Naturalization Place: San Francisco

Sources:
Ancestry.com

Original data:
Great Registers, 1866–1898. Microfilm, 185 rolls. California State Library, Sacramento, California.
____

For a copy of the original 1868 voter registration page for Dennis Killeen, see the attachment. He is at Number 33565.

The 1875 voter registration list still shows Dennis still employed as a painter and living at 321 Jesse Street.

In the 1886, 1888, and 1892 voter registration lists Dennis is living at 609 Bartlett Street in San Francisco. In the 1892 voter list, his occupation is “Carriage Ptr,” that is carriage painter, which is the same occupation recorded for him in the 1880 census. The 1892 voter list also shows that Dennis was 45 years old, was 5 feet 8 and a quarter inches tall, had a “Fr complexion,” (Fresh Complexion), had blue eyes and gray hair, lived on the first floor of his residence, and had occupied all of the first floor. The voter list also shows the date of his naturalization was October 19, 1868 in San Francisco’s 4th District Court. The date of the voter registration is October 15 1892.

The 1892 voter list for Dennis Killleen is attached to this reply.

From the late 1860s to the early 1890s, the voter registration lists show Dennis living in three different locations in San Francisco. The first is 321 Jessie Street; the second is 907 23rd Street (also his address in the 1880 census), and the third, 609 Bartlett Street.

The 1892 voter list shows that Dennis Killeen had moved to 609 Bartlett Street. A Google Map shows that Bartlett Street also crosses 23rd Street east of Chattanooga Street: https://tinyurl.com/2p82djmw

Another Google Map shows that Jessie Street is north of 23rd Street, Chattanooga Street, and Bartlett Street: https://tinyurl.com/yfc5e6y3

The voter registration lists show that Dennis Killeen became a naturalized American citizen on October 19, 1868. His naturalization took place in the San Francisco, California’s 4th District Court.

I looked for his naturalization record at Ancestry.com and also at the FamilySearch websites but didn’t find it.

While I didn’t find Dennis’s naturalization record online, there may be one for him.

According to the NorCal Genealogy website, you can write to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in San Bruno, California, to see if they can locate Dennis’s naturalization records. The contact information for the NARA office is:

Attention: Historical Naturalizations
National Archives and Records Administration
Pacific Region-San Francisco
1000 Commodore Drive
San Bruno CA 94066
____

For more information about naturalization records see the NorCal Genealogy website at: https://www.sfgenealogy.org/norcal/calnat.htm

If you write to the NARA office in San Bruno, make sure to include the information from California voter lists that Dennis was naturalized in the 4th District Court, San Francisco, on October 19, 1868.

If the naturalization record is found there will be a fee. Copies of a naturalization record less than 20 pages will be $10, though I don’t know if the copy fee has increased since the information from NARA has been placed online.

For people from Ireland some naturalization records will tell you at least the county the person came from. Not all naturalization records provide this information however. Dennis’s naturalization record may state that he was a resident of Great Britain and Ireland under the rule of Queen Victoria.

The earliest records at Ancestry.com that I found for Dennis Killeen were in San Francisco directories, from a collection at Ancestry.com called, “U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.”

The 1865 directory shows Dennis’s “Killien” was a “Waiter” at 523 Clay Street and that his dwl” (Dwelling) was at 126 Natoma Street in San Francisco.

The 1867 directory listing shows Dennis was a Painter whose ‘Dwl,” was at 136 Natoma Street.

Both directory listing indexes from Ancestry.com are below:

U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995

Name: Dennis Killien
Residence Year: 1865
Street Address: 523 Clay dwl 126 Natoma
Residence Place: San Francisco, California, USA
Occupation: Waiter
Publication Title: San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1865

Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
____

U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995

Name: Dennis Killeen
Residence Year: 1867
Street Address: 136 Natoma
Residence Place: San Francisco, California, USA
Occupation: Painter, Dwl
Publication Title: San Francisco Directory, 1867

Source Information
Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
____

Copies of the original 1865 and 1867 San Francisco Directory listings for Dennis Killen are attached to this reply.

A Google Map shows that Jesse Street and Natoma Street are near each other off 6th Street, and that Clay Street, where Dennis was employed as a waiter, is a little over two miles north: https://tinyurl.com/2mnss6cn

For Google Street Views of Natoma Street, see: https://tinyurl.com/2p88zk2j and https://tinyurl.com/2s3j4y45

For a Google Street View of Clay Street where Dennis worked as a waiter, see: https://tinyurl.com/jedakhkf

In the 1864 San Francisco Directory, John, Thomas, and Timothy “Killean” are living at 136 Natoma Street, where Dennis would be listed the following year in the 1865 directory. They may have been Dennis’s brothers. The 1864 directory listing is attached to this reply.

