Searching for Kelly family line, Gallway

AkellyMc,

Attached is a civil birth record for a Martin Kelly (14 Apr 1864), Salt Hill, Galway.....parents were John McGrath and Catherine Kelly...record states that they were unmarried.

Regards,

Do you have a copy of Martin's death cert which would give any more information ? or his immigration papers /ship he sailed on ?  I have come across a number of birth certs in the time frame, do you have a complete date of birth (day/month/year), the more information you can provide the better the match. Birth records were not always precise so are you certain he was born in 1864 as I came across a birth record for a Martin, father Joseph in 1866, if you can find more information please advise. 

Copy of Martin 1866

v

Eileen and Carolyn, thank you for connecting and providing this information. @Carolyn he may have been born out of wedlock. I’ve had that suspicion since he never talked about his parents. Below is all the information I have on him. As you can see, his birthdate varies based on records in which he provided his information. I honestly don’t think he knew exactly when his birthdate was. Or, how to count the years. I also know he was illiterate. Here is all I’ve dug up:

***This is the only Census record I could find after USA arrival for Martin Kelly. Not 100% certain it’s factual, but matches rumored story***

1880 census (16) = 1865 - (Listed on census as adopted son “Kelly, Martin”, birthplace Ireland) -- Mother Ann Kelly Mulverhill and her husband John Mulverhill

***I know these are 100% Martin Jospeh Kelly***

1888 marriage record (24) = 1864 (States he is 25, Born Aug 1, 1864, Ireland)

1900 census (32) = 1868 - (Irish/Ireland)

1910 census (45) = 1865 - (Irish/Ireland)

1911 birth record of 2nd son (48) = 1864

1913 (48) = 1865 - Naturalization Papers (states Galway, Ireland. Arrived 1971.) My grandmother always said her grandfather came at 7 years old from county Galway. And her other grandfather was an O’Connor or Connor…she couldn’t remember but that Martin mentioned it.

1920 census  (53) = 1867 - (Ireland)

1953 death cert of his 1st son George Martin Kelly, my great grandfather. Death cert lists Martin Joseph, Ireland his father.

He had 5 children: George Martin, John Thomas, Florence, Mary Ellen, Josephine

This is all I have unfortunately. Any clues here to help?

As you can see from the varying records, yes…his birth year could be anywhere from 1864-1866. I honestly don’t think he knew. 
 

Here is earliest photo I have of him. He’s with his first born son, my great grandfather George Martin. 
 

1880 New York census, Is this your Martin ? It says he is 15 yrs so year of birth 1865

v

vhttps://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZFT-NZZ

This is the record for Martin Kelly age 15 years  (Adopt) son of John and Ann Mulverhill parents to Mary, Ann, Johanna and Lena Mulverhill, all born in the US. The eldest child Mary is aged 21 years (this is the 1880 census), so I am wondering about the date of immigration ...1871, did Martin travel out with other people (he was only 7) or did the Mulverhill family return to Ireland to collect him. Are the names of his siblings correct ? It would be interesting to see his immigration papers to answer these details.

Hello Eileen, I’m adding my pdf of facts and possibilities for Martin Joseph Kelly. It helps me keep track of all I’m gathering. I added what you and Carolyn found as possibilities. Take a look. It’s really difficult without his parents names. :( His middle name is a clue as I know Irish sons take either their father or mothers father as a middle name. Do you see any other clues on this pdf? Thank you!

I came across another birth record 1869 ( 9th October ), I know it is outside of where we are searching but I noticed the mother's maiden name is Connor and you mentioned this name, I will keep searching. This is a Galway birth, Glenamaddy , Galway. It can be frustrating but hopefully somewhere there is a matching record.

v

Goodness I just came across this birth record and it is the first one that is 1st August but again 1869 in Loughrea County Galway, but child is called Martin Joseph , father Joseph Egan and mother Mary Kelly, I don't think they are married but an interesting record.

v

Eileen - this is great, thank you! Thinking it really is 1864 based on what I found today…see pdf. Incredible. I found him on the boat, 7 years old, by himself! This completely matches his naturalization paperwork and story. Therefore, Carolyn’s 1864 find may be true. Perhaps he was born out of wedlock and sent to live with a relative? Why else would you be on a boat, by yourself, at seven? 

I am delighted with your achievements in finding Martin. Remember this was an awful time in Ireland just after the famine and so many dying from typhoid, smallpox and other fevers, perhaps his parents succumbed to disease and there was no one to take the child, poor lad, to make his way alone in the world at such a young age, I hope his life was so much better in the USA. If he had stayed in Ireland , they would have put him in the workhouse and that would be the end of him so thank God he made it , great credit to the little boy. You should be proud of him and yourself in what you have achieved with your research , well done.

