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I have hopes of visiting Ireland this summer or this fall for “The Gathering” & I would like to find out information about where my G-G-Grandfather came from. 

His name was Kieran Burke (or Kearnan in some U.S. census records). I'm sure he was Catholic & almost certainly a poor farmer or laborer. He emigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A. in 1850, and lived in that area until his death in 1911.  His death certificate lists his age as 93, so this would make his date of birth about 1818.

 

All U.S. records show that he lived in County Offaly.  I believe it may have been in the part of Offaly near to the borders of Laois & Kildare.  His death certificate indicates that he was from Offaly. It also lists his mother's maiden name (Flannagan) and shows her county of origin as Offaly. I recently found a baptism record from RootsIreland.ie that shows a Mary Flanagan in Kilcullen, Co. Kildare. Date of baptism 09-Jul-1797. Father’s name: Richard Flanagan  Mother’s name Alice Kavanagh.  I have no other confirmation that this is indeed Kieran’s mother, but the age would be about right.

 

 Kieran's wife was named Anna (no maiden name given), and burial records show that she originated from County Laois. Since Kieran and his mother were poor & modes of transportation probably limited in that era, it makes sense to me that they would not have traveled very far & that their families may have lived relatively close to each other. If that was the case, and his mother was from Kildare, & his wife was from Laois, it is possible that they could have been from the portion of Offaly that borders Laois & Kildare near Monasterevin.

 

Kieran’s father’s name is not mentioned in any U.S. document I have found. The name Daniel Bernard Burke repeats throughout our family tree, so I suppose that is a good possible first name for Kieran’s father. The other male first names that show up often in our family tree are: Patrick, Joseph, John, William & Dennis.  

 

Since I have not been able to find any birth or marriage records for a Kieran Burke in County Offaly, County Tipperary is another possibility.  I found a marriage record on the web site of the Irish Family History Foundation that showed a marriage between a Kieran Burke & Joanna Pendergast in Ballylooby Parish 22-Feb-1838.  Maybe they moved from Ballylooby to County Offaly before emigrating to the U.S.   I also recently found a record on FamilySearch.org of a Kieran Burke 1815-1902. He could be an uncle of my G-G-Grandfather who stayed in Ireland. This Kieran was from the “registration district” of Clogheen, but I don’t know which “Clogheen” this refers to. There is one Clogheen in Tipperary & two in Kildare.  Obviously, my number one suspect is one of the two Clogheens in County Kildare.  One is west of Monesterevin, where R420 & R445 intersect just north of Kilnure.  The other is west of the Ummeras Beg Quarry on L1002.  But on the other hand, the Clogheen in County Tipperary is just south of Ballylooby.

 

The FamilySearch.org record lists the following citation: Vol. 4, p. 347, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin Ireland: FHL microfilm 101601  - digital folder number 347 – image number 00585.

I assume I would have to visit Dublin to view this record.

 

If anyone knows of any Burkes in Offaly, Kildare, Laois or Tipperary who might be related, I would like to meet them when I come to Ireland this summer.  Also, if you have a tip about a B&B near this area I would appreciate that as well.

 

 

 

Thanks, 

Timothy Burke

Louisville, Ky. U.S.A.

 

Friday 15th Feb 2013, 03:07PM

Message Board Replies

  • I note you used the Rootsireland pay to view site. There is a way to get a lot of data from this pay to view site for free.


     


    In this example I was looking for a Minnie and Catherine Wiley sisters parents unknown.


    How I did it was to use the pay to view site


    http://rootsireland.ie/


    I did firstly a national search for Minnie which threw up a couple both in Antrim. I then switched to County Antrim.


    By playing about with the date range I was able to narrow down the baptism to a specific year. I still have not used the pay to view option yet nor used up any of my limited number of free previews. Once I had a Minnie I had to find her parents first names. I started with father first name a - this would bring up any firstnames starting with "a". Working through the alphabet got me to H when I got a hit adding further letters and worked out father was Hugh. Search then for Wiley children no firstname father Hugh within ten years of Minnie. Got 6 hits and using same technique was able to work out the 6 names - but no Catherine. Minnie is a common nickname so reverted to Catherine. Broad search found two which narrowed down to one in 1868 and one in 1872. Was able to work out 1868 was daughter of John and Mary. Broad search found no other children to this couple. 1872 Catherine was daughter of John and Jane and a broad search threw up 9 children. Plodding through the alphabet got me Alexander, Eliza, Catherine, Eleanor, Francis, John, James, Samuel, Wilhemina, which was more complicated since it is usually spelled WilheLmina.  Catherine I knew was 1872, and bit of playing about with date range got me 1881 for Wilhemina. Age gap fits the two sisters although the ages are well out - no surprises there!


    You can play about with the dates until you match up the other 7 children. You can refine it a bit more by choosing one child then working your way through the drop down menu of the various parishes until you get a hit. Then you can see if all the other children were also in the same parish. Bearing in mind couples did move about as well as changing churches. It is quite possible that these 9 children were born to more than one couple named John and Jane.  Getting one transcript should give mothers maiden name and doing a broad search for baptisms to John and Jane with new surname hopefully should confirm 9 children. Using this technique you can gain a lot of data without using up your limited number of free searches or having to buy any transcripts.


     


    Bob Graham (County Fermanagh XO)

    County Fermanagh

    Friday 15th Feb 2013, 08:12PM

  • I just stumbled upon your response posted in February. Wow, how creative of you to come up with that solution. That's incredible.

    Thanks for sharing that.

    Tim Burke

    Louisville, Ky. USA

     

    Saturday 4th May 2013, 04:57PM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:26AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:26AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:27AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:27AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:27AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:27AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:27AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:27AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:27AM

  • HI Tim Burke. My Great Grandmother Ellen Agnes Burke was baptized in St. Kieran' s Catholic Church in Ballylooby. I'm not sure of the Year but my guess is about 1890. She immigrated to the US. She lived in Missouri near St. Louis and married Andrew John McGinness. He was the Post Master wear they lived in Richmond Hights Missouri. They had five children: Lawrence, Francis (my Father), Kieran, Peg and Clair. I don't know if that helps you. I would love to find out more about our family. Our son is going to visit Ireland next week.--Mary McGinness

    MEMcGinness

    Saturday 13th Dec 2014, 08:27AM

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