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Hi, my cousin Jeanine is heading to Ireland at the end of this month and staying into May. She's hoping to have a real reason to wander across from Meath to Mayo. Family lore has it that Owen Moran, Jeanine's great-grandfather, was from Mayo. She's had no luck finding a definitive birthplace (cannot even locate his death date/cert or grave). He emigrated 15 May 1870 per naturalization and was married to Catherine Duffy (parents John Duffy and Bridget? per her death rec), settling in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. Their first child was born in 1872 there as were the other surviving children; however, Jeanine read somewhere (naturalization?) that they were married about 10 years before they emigrated. Also, it appears that there were three children unaccounted for who may have been born before they emigrated... The catch is that there were  two different Owen Moran-Catherine Duffy marriages (maybe related) in Civil Registration for registration district of Swinford, one pair in Cloonieren and the other in Ballinrumpa. One of the pairs was having babies in Ireland while Jeanine's gr-grandparents were having them in Jersey City. Sounds like our Owen's origin is probably this parish, but she has no documentation to back up that assertion.

The Horkin name comes in when Owen, widowed by now, goes back to Ireland to visit in 1911. Jeanine has gotten all she can out of our Archives (NARA) with respect to his naturalization and shipping manifests. She found him coming back in to the port of NY without his proper papers (burned in a house fire, tho I don't understand how he travelled without papers unless the fire happened where he was staying in Ireland), is detained and released a few days later to his son. I was able to find him leaving Ireland on the Cedric, the same ship Jeanine found him detained from but no other information was useful from the manifest.

Here's an interesting thing: He seems to have been enumerated in the Irish census of 1911 in the household of James Horkin while in Ireland! Yes, it could be a coincidence, as there was that other Owen Moran in Civil Registration. But I am hoping that someone who knows the families in and around the townland of Cloonierin, civil parish of Kilmovee, can help us out with this. The Owen at the Horkins' house was listed as a cousin. Jeanine found a Horkin's Pub listed and called to see if this family happened to be of that same family, but the gentleman she spoke with couldn't say one way or the other.

Another Moran has done an extensive history centering around Ballinrumpa, very near to Cloonierin. He mentioned all of this in his history after corresponding with Jeanine. I think he is fairly certain about a connection.

A visit by a long-lost-to-America cousin coming home in the relatively recent time frame of 1911 could have been important enough for someone living today to have heard of this. Help? Please?

Thanks!!! Jeanne for Jeanine

jeannemarge

Monday 8th Apr 2013, 10:47PM

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  •  

    Hi Jeanne,

    Thank you very much for your message. I am very sorry for the delay in responding.

    I do not know if Jeanine is still in Ireland, but I have forwarded your message to one of our volunteers to see if he may know of anyone in the area who may be able to help you anyways.

    Kind regards,

    Genealogy Support

    Emma Carty

    Wednesday 22nd May 2013, 11:26AM
  • Lucky for my cousin I got the dates wrong for her trip! She leaves on 30 May from NJ and will be in Ireland through 11 June. I would love to hear from someone in the next few days, just to give her a reason to go across-country to Mayo.

    Thanks so much for your reply!

    Jeanne

    jeannemarge

    Saturday 25th May 2013, 04:29PM

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