Keegan family

The Church of Ireland parish for Killane (aka Killann) is also named Killane, in the Diocese of Ferns, the good news is that historic records survive for the parish back to 1771 for baptisms and marriages, 1795 for death/burials, and are held by the Representative Church Body Library (RCBL) in south County Dublin. As far as I know Killane records are not currently available online on any of the major commercial websites.

Your Peter should be somewhere on the 1901 census but I dont see any sign of him in the Killane electoral district which covers the area - do you have any other details on him - e.g. estimated year of birth, name of wife and children ?

I have a list of National School teachers for early 1900s - I have a search through that for any sign of him..

I dont see any sign of your Peter on the National School teachers lists, it's dated 1905 and is held by the National Archives of Ireland.

I found the 1909 death for him in Mountmellick district, reported age 76. There's a good match for him on the 1901 census with his wife daughter and two grandchildren which I presume you have seen already, he is a School Master living at Windgate, which is just south of Bray on the road to Greystones..  A search of the c1900s OS map shows Windgates School to the south west of the townland.

Your Peter is listed in Thom's 1904, officially a 'Dublin' directory but it also lists Bray - there's an listing for Windgates in the section for Bray which an entry as follows :

 Erasmus Smith's - Male and Female Schools - Peter Keegan, teacher

Peter is also listed at Windgates in the 1906 Thom's, the 1910 edition shows a Robert Kelly as teacher. I think Killane is probably a bit too rural to appear in  a directory - maybe Peter might be mentioned in a newspaper ?

I located a birth of a child of Peter and Elizabeth (nee Godsell), Thomas Henry born 21st February 1869, place of birth and residence is recorded as 'Parish of Killan', Peter's occupation as 'Steward and Teacher'. There are at least two other possible children to the couple in civil records Catherine in 1864, and George in 1872 also Parish of Killan, County Wexford.  Peter and Elizabeth married in 1852 in County Tipperary, her home county, so likely there are other other children in baptism records between 1852 and 1863.

 

 

Shane Wilson, Thank you so much for your response! I did NOT know about the listing in Thom's directory, so I'll be checking that out! Thank you very much for the tip! I do have several of the records you mentioned above. Peter was born in 1833, married Elizabeth Godsell in 1852. Together they had 8 children (that I can find). I have most of their vital records. Several of his children (and grandchildren) became teachers and are listed on the 1905 list you mentioned. And yes, Peter died in 1909 and was buried in Coolbanagher, near Emo. I was able to visit the cemetery, clean off the front and take photos. Several of the Keegan family had memorials on Find a Grave, but they have been removed and the contributor number seems to be removed as well. Thankfully, after my visit to Coolbanagher and Carrickmacross, I was able to add several of those memorials and photos back. (It was an amazing trip! We connected with old and new cousins and visited several cemeteries.) We believe Peter's mother's name is Catherine. We think she died in Killane. I have found a death record for Catherine Keegan, whose son, Peter, was present when she died. Although her memorial is removed, the reference page for her memorial is still available. It says she is buried in St. Anne's Church Cemetery in Wexford. I'm not sure when I will be able to visit again, as my husband is 75 and those long flights are exhausting. (He took me 5x, so I'm not complaining.) If you ever go cemetery wandering, please remember her, I would LOVE to know what you discover! (There is no St. Anne's listed on Find a Grave.) Thank you again, Shane! I hope you get this reply. I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you!