Dennis Killeen is also found in San Francisco directory listings for 1868, 1869, 1871, 1873, 1874, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, and 1891. There is also a 1901 directory listing for Dennis Killeen, which must be an oversight, as Dennis had died in 1896.

The 1901 directory shows Dennis is a painter living at 531 Bartlett Street. Minnie Killeen, his “widow,” is also shown residing at 531 Bartlett Street. The 1901 directory is attached to this reply.

Not wanting to leave the city directories just yet, I wanted to see if Mary/Minnie Bernard had also been living in San Francisco in the 1860s and 1870s before she had married Dennis Killeen.

I specifically wanted to see if she too had been living on Natoma Street.

I found that she had. The earliest directory listing I could locate for her was for the year 1874. She is not indexed at Ancestry.com in the directory, however. A copy of the original San Francisco directory for 1874 shows that Miss Minnie Bernard is a Shoefitter with Buckingham & Hecht, and that her dwelling was at 614 Natoma Street.

Listed above her are Johanna and John L. Bernard at 614½ Natoma Street. Johanna is shown to be a widow. I believe she would be Minnie’s mother. John L. Bernard is a blacksmith with Carl Hinz. I suspect he is Minnie’s brother, The San Francisco directory listing for Johanna, John, and Minnie Bernard is attached to this reply.

You can speculate that Dennis Killeen and Minnie Bernard had met when they were both living on Natoma Street in San Francisco in the 1870s.

THE 1870 U.S. CENSUS FOR THE “KILLIE” HOUSEHOLD

I now wanted to see if I could find Denis Killeen and Mary/Minnie Bernard individually in the 1870 census. I believe I found them both in the 1870 census, though the surname spelling for Dennis and other members of the family is spelled “Killie.” The 1870 census is attached to this reply.

The head of the Killie household is 38 year old Annie Killie. Her occupation is “Keeping House.” The census shows her personal state is worth $400 and that she was born in Ireland. She had also attended school during the previous year.

Also in the household is 26 year old Timothy Killie, employed as a “Long shore man;” 22 year old Martin Killie, who “Works Harness shop;” and 20 year old Dennis Killie, a “Carriage Painter.” Timothy, Martin and Dennis were born in Ireland.

They were enumerated in the First Precinct of the 10th Ward in San Francisco, on 17 June 1870, by the Assistant Marshal, Henry B. Simingston. The Post Office Address was San Francisco.

THE 1870 CENSUS FOR THE BERNARD HOUSEHOLD

I also located 50 year old Johanna Bernard and four of her children, including “Mary,” in the 1870 census living in San Francisco. The census is attached.

Johanna is shown to be “Keeping House,” as an occupation. Her husband is not in the household with her, and so he may have been deceased by the year 1870. The census also shows that the value of Johanna’s personal estate was $150, and that she was born in Ireland.

All four of her children were also born in Ireland. They are 17 year old John, employed as an “App. B Smith,” that is, an Apprentice Blacksmith; 15 year old Mary; 14 year old Anna; and 12 year old Hannah. No occupations are recorded for Mary, Anna, and Hannah, and no street address is given for the family, though they were living in the 1st Precinct of the 18th Ward of San Francisco, with a Post Office Address of San Francisco. The census taker, D.W. Taylor, came by Johanna Bernard’s’s household on 14 June of 1870.

POSSIBLE SHIP’S PASSENGER LIST FOR THE BERNARD FAMILY

I found what could be the ship’s passenger list for Johanna and her children, showing they arrived in New York from Liverpool, England on board the Ship Denmark, on 7 October 1868. See the attachment.

The passenger list shows that Johanna is 40 years old, and was from Ireland as were the children with her. These children are 15 year old Jno (John), who was a “Labr,” that is, a Laborer; 14 year old Mary, a “Sevt,” or servant; 8 year old Ann, a “Child;” another child named Jno, who was 7 years old; and a 21 year old servant whose name looks like “Nimo” Bernard.

In going over this ship’s passenger list I am now wondering if 7 year old Jno, was actually 7 year old Johanna Bernard.

