Edward O'Neill/Sarah Sinnott

Hi Laurie,

Thank you very much for your message. I hope that someone with information on the family makes a connection with you and helps you to further your research.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information without a more specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

Do you have any documentation pertaining to the family that mentions any place names in Wexford at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records,census records, letters, diary entries etc.Sometimes a parish name can also be transcribed onto tombstones.

I know you have already tried ancestry but have you also tried:

www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.

www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.

Do you know either Edward or Sarah?s fathers? names? If you do you could try looking for them in the land records pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. These do not give any genealogical information but can sometimes be used to tie a person to a specific place. 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/

Have you tried looking into the family?s emigration? Sometimes more infomation can be found at the port of arrival rather than that of departure. You may be lucky and find a place name here. For information on US immigration records check http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/

Some other websites that may be helpful 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

The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/

The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm

Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm

Irish Genealogy Tool-kit: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/

Remember to post any new information that you find here. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

My GGG grandparents may have come from Ratheenmore, near the village of Killena, Parish Ballygarrett, County Wexford.  This is based on family history that says they traveled to America with the Esmond family to whom they were related, and the Esmond family came from this area.  The only definite information I have on Edward and Sarah is that they are from Co Wexford, but this is a possible connection to a specific area in Wexford.  Any idea where I can go to find more information?  I didn't see Parish Ballygarrett listed under Wexford.  Thanks!

Hi Laurie,

Thank you for getting back to me. Ballygarrett parish is a Roman Catholic parish in Co. Wexford. At the moment we only have listings of the civil parishes in Co. Wexford on our website which is why you could not find it. However, the corresponding civil parish that you need is Killenagh. Raheenmore and Killenagh town are both found in this civil parish.

http://www.irelandxo.com/group/killenagh-wexford

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction=TownlandsInCivil&civilparishid=2572&civilparish=Killenagh&citycounty=Wexford

Irish land divisions can sometimes be very confusing. Follow this link for some clarification:

http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Irish-land-divisions.html

Also, here is a link to a map showing the civil parish divisions in Wexford. Killenagh is number 63:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction=TownlandsInCivil&civilparishid=2572&civilparish=Killenagh&citycounty=Wexford

Here is a map of the Catholic parish divisions in Wexford:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/wexfordrc.htm

It is important to be aware that the  reality of finding documentation pertaining to births/baptisms/marriages/deaths in Ireland prior to 1800 ? particularly in rural areas ? is that they simply may not exist so it may be difficult to find their birth/marriage records. Church records for Ballygarrett parish do not begin until 1828:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/fuses/rcparishmaps/index.cfm?fuseaction=showidrecords&CityCounty=Wexford&parish=Ballygarrett&churchid=574

However, in the19th century new Catholic parishes were created so starting dates can sometimes be misleading. Many parishes changed their geographical spread so you may find earlier records relating to your family in the records of adjoining parishes.

Most Catholic records are still held locally so it may be an idea to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. Here is a link to the contact page of Ballygarrett parish.  Otherwise there are copies available in the National Library:

http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

Hi Laurie

Your ancestors are listed as follows:

Parents Ned Neill ( Short for Edward ) and Sally Sinnott ( Sarah) from Bruce about 2 miles from Raheenmore records the following births:

Owen 22/7/1846

Ann 8/10/1843

Maria 20/9/1835 Edward and Sally

Mary 21/5/1833 Edward and Sally

Daniel 16/11/1837

Edward brother John Neill was married to Anna Lawless, Daniel Neille & Anne Doyle, Patrick Married to Margaret Mitten,

The Esmond family Raheenmore Killena Gorey Co Wexford :

John Edmond & Anastatia Hall ( Anty)  dd/m/year format

Bart 17/6/1844, james 25/4/1842,john 19/11/1849,francis 1/9/1861,mary 17/1/1840,michael 19/7/1857,pat 24/4/1847, thomas 21/12/1852

No marriage records are available pre 1829, enjoy the research with this new knowledge.  Many people travelled together and settled in the same area.  I found  some of my Cardiff family in New York however I am missinng one family of brothers,they may be in the Arisona area. I figured if they are to be located I will find them eventually.

regards Sheila

I have this family in the Sennett/Sinnott surname study (registered at one-name.org).

You are right in that at least some of the baptisms do appear in Ballygarrett, in the Catholic parish records.   The microfilm isn't the most legible, and to complicate matters, the surname may appear as either NEILL or O'NEILL (or versions of this) and the parents names as Edward/Ed/Ned and Sarah/Sally.   If you go to the National Library of Ireland website https://registers.nli.ie/ the parish you want is Ballygarrett, and the microfilm number is Ballygarrett | Microfilm 04255 / 06.   You do have to browse through images, though as you know the date range that will help.