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My great grandfather, John J. Kennelly, was born in the Listowel area of Kerry circa 1855 and emigrated to Philadelphia in 1872 where he married Kate McElroy. I have been unable to find his birth record or ascertain the names of his parents. He had a brother, James, born in 1860 and married to Catherine Barry in Ballybunnion in 1863. On his marriage certificate James is listed as being from Moybella and his father's name is listed as James also. The mother's name is unreadable. The reason for my confusion about the names of the parents of James & John is because John is buried in a grave in Philadelphia with a Catherine Kennelly who is the right age to be his mother but her husband's name was Michael and my great grandfather named his older son Michael. I would love to find my great grandfather's baptismal certificate, the names of his parents and if there were other siblings in addition to James who followed John to Philadelphia and raised my grandfather (John, Jr.) and his siblings after the deaths of Kate and John. Unfortunately, both John and Kate died at an early age. Any assistance is appreciated.

Thanks,

Maryellen Redish

mredish

Sunday 14th Jul 2019, 11:45PM

Message Board Replies

  • Hi Miriam,

    Yes, I do have John Kennelly's death certificate but there is no information regarding his parents. The sad fact is that John committed suicide. He had apparently been suffering from severe depression because he was given a Catholic funeral and is buried in a Catholic cemetery in Philadelphia. Michael Kennelly - Catherine's husband - apparently died in Ireland and she came to Philadelphia to live with her son, William. I am still not certain if William is the brother of John and James Kennelly. He may be but he lived in an entirely different section of Philadelphia and most of them all settled in the same area. He may have lived there to be close to a  job. A lot of people on Ancestry have stolen my info. I did find the great granddaughter of James Kennelly several years ago through Ancestry and she had also run into a wall on the parents of John and James. We both tentatively list Michael and Catherine Mullaney Kennelly as their parents. Plus, her grandfather was born in Ireland and she had his baptismal papers. I actually have more information on Catherine Kennelly because on her death certificate her parents are listed as James Mullaney and Mary McElwee. It's so frustrating looking for my Irish ancestors. Ancestry.com has traced my German ancestry back to the 16th century because they kept such excellent records.Thank you for your suggestions.

     

    Maryellen

     

     

    mredish

    Wednesday 17th Jul 2019, 06:28AM
  • John J. Kennelly, Sr. died on 18 March 1903. Catherine Mullaney Kennelly died 16 July 1909. She had emigrated to Philadelphia in 1895.

    Maryellen

    mredish

    Friday 19th Jul 2019, 02:22AM
  • Hello

    My great grandmother was Bridget Kennelly, born around 1852. She married Roger Fenaghty on 8th July 1876 in Ballydonoghue Chaple, Ballyduff, Listowell, County Kerry. The marriage certificate says they were both living in Moybella at the time of their marriage. It shows Bridget's father as James.The following year they had a daughter (also Brdget but known as Delia) who was baptised by a Father Thomas Lawlor who had married Bridget and Roger. Not long after the baby's birth, they emigrated to New Zealand. I have not been able to trace any of Bridget's siblings or her mother. Pip Christchurch New Zealand.

     

     

     

     

     

    Sunday 13th Feb 2022, 02:31AM
  • I wonder if Bridget could be the sister of my great granfather John J. Kennelly, Sr. especially since James was listed as Bridget's father. I have searched in the Listowel area for a James Kennelly who could be the father of John and James but have had no success. Have you searched also? I've often wondered if perhaps this group of Kennellys moved here from a different area. Do you use Irish Genealogy i.e.? I have found more info there than almost anywhere else. When I have some time I'm going to search with Bridget's name included. Her birth date would fit in with John & James timeline. Stay in touch. Thanks for sharing. 

    Maryellen

    mredish

    Monday 14th Feb 2022, 05:11AM
  • Hi Maryellen,

    My Great Great Grandfather was Michael Kennelly and my Great Great Grandmother was Catherine Maloney who did indeed emigrate to Philadelphia after Williams death. Catharine lived in the home with William and Rose Kennelly  along with my Grandfather John Kennelly and his siblings. I don't think Catharine and Michael Kennelly were the parents of James Kennelly but there may be a connection as a brother to William Kennelly.

    Kathleen

    EmeraldKate

    Tuesday 22nd Mar 2022, 12:10AM
  • I am Robert Walsh Fister from the USA. Born in Kentucky now living in South Carolina.

    My G G G Grandmother is Katherine Kennelly born about 1787 and was married to Patrick Walsh and lived in NewTownSandes / Moyvane or near that area as My G G Grandfather John Walsh was born to them in 1806 and a Patrick Born 1815 and a Johanna born 1819 all born in the same area. Just read some of the posts on here and wanted to pass a little information on. Hard to find anything from back in these days, Irish Geneolagy is as close as I can find from the early days of the 1800 s.

    Have a great day and enjoy your searches.

    Robert Walsh

     

    Robert Walsh Fister

    Wednesday 15th Feb 2023, 06:13PM
  • Robert Walsh Fister - do you have any additional information about siblings of parents of Katherine Kennelly?  My wife's ancestor is a Timothy Kennelly born around 1797, also from around the Newtownsandes/Moyvane region.  We are hoping to find any siblings or cousins of this family  BTW, Timothy married a Catherine Connor and emigrated to Georgia - and later moved through Kentucky up to Ohio and eventually to Iowa.

    I hope you might have some information we can use.

    Thanks, 

    David McGinnis (for Sheila Kennelly McGinnis)

    dmginnis

    Tuesday 27th Jun 2023, 04:08PM

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