The transcontinental railroad in the U.S. was completed in 1869, and so it’s possible Johnna and her children made their way to San Francisco from New York by rail, through connecting trains, though it would have been a long journey.

If not by rail they could have taken a ship to Panama. This was before the Panama Canal was built, and so they would have had to have disembarked, then would have traveled overland through Panama’s malaria infested jungle from east to west, to the Pacific Ocean, and then embarked on another ship to California. This would have been a very unpleasant trip for an adult, more especially so for children to have made.

The other option was to sail from New York down the eastern coasts of North and South America and around Cape Horn to the Pacific Ocean, before heading up north to California. This would have been an extremely long, dangerous, and arduous trip, covering over 13,000 miles.

Johanna and her children could have traveled to California by wagon train. But if the 7 October 1868 Denmark ship’s passenger list refers to your Johanna and her children, I’m not sure if they would have had enough time to arrive in San Francisco, California from New York to have been counted in 1870 census on 4 June of that year.

I’m not sure if they could have made it to San Francisco by any of the other modes of transportation noted above by 1870 if they had arrived in America in 1868. This is why I’m can’t say with certainty that the 1868 Denmark passenger list is for your Bernard family.

MARY/MINNIE BERNARD AND FAMILY IN IRISH RECORDS

You confirmed in your last reply that James Bernard married Johanna Lane in the Mallow, Cork Catholic Parish. I found a transcription of their marriage at the Find My Past (FMP) website. From the transcription I was able to also find a copy of their original Mallow Catholic Church marriage record. First the transcription:

James Bernard and “Johana” Lane were married in the Mallow Catholic Parish on 4 March 1851, according to the FMP transcription. You can access the transcription at the following FMP link. Once you click on the link you may be asked to first register with FMP. Registration is free::
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FMAR%2F0335477%2F1

Attached to the transcription is a link that takes you to a copy of the original Mallow marriage register entry for James and Johana. The original Mallow Catholic parish registers are held by the National Library of Ireland in Kildare Street, Dublin.

The Mallow marriage register can be found at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634706#page/368/mode/1up

There are two facing pages of the register. The marriage for James and Johana is on the right-hand page. Scroll down the page until you come to March 4. You can enlarge the register 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.

The original record shows that the witnesses to the marriage were James Nagle and Richard Drake. To the right of Richard Drake’s name are initials which may be J.M.C. or J.W.C. These are the initials of the priest who married James and Johana.

I next wanted to see how many baptism records I could find for the children of James Bernard and Johanna Lane. Before doing this however, I first wanted to see how far back in time the Mallow Catholic Parish registers of baptism and marriage went. I found this information, as well as a Catholic parish map of Mallow and surrounding Catholic parishes at the National Library of Ireland link at: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0078

As you can see the Mallow Parish marriages go all the way back to 17 April 1757 and are available until 25 June 1881. Mallow Parish baptism commence on 1 January 1809 and are available until 5 February 1881. There are gaps however, in the marriage and baptism registers over the years.

I looked for the Bernard FMP baptism transcriptions not only in the Mallow Catholic Parish but in the surrounding Catholic parishes you see on the map. Going clockwise these parishes include: Doneraile, Annakissy, Watergrasshill, Mourneabbey, Glountane, Ballyclough, and Buttevant.

THE BAPTISM OF JOHN BERNARD

The first baptism transcription I located at the FMP website was for John Bernard. He was baptized in Mallow on 1 September 1852. His mother’s first name is spelled “Johana,” as it was in her marriage record. See the FMP transcription at: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1570907

A copy of John Bernard’s original baptism record is the 4th entry down the left-hand baptism register page, and the first baptism under the September subheading at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634706#page/63/mode/1up

John’s godparents are John Bernard and Nano Nagle.

The marriage record for James and Johana noted earlier shows that James Nagle was one of the witnesses. Nano Nagle may have been James’s wife or a relative.

Nano would be a nickname for either Anne, Anna, Nancy, Hannah, etc.

THE BAPTISM OF MARY BERNARD

Mary was baptized on 27 November 1853 according to the FMP transcription:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1571154

A copy of the original baptism record for Mary Bernard is the second entry on the left-had register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634706#page/77/mode/1up

Her godparents are Johana Lyons and William Lane. William may have been Johana Lane Bernard’s brother. To the left of William’s name are the initials of the priest who baptized Mary. The initials appear to be J.M.C., followed by the initials P.P, which stand for Parish Priest.

