Looking for the Moynihan Family

Kathryn:

I located two possible death index records for John in 1927 and 1934. I could not locate a good record for Julia. I noticed that in the 1901 census that John's wife was shown as Catherine and then Julia in 1911. I assume this is the same person? I also noticed that the family moved from Ballyvourney civil parish to Clondrohid civil parish.

The Catholic Church in Clondrohid is St. Abina's. You may want to contact that church about the burial location. http://www.variouscplaces.net/cloyne/parishes/clondrohidchurch.htm

Roger McDonnell

Marriage record for John Moynihan & Julia Buckley. January Quarter 1879. Reg District Macroom Vol 5 Page 445. You can obtain a Photo copy of this record for 4€ which will give their fathers names. www.groireland.ie

Thank you for such a quick response!  I believe the two John Moynihans listed are two different people.  My grandmother was born in 1896 and the home was in Clondrohid at that time, as were the siblings to follow.

I truly appreciate this information.

Thank you for the marriage record information and speedy response.  I will definitely order a copy of the record - I never thought I would have a chance to find out my great-great grandparents' names - thank you!

Kathryn:

I did some more searching and for some reason it looks like the 1901 census return for Ardeen is not included in the National Archives data base.

Roger

Hi Roger.  Thank you for the follow up.  After looking at the family tree information I have put together, the first John Moynihan might be my great grandfather.  Based upon the 1911 census, my grandfather would have been born around 1851 (the census states he was 60 years old).

I tried the link you provided for St. Abina's Church, but did not see contact information.  Could you shed some light on that?

I am also wondering if the place John and Julia's son Humphrey lived (Flatts Ballymakeera) is a different parish?  I am hoping Humphrey is buried at the same place as his parents (wherever that is).

I appreciate your help.

-Kathy

Kathryn:

The best I could find is the name of the parish priest and a phone number.

http://www.cloynediocese.ie/parishes/parish-details/?parishID=19

Flats townland is in Ballyvourney parish which is right next door to Clondrohid parish. If you have access to Google Maps you will see that Flats is to the west of Ardeen maybe three miles?

Roger

I checked out the 1901 census you referenced, but that is definitely a different family.  Thanks.

Using the link you provided I was able to find an email to contact the church - thank you.  I will follow up to see if they can provide further information.

Thank you also for the information on Flats townland.  I will also follow up on that.

I am also going to see if I can obtain a death certificate for the first John Moynihan (year of death 1927) to see if that is my great grandfather.  Having a specific date of death will help my search immensely.

-Kathy

That's them! Roger ("CastlemoreRoscommon")posted that St. Abina is the Catholic Church in Clondrohid.  I will try to contact them.  Did you find the baptism information at any particular site?

This is exciting - I feel like I am getting closer to finding John & Julia.  Thank you.

The John Moynihan of Ullanes, Cork you referred to is not my great grandfather.  The John Moynihan I am looking for was born about 1850-1851.  From the records I've looked at, I believe he died around 1927.  We'll keep trying.  Thanks.

Hi "Reets".  Thank you for the time you have spent searching for helpful links to my family.  I have quite a few good leads now which I am going to pursue.  If I need further assistance, I will be sure to do another posting.

Best wishes.

I have been going over the info I have and doing further research in the search for my great-grandparents graves and my grand uncle's grave.  Thanks to you one of the pieces of the puzzle I obtaining was a copy of the marriage record for John Moynihan and Julia Buckley. 

I am still looking for the gravesites, but I wanted to thank you for your help.

Just wanted to let you know that I used the link you provided above and was directed to contact Fr. Anthony Wickham, Parochial House, Clondrohid, Macroom, Co. Cork, and/or Fr. Donal O'Brien, Parochial House, Ballyvourney, Co. Cork.  Unfortunately neither has responded...

The Moynihans you referred to above (my grandmother Katie Moynihan married to Thomas Kelleher), Mary, Patrick, Neil, and Francis are my family, and I believe the Julia Moynihan you mentioned is also my grandmother's sister.  They ended up moving to Elizabeth Street in San Francisco, and I discovered Peter had a grocery store pretty close to where I grew up - who knew?!

I was able to track down 11 siblings who moved to San Francisco, see the houses they lived in, obtained death certificates for them, and visited their gravesites which are all at Holy Cross.  I even discovered a "long lost cousin" who lives in Malden, MA (Abbie's great-granddaughter), who I wasn't even aware of!  I obtained Abbie's death certificate from MA, and I also obtained Humphrey Moynihan's death certificate from County Cork, but I still don't know where he is buried, nor his parents John and Julia.  I wrote a letter to the widow of Humphrey's estate, but had no response, so I don't know if she is still alive.

Overall, you have been "spot on" with the information you have provided to me, and I just wanted to thank you for that.  If you come up with anything else, I'd be thrilled to hear it.

Best regards.

Hello.  I hope there's still someone following this trail!  I'm delighted to find all this info so easily!

My grandmother was Julia Moynihan, sister of your Grandmother it seems so I think that makes us second cousins?  Julia did indeed emigrate to the USA where she met and married my grandfather, Daniel Houlihan of Castletownbere in County Cork.  They returned to Ireland in about 1915/16 and remained there.  Did you have any luck in finding out where John and Julia and Humphrey are buried?

Lizzie.

Hi Lizzie, unfortunately your Julia Moynihan was not my Julia Moynihan, although I would not be surprised to discover that you are I are still some level of cousins.  My Julia married Peter Kelleher in San Francisco.  Only Humphrey Moynihan remained in Ireland.  My family and I went to Ireland last fall (the people were wonderful) and with the assistance of some of the residents, found the cemetery where Humphrey, John, and Julia are buried (St. Gobnait's in the "old cemetery" part).  Sadly there were no headstones, so we were not able to find the exact location in the cemetery.  However there was a plot full of Moynihans near a wall about midway through the cemetery, and I felt that there was an excellent chance that they were with them.  I hope to erect a placard on the nearby stone wall some day to acknowledge that they are buried there.  I did find the house they owned and had tea with the neighbors who regaled us with lovely stories about my great-grandfather "Sean Francis", the "bonesetter".  Apparently he was the version of a country doctor.  Feel free to check out my Ancestry.com tree (Kelleher/Moynihan Family), and/or post any message to me here.  I did find a "long lost second cousin" from Massachusetts, and we met in Boston on our way to Ireland.  What an amazing trip it was!  The trip of a lifetime.  Best regards, Kathy

Hi Kathy 

I've just found this thread and wonder if we're related? 

My grandparents were Humphrey & Julia Moynihan living on their farm in Ballyvourney, West of Cork. They had 6 children in the 1920s - Humphrey (known as FreeFree), Sean (my father), Katie, Nellie, Abbie & Jimmie (now living in Melbourne, Australia). I've always assumed there must be a strong Moynihan contingent in America but wasn't sure where abouts that might be :-) 

It's good to see so many similar family names (even if we're not diectly related) My family are going to visit the Australian Moynihans later this year (staying with my cousin Kathy) but I've not been to visit Ireland for many years. I've pomised my children I'll take them eventually but haven't set a date yet.    

Kind regards 

Claire Verrier (née Moynihan)

Hi Claire, my husband is a genealogy fan, so he will do some sleuthing to see if we do have a connection.  If, by chance, you are a member of Ancestry.com, feel free to look at my "Kelleher/Moynihan" tree.  I took their DNA test this year, and have been having some success in discovering distant relatives. 

Do you live in the U.S.?  The Moynihans in my family eventually settled in the Boston, MA, or San Francisco, CA.  Although we were successful in tracking down my "Uncle Free" in Ballymakeera in Ireland and my greatgrandparents' house in Ardeen, Macroom, Ireland, I have been extending the search for Uncle Free's cousin, Francis Moynihan, who last lived in Ballincollig, Ireland.  Best regards, Kathy

Hi Kathy, my grandfather was John Monahan (fka John Moynihan) on Clipper St. in San Francisco. He was from Macroom, Ireland and is burried in Holy Cross in Colma, CA. Would he be one of the children of John and Julia Moynihan that you mentioned? (I'm not a member of Ancestry.com or I'm sure I could find the answer through your family tree.) Regards, Colleen 

Hi Colleen,

Oh my!  Hello Cousin!!  I was so excited to see your posting.  Yes, if your grandfather lived at 176 Clipper Street, and died on February 22, 1975 (I have his prayer card), then he was indeed the second youngest child of John and Julia Moynihan!  As mentioned above, Katie (one of John's 7 sisters) was my grandmother, and she lived on Fairmount Street. I would be very happy to share the family tree information I have on Ancestry with you if you are interested, and answer any questions you may have.  My understanding is that you do not need to be a member (but they may require you to create an account) to see a tree if a member shares it with you.  If you provide me with your email I can send an Ancestry.com invite so you can look at the tree.  You may email me directly if you wish at katfet@sbcglobal.net.  Alternatively, I could create PDFs of some of the tree documentation regarding your grandfather or his relatives, and send those to you.  My family and I visited Ireland a couple of years ago, and with the help of some wonderful locals we were able to visit the house where John & Julia lived.        Looking forward to hearing from you!  Best regards, Kathy

Exciting Kathy! I'll try to look on ancestry.com, and let you know if I can view it. While I was visiting my dad last week we scanned my grandfather's Certificate of Citizenship an forwarded it to my e-mail, so I'll send it on to your e-mail in case it you are interested. Unfortunately my dad doesn't have any information related to his grandparents. Also, in his nuclear family, he is the only sibling still living (although I have many first counsins). Despite his limited knowledge of the type of information you're seeking, my dad has said he would be happy to speak to you if you are interested. Regards, Colleen

Hi Colleen,  Great to hear from you.  I probably will need to send you an invite to Ancestry, but do let me know if you have success in looking at the tree without it.  I assume your dad is John Monahan? Did he go to Riordan?  If so, I think I found a high school picture of him on Ancestry.  It is very kind of him to offer to speak with me, and I would love to do so.  I would also be interested in seeing your grandfather's Certificate of Citizenship.  While your dad may not have info on his grandparents (John & Julia), he can probably help me fill in some of the gaps regarding his father, John Monahan, and John's siblings.  I would be happy to share what I do know of John and Julia with him, and I also have some photos I can scan to him of John and Julia and some of their children.  When you email me, I can provide my phone number to you.  Best regards, Kathy