Eileen, this is incredible insight. I cannot imagine what the country was going through and the pain and sacrifices made to leave, even alone at 7 years old. Yes, I’m very proud of him and also sad to think what event in his life made him get on that boat. I know he never spoke of his life, his past has been a complete mystery, I still don’t have answers on his death.

Knowing what you just shared, what we’ve uncovered here and what I’ve found, I do believe he was born in 1864. Maybe 1865 at the latest. So that means I have the April 1864 record and March 1864 record to research. No records for 1865. If you find any others, please let me know.

If he was an orphan on his own, I do have that census record of Martin living in New York listed as “adopted son” to Anne Kelly Mulverhill and John Mulverhill. Perhaps Anne was a relative saying they would take him in. Plausible!

AKellyMc,

Just my two cents on middle names.....they became more popular in Ireland towards the end of the nineteenth century. There are few middle names on records from the 1860s, and I've never heard of that Irish tradition that you mentioned about middle names being their parent's first names. All eight of my great grandparents were born in Ireland between 1859 and 1871, and none of them had middle names on their birth records. However, it was common for them to give themselves middle names once they emigrated. I don't know why they did that...maybe it was a popular thing in the US, and they wanted to "fit in". So, Martin calling himself Martin Joseph was something that probably happened post immigration, and I would not put too much weight on thinking his father's name was Joseph.

Regards, 

Carolyn, 

Thank you for that insight, very helpful. It’s something my grandmother always told me. So I’ll not put much weight in that as I continue to look for his birth. The 1864 record you provided is great. Where did you find that? Do you have a link? I’d love that resource.
 

Martin only had two sons, one died young with no children. The other, George, was my great grandfather. He had one child, my grandmother Marian. So my grandmother felt responsible to carry on the Kelly name. That’s how it all started:

Martin Joseph Kelly

George Martin Kelly

Marian Jean Kelly - she said it’s the female version of Martin and George. :)

John Kelly (my father)

Amanda Kelly (me)

Shannon Kelly (my daughter)

I pray this journey gives me more insight into the man and the name we’re all trying to carry on and honor. I’ll keep looking for his birth, would love any further insight or guidance. Thank you so much!

AkellyMc,

You can go to irishgenealogy.ie under the civil records tab to search birth records that began in 1864. That is the same resource that Eileen found her records. No need to look on the church records tab because there are no records there for Galway. The record that I suggested, the registration district was "Galway". There are 13 registration districts in Galway, and you can see them on the site irish-genealogy-toolkit.com. 

Regards,

Thank you Carolyn. I was looking on these sites and found this record for a Martin Kelly born July 1864 in Roscommon/Ballinameen? I looked on a map at that seems to be on the borders of Galway. Perhaps he just listed Galway since it’s more widely known? This is a very close record to his “August 1, 1864 Galway” statement on his naturalization paperwork. Wondering your thoughts.

AKellyMc,

Interesting/coincidence that the surnames are all the same, but these are two different records for two different people. The RC parish of Ballinameen is at the very northern part of Roscommon, and a very long distance from Salt Hill, Galway.....Salt Hill is an area of Galway city. A good site to view the distances is john.grenham.com. It was a free site for a long time, but now it is a subscription site after you click on it a number of times, a pay wall appears. But you can see some things before that happens.....at the top of the page, click on browse, then on left side, maps, and a menu appears for RC parishes and civil parishes.....you can view the distance if you view Roscommon's RC parishes - Ballinameen at the top of the county, then you can see where Galway city is from there. If his naturalization papers state Galway as place of birth, then I would stick with that information. I don't think folks had any reason to make up that information, and they were young enough to recall it.

Regards,

Carolyn, 

Yes, a very interesting coincidence in the names. I took a look at the site and see the distance from Galway. His naturalization papers do say Galway, but it also says August 1st as his birthdate… which we cannot find. Just this April 1864 record. So it’s very difficult to know truth. He was 7 when he left Ireland, so I wonder how much got lost due to his age.

I’m going to stick with the April 1864 record. I did find tonight two records in Galway for Catherine Kelly’s death in 1868 and John McGraths death in 1870. I filled out the form to request more information. But it does match up with the timeline of Martins departure in 1871. Perhaps sent to America due to their deaths? Going to keep researching!

AKellyMc,

Don't get hung up on birth date months! Back to my own experience....none of my 8 great grandparent's stated birth dates on their US census records/death records match the dates on their baptismal/civil birth records in Ireland. Folks back then did not celebrate birthdays as we do now, it was not something that was remembered, and it was not uncommon upon immigration to make oneself older or younger for a variety of reasons - employment, marriage, lower fare on passage over to the US, etc....Considering Martin was a young child when he immigrated, those examples don't apply to him; but the difference between August and April is nothing to be concerned about. I'd say those two death records, if they turn out to be his parents, are good evidence for his reason for leaving.

Regards,

Carolyn, this has been very educational for me. Thank you for taking the time to guide me. I’m so much further along in my search, and feeling more confident now. Much appreciated!