THE BAPTISM OF ANNE BERNARD

The FMP transcription for Anne shows she was not baptized in the Mallow Catholic Parish but in the adjoining Catholic Parish of Annakissy, on 12 May 1855: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1622282

A copy of Anne Bernard’s original baptism is the 3rd entry below the May 1855 subheading on the left-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634083#page/92/mode/1up

Anne godparents are Mick (Michael) Lane and Catherine Curtin. Michael Lane may have been Johana Lane Bernard’s brother.

THE BAPTISM OF JOHANNA BERNARD

The FMP transcription shows that Johanna was baptized in the Mallow Catholic Parish on 26 November 1856. See the transcription at the following link:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1571770

A copy of Johanna’s original baptism record is the 4th entry down from the top of the right-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634706#page/112/mode/1up

Her godparents are Daniel Relihan and Catherine Bernard. Catherine may have been James’s sister or perhaps sister-in-law.

Unfortunately, none of the baptism records gives the residence of the Bernard family when each of the four children were baptized. The family did not necessarily live in Mallow, but could have lived in one of the surrounding townlands.

The church in Mallow where three of the four Bernard children were baptized is likely St. Mary’s, on Main Street. On some maps you’ll see Main Street called Thomas Davis Street or Davis Street.

According to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, St. Mary’s was constructed in 1822. The Buildings of Ireland website places the church on Davis Street in Mallow. To read more about the architecture of St. Mary’s and to view a slide presentation of the interior and exterior of the church, go to, go to the Buildings of Ireland link at: https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/20815033/sa…

A Google Map places St. Mary’s Church off Main Street in Mallow: https://tinyurl.com/yc6m8eph

An Ordnance Survey Map from the 1829 to 1841 time period shows the R.C. Chapel off Main Street. The “Church” below the R.C. Chapel is likely the Church of Ireland. The Ordnance Survey Map is from the GeoHive website and is attached to this reply.

John, Mary, and Johanna were baptized in the Mallow Catholic Parish. The baptism record for Anne shows she was baptized in the Annakissy Catholic Parish.

This refers to the Catholic Church in the townland of Annakisha. According to a Google Map, Annakisha is 4.2 miles northeast of Mallow by the shortest route:
https://tinyurl.com/mr42pvea

There are actually three townlands bordering one another named Annakisha in County Cork. These are Annakisha, Annakisha North, and Annakisha South. See the IreAtlas Townland Data Base link at: https://tinyurl.com/9y3ycj35

An Ordnance Survey Map from the 1829 to 1841 time period shows the R.C. Chapel was in Annakisha North. The map is attached to this reply.

The Catholic Church in Annakisha is called St. Crannacht’s, and is located in the Mallow – Dublin Road See the Google Map at: https://tinyurl.com/3ky6ycey

For Google Street Views of St. Crannacht’s Catholic Church go to the following:
https://tinyurl.com/5dmakpc7 https://tinyurl.com/rz5jb9b9 https://tinyurl.com/5fw4bdrz

It's possible that Johanna Bernard went to Annakisha to have her baby because she may have had relatives living there at the time.

To see if I could find a Nagle/Lane connection, I looked for an FMP marriage transcription for a Nagle groom and a Lane bride, and found one. The transcription shows that James Nagle and Ann Lane were married in the Mallow Catholic Parish in 1839. A day and month of the marriage is not part of the transcription at:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FMAR%2F0332318%2F1

I found that James Nagle and Ann Lane were married on February 9, 1839, according to a copy of the original marriage register. The marriage is the 8th entry down the right-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634703#page/24/mode/1up

The witnesses to the marriage were Michael Lane and Patrick Lane.

The 1852 baptism for John Bernard shows his godparents were James Nagle and Nano Nagle. Nano is one of the nicknames for Ann, and so Nano may have been Johana’s sister.

JAMES BERNARD AND JOHANA/JOAHANNA LANE

James and Johana Lane were married on 4 March 1851. I figured at the time of marriage they could have been in their late teens or somewhere in their 20s. They were likely born and baptized in the 1820s or early 1830s. They also may have been baptized in the Mallow Catholic Church.

I started the search for James Bernard’s baptism first. But, without knowing beforehand the first name of his father and the first and maiden name of his mother, I could not be sure if I found the correct baptism for him. Any baptism I did find would be circumstantial evidence, not direct evidence that he was the James Bernard in your line.

