I can't really go back to far on my Kenney side of the family. I do know that Patrick Kenney was born about 1842 and Mary/Maria Hickey was born about 1839. I found a marriage record for a Patrick Kenney and Maria Hickey in Limerick in 1860 in the BALLINGARRY District. I'm only assuming its my relatives.
They had a Catherine Kenney in 1862. They came to Chicago soon after, and then had my great great grandfather, John P. Kenney. Catherine (Kate) married Patrick Kiley and they had a son Alexander. Patrick and Alexander died before 1900.
I dont even know how to begin researching them or figuring out anything. Any ideas? Patrick and Mary are such common names!
Thursday 20th Jun 2013, 01:53PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi,
Thank you for your message.
Have you tried looking at the church records from the parish? If you can find records pertaining to the couple it will give you some hints on where to start. For example marriage records can sometimes give the couple?s fathers? names. Also, generally (although not all the time) catholic weddings took place in the bride?s parish of origin so you may be able to find MAry?s birth record there also. Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. For Ballingarry parish, follow this link:
As you can see Limerick Genealogy have copies, here is their email if you would like to contact them however a fee may apply: research@limerickgenealogy.com
You could also check for record of the family in the land records pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Please note that when you are searching for records you may have to use the variation ?Kenny?.
Some other websites that you may find useful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/limerick/index.html
Limerick Library: http://www.limerickcity.ie/Library/LocalStudies/
Family Search: www.familysearch.org
I hope some of this is helpful. Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Monday 8th Jul 2013, 10:58AM