Simon McKenna parish?

Hi there,

Do you have any more information about Simon? Did he marry in Ireland?

Have you tried checking the Ellis Island records (www.ellisisland.org) or the Castle Garden records (www.castlegarden.org)? Generally, more information was given at the port of arrival rather than the port of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at, this could be a good place to find more information, and perhaps even find out an exact place of origin.

You could try checking the land records called the Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) or the later Griffth's Valuation (1848-64). Griffith's is freely available here: www.askaboutireland.com or here: www.failteromhat.com Failte Romhat has lots of other useful links you could try looking at.

There are many parishes in County Meath, so any documents that can help narrow it down would be a big help. Then I could recommend some church records for you to check.

There is a book you find find useful by Noel French called Meath ancestors, a guide to sources for tracing your ancestors in Co. Meath, (1993).

If you find out any additional information in the meantime, please feel free to contact us again.

Please make sure you link anyone else in your family who is interested in their Irish heritage to our site - and indeed anyone else you know of Irish heritage.

Kind regards,

Sinead Cooney

Genealogist (Ireland XO)

Thanks for your comments Sinead.

The Griffith's is too recent. The Tithes have so many McKennas that I don't think I could relate them to Simon. If there was a Simon he didn't fit. (I didn't realize my first message was so long ago.) I've checked with those here in the USA who have been researching Simon and they don't even have the county which I found in a biography of his son Isaac McKenna written in Waukesha Wisconsin.

Simon married an Irish lass from county Tyrone in New York.

I've gone through the cemeteries listed on The County Meath Ireland Genealogy Project of Rootsweb.ancestry.com and found no early deaths. Most were after 1900 and some not until recently. There were no McKennas in the church records they had.

I contacted Noel French and he said I would have a hard time finding any church records as they didn't begin until 1830s.

I will be in Ireland March 13-20 with a free day on the 14th in Dublin on which we will be taking a private tour in county Meath. I had hoped we would know the town where Simon was born and raised, but it looks like we will have to just enjoy the area. We may stop in to the Meath Heritage Centre and visit with Noel.

Does anyone else have any ideas?

Susan

Hi Susan,

I am also researching the Mckenna-Donnelly family who settled in Muskego, Wisconsin and have hit the proverbial brick wall. I am wondering if there is perhaps an old family bible or letters out there somewhere that might have some clues. I have been unable to find any immigration or naturalization records, and unfortunately the early census records did not record that information.

I have also come across a few discrepancies regarding Simon McKenna's immigration. The biographical portrait you speak of states that Simon arrived in 1834 from County Meath. I found that unusual, as it appears that the McKenna surname is mainly found in County Monaghan. To make matters more confusing, my sister told me she once saw a family bible that said Margaret McKenna (Simon & Mary's daughter) was from County Cork, which obviously isn't true as she was born in Wisconsin. I also came across a genealogy post from a Kevin McKenna who said Simon arrived in 1835 from County Meath. I replied to his post, but did not receive an answer. I also have an immigration year of 1837 in my notes, but unfortunately I do not recall the source.

The biographical portrait also states that Simon came to Wisconsin in 1839 and bought 40 acres, then went back to NY to collect his family, returning to Wisconsin in May of 1840. However, I have the 1840 Census for Ward 13, New York, NY for the houshold of a Simon McKinney, which was taken June 1st, 1840. I have deduced that this is most likely the same Simon, as it shows 1 male under 5 (probably James, age 1), 1 male between 30-40 (probably Simon, age 38), 1 female between 20-30 (probably Mary, age 25). I also have the land transaction document, which took place in 1843, not 1839, which I have attached.

Castle Garden has not been much help in finding Simon, although I did find a possible entry for Mary Donnelly, age 20, servant, arriving 27 May 1834 on the ship HERALD from the port of Liverpool, destination New York. Last residence appears to be County Cavan, Ireland--a couple counties south of Tyrone.

The biography states that Simon was the treasurer and supervisor of the town of Waukesha, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to look at the township records if they exist. The Muskego Historical Society is another possibility, but I doubt these sources will have the type of information we are looking for. Did you find anything on your trip to Ireland?

Joanne