I only found one baptism for a James Bernard in the Mallow, Cork Catholic Parish that may refer to your James Bernard. James was baptized on 19 April 1827. His father is John Bernard. His mother is Johanna Lyons. See the FMP transcription of the baptism at: https://tinyurl.com/2a5aad2p

A copy of the original baptism record for James is the 3rd entry up from the bottom of the register page:
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634701#page/25/mode/1up

This record shows that at the time of the baptism in 1827 James and his parents were living in a townland called Ballylaught. The godfather is James Lyons. The first name of the godmother is Franey. Her last name could be Brian. To the right of Franey’s name are the initials W.J. These are the initials of the priest who baptized James.

I couldn’t find a location near Mallow called Ballylaught on any map.

There is the possibility that the April 1827 baptism of James Bernard is the James Bernard in your ancestry. If it is, he would have been 24 years old when he and Johana Lane had married on 4 March 1851.

Linda, in your genealogical research into the Bernard family, have you come across the surname Lyons or Lyon?

JOHANA/JOHANNA LANE

I didn’t find an FMP baptism transcription for a Johana Lane in the Mallow Catholic Parish for the 1820s and 1830s. I expanded the search for her baptism to the several Catholic parishes that surround Mallow. These parishes were listed earlier in this reply.

I found only one baptism that may pertain to the Johana Lane who married James Bernard in 1851. The FMP transcription shows that a Johana Lane was baptized in the Glountane Catholic Parish on 3 November 1833. Her father is “Jerem” Lane. Jerem is the abbreviation for Jeremiah. Johana’s mother is Johana Allen. See:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F1716179

A copy of the original Glountane baptism record for Johana is the 3rd entry up from the bottom of the left-hand register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633921#page/23/mode/1up

The format of the Glountane baptism register is different from the Mallow baptism registers. In the Glountane baptisms, the names of the parents are recorded first, followed by the first name of the child, and then the names of the godparents.

Johana’s godparents were John Hanlon and Mary Hogan.

If this is the Johana Lane who married James Bernard on 4 March 1851, she would have been 17 years old when she married, but would have turned 18 years old in November of 1851.

From the baptism record alone however, there is no way of telling if this Johana Lane is your ancestor.

CONNCLUSION

In Find A Grave entries for Minnie Killeen and her children Walter J. Killeen, Annie Loretta Killen Ross, and Howard J. Killeen, I found they are all buried in the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery Colma, San Mateo County, California. You probably already have their Find A Grave entries though.

They would have all been alive when the San Francisco Earthquake took place on April 18, 1906. Linda, do you have any memoirs or diary entries from Minnie or any of her children concerning the earthquake, as these would make very interesting reading from people who were lived in San Francisco.

Concerning Ireland, I hope someday that you and your family can travel to Mallow, County Cork to see where your Bernard ancestors came from.

My apologies for taking so long to reply.

Best Wishes for the New Year.

Dave Boylan

SOURCES

Ancestry.com
San Francisco Call newspaper, Volume 80, Number 37, page 15, dated July 7, 1896.
https://www.johngrenham.com/findasurname.php?surname=Killeen
National Library of Ireland
Find A Grave
1880 U.S. Census
Google Maps
Google Street Views
FamilySearch
California, U.S. Voter Registers, 1866-1898.
https://www.sfgenealogy.org/norcal/calnat.htm
National Archives and Records Administration
U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995
1870 U.S. Census
Find My Past
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland
GeoHive: Ordnance Survey Maps
IreAtlas Townland Data Base

I want to thank you for such a thorough review.  I am hopeful that after we move beyond this pandemic to get to Ireland.  I would be the first generation ever to return.

I apologize for not acknowledging your work earlier but simply could not Find the Reply button!

Not sure if my previous reply went out or not.  Thank you again for such extensive research.  Much appreciated.  As mentioned earlier I could  not locate the Reply Post so apologize the delay in ackowledging your work.

As for the 1906 earthquake, my grand mother Annie Killeens diary state "small earthquake today."  That is all she entered.

You're w elcome Linda and thank you for your reply.

This pandemic has placed a damper on a lot of travel plans people have made to visit their ancestral homeland in Ireland. Hopefully this latest version of Covid will be short lived so that you can start planning your trip, and visit the Mallow, Cork area where your ancestors came from. That will be a thrill for you to experience.

That is very intresting that your grandmother wrote about the "small earthquake today" in San Francisco in 1906.

Once again, thank you for writing Linda, and Best Wishes,

Dave