I believe that my great grandfather Timothy Sullivan was born in Rathkeale. He married Ellen Ambrose, born near Ardagh, in Springfield, Illinois in 1870. Their sponsors were Thomas Moore and Hanora Connors. The names of their sons were Michael, James and Timothy.
I have been able to identify two couples who may have been his parents. I think that his parents were Michael Sullivan and Elizabeth Connors who were married in Rathkeale on February 26, 1824 (sponsors: James Hogan and Bernard Connors). They had a son Timothy who was baptized in Rathkeale on July 11, 1841. His sponsors were Patrick Madigan and Mary Greene. Other children were Eugene (April 29, 1838; sponsors: Daniel Hogan and Elizabeth Sweeney), James (August 12, 1844; sponsors - MIchael Connors and Hannah Sullivan), and Mary (April 6, 1847; sponsors: John Keahan and Johanna Hanley). I believe that they had other children, including a son Andrew (born 1825-1829), but no church records exist for the period during which they were born.
There was also another couple - James Sullivan and Mary Kennedy - who had a son Timothy, baptized in Rathkeale on November 6, 1844 (sponsors: William Hogan and Anne Ward). This family lived in Ballywilliam. They had another son Thomas (April 1, 1851; sponsors: Dennis and Johanna Sullivan). They may have had at least two other children - John and Mary.
I am interested in finding descendents of the siblings of these two families with the hope that they may be able to provide me additional information. Following is the information I have been able to find on Timothy's possible siblings:
There was a Mary Sullivan who married Patrick Bridgeman in Rathkeale in 1861. That family emigrated to Detroit, Michigan. I have not been to find any relevant information for Eugene or James Sullivan.
A John Sullivan, possibly the son of James Sullivan and Mary Kennedy, had four daughters Mary B, Nora, Gretta and Alice. One of the daughter married Maurice Kelly who took over the ownership of the property in Ballywilliam North in 1919 and was there until at least 1930. John's sister Mary never married. I have not been able to find any information on Thomas Sullivan.
I would greatly appreciate any information on these two families, including their baptism and marriage sponsors.
Sunday 17th Mar 2013, 05:06PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi,
Thank you very much for your message. You have obviously done a lot of work on your family history to date. I hoe that someone who is researching the same family makes a connection with you through the message board to share information and help confirm some of yours.
In the meantime it may be an idea to contact Limerick Genealogy for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here are their contact details:
Limerick Genealogy,
Lissanalta House,
Dooradoyle Road,
Dooradoyle,
Co. Limerick.
Phone: +353 (0) 61 496542 Email: research@limerickgenealogy.com
Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Monday 13th May 2013, 10:48AM -
Emma, Thank you very much for your response. I have been in contact with Limerick Genealogy. Catriona Crowe prepared an excellent report on Timothy Sullivan which greatly supplemented the information that I had been able to find on my own. At this point, I do not think that I am going to be able to obtain any more information unless I can find descendants of the people I mentioned. I am hoping that Ireland Reaching Out will provide that link. It is an excellent resource, and it will become even more valuable, the more people who participate in it. I am trying to tell eveyone I know who has Irish ancestry about it and ask them to spread the word to others. I hope that many people in Ireland are also interested in participating because, other than for church and civil records, they are the primary potential source of information for those of us whose ancestors had to leave Ireland.
Tuesday 14th May 2013, 06:12AM -
Hi there, I have Bridgman and Ambrose in my family tree and interestingly one of the Bridgmans, Michael Bridgman had four wives. One of them was a Margaret Sullivan. The Bridgmans came from Co Limerick around the areas of Finnoo which was also known as Whiskey Hall, Ballyhahill, Loghill and Knocknabooly. Michael Bridgman's father was Patrick Bridgman.
The Ellen Ambrose i have may not be the one you are looking for but the Ambrose family are a very big family and my branch came from around the Newcastle West area.
If this sounds as though it may be helpful maybe we could chat via our emails. My address is grrlgypsy@gmail.com
grrlgypsy
Sunday 9th Jun 2013, 12:08PM -
I am primarily interested in the Sullivans, but I will follow-up with you on what I know about the Ambroses and the Bridgemans.
Monday 10th Jun 2013, 12:30PM -
many thanks for that. i look forward to hearing more from you
cheers
donna
grrlgypsy
Monday 10th Jun 2013, 12:49PM -
I am in the process of writing you an email. You should get it soon.
Monday 10th Jun 2013, 12:52PM -
Hi my grandmother was Nora O'Brien her Mