Seeking the family of Patrick O'Keefe b March 1811 in Kilmacduane. (every conceivable spelling)
In January 1831 he joined the British army in Clarecastle near Ennis as a single man. In 1834 son John was born in the English military port of Portsea, Hampshire. His wife was Jane Kelly, no record of marriage yet located.
Seven children have been discovered so far. Edward in Athlone, County Westmeath comes next (1837), Arthur in England and the rest in different states of Australia.
As well as his family I'm seeking some clue as to his life there. He was a labourer and could not read or write. He was Roman Catholic. He was a good soldier, received several commendations. The names John, Edward, Henry, Arthur, James, Thomas and George proliferate in the family, Any piece of information regarding this parish at about this time period, or O'Keefes in any time period, I will find very interesting.
Irene
larzus
Tuesday 10th Apr 2012, 11:02AMMessage Board Replies
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Hi Irene,
The Roman Catholic church records for Kilmacduane only start from 1854 for baptismal records and 1853 for marriage records. So this is a bit late for you. Also late for you are the civil records. Civil registration records are available from the General Register Office (GRO). These start from 1864 however. You can access the website here: http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
Clare County Library has an excellent website with links for a huge number of records related to County Clare. This is available here: http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/genealog.htm and http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/don_tran/mil_rec/index_mil_rec.htm
I would say that your most solid lead are the army/military records. The National Archives in the UK is the best place to check for this. Perhaps John and Jane's children's birth records can be found in the Regimental Register of Births, 1761-1924.
The children's names might come up in the land records. You could also 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 is a little information about the frequency and variant names of O'Keefe here: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID=
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)
Wednesday 11th Apr 2012, 10:32AM