John Kane, Richhill, Armagh 1832-June 14, 1900 died at Lisburn - Seeking name of wife

If John came from Richill, then the RC parish records (Kilmore) there start in 1845.  I have searched the RC records on Ancestry for both a possible marriage and for Mary Ann Kane’s baptism but without success. It’s possible that both events pre-date the start of the parish records.

As far as earlier wills are concerned, it’s unlikely that his wife left a will. In those days a married woman’s property was normally her husbands and a woman only needed one if single or widowed.I’d guess that John’s wife died in Rich-hill after which he eventually went to live with his daughter in Lisburn.

You could search for John’s wife’s death using the statutory records. If she died before 1864 there is probably no record to find. (RC parishes rarely kept death records). The records from 1878 onwards are viewable free on the irishgenealogy site. There are 51 Kane deaths between 1878 and 1900, registered in Armagh (which includes Richhill). Half of those were male and many more can be excluded because they are not of the right age. You might want to go through them looking for a married woman who died in Richhill (sometimes known as Legacorry townland). That leaves the years 1864 – 1877 which are not on-line free yet. I searched them. The GRONI site allows you to narrow the search to those deaths registered in Richhill. There are only 2: Agnes died 25.12.1866 aged 56 and Mary died 20.10.1870 aged 50. You can view the original certificates on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option:

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2.50 (sterling) to a view a certificate. 

Thank you so much for the information.  Maybe the John Kane was not Catholic??  I will follow your leads.  Sincerely, Alice