I am hoping to make contact with a genealogist in the area or a member of the remaining Connelly family in this part of the world who may have family history s/he'd be willing to share.
Unfortunately, I have almost nothing to go on from the States.
John Connelly, whose mother was a Fitzgerald, was born and, presumably, raised in Waterford (County?)
He emigrated to the US around 1861, fought in the American Civil War, married Mary Ellen Donahue Cronin (originally from {County} Cork) in Philadelphia in 1871 and started the family of which I am a member.
I recently came across a baptismal record for a John Connelly, baptised 11 May 1845. he was born to John Connelly and Johanna Fitzgerald of the parish Newcastle. Their address was Touracurra. John and Johanna were married in Newcastle on 29 April 1838. They also raised Brigid Connelly (baprtised 10 July 1839.) It appears that John Connelly Sr died 1 October 1887 in Clonea.
While this would have made John Connelly Jr awfully young to have emigrated in 1861, I am wondering if there is any way to verify what did happen to the John connelly of newcastle.
Many thanks
Christopher Connelly
Tuesday 17th Jun 2014, 09:36PM
Message Board Replies
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Dear Christopher
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!
It would be difficult to ascertain what happened to the John you mention. You could try to find a marriage record, in that way concluding that if that John married and had children in Ireland he is therefore not your John, of that makes sense!
You could use www.familysearch.org or www.rootsireland.ie to search for a marriage. As you can see from the link below, the Connelly name was numerous in Waterford and other areas closeby;
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?Surname=Connelly&f….
Let us know if you learn anything further. As an aside, have you searched Ancestry.com family trees and public message boards for instances of the family name in that particular area?
Best wishes
Clare Doyle
Genealogy Support
Monday 23rd Jun 2014, 10:42AM