Greetings! I am looking for Kerrigans and Needhams. My great grandmother was Nora Lyden Needham from near Clifden, Galway, born August 14, 1876. I believe her parish was Ardbear? Her husband/my great-grandfather was Patrick John Kerrigan of County Mayo, born 1861. They came to the U.S. and settled in Pittsburgh. Their oldest was John Patrick Kerrigan, my grandfather, born 1896 in America. I believe they lived in a place called Happy Valley in Ireland? Does this sound familiar to anyone? Thanks.
Saturday 29th Dec 2012, 07:01PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi,
Thank you for your message.
Ardbear is a townland in the parish of Moyrus in Galway. Here is a link that will give you some information on the parish:
The fact that you have this parish name is very helpful in terms of your research in to Nora. Do you have any placenames in Mayo for Patrick? Do you have any documentation that mentions any townlands/parishes/villages/towns? Most Irish record sources are based on specific locations so if you can find one for Patrick it will really help.
Do you know much about their emigraton? Generally more information was given at the port of arrival as opposed to that of departure. If you knew which city they arrived at it could be a place to find information-and perhaps even an exact place of origin. For immigration information in the US check the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/
For your research into the families in Ireland, you can try Church records.
Most Catholic records are held locally. One website which may help you is the irishtimes website. Here, they give an overview of what records ar available in specific parishes. For Moyrus parish follow this link:
For Church of Ireland records check: http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.
You could also do a search for the families in Griffith's Valuation. This is a property valuation survey carried out in Ireland between 1848-1864. Although it doesn't offer any genealogical information it does help tie a person to a specific place within the timeframe. You can search this here:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
You could also search the 1901 and 1911 census records for any family that remained in Ireland here:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
Some other websites which may hep you 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
Family Search: https://familysearch.org/
I hope that this helps. Remember to post any new information you find, particularly with regards to Patrick. 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
Friday 22nd Feb 2013, 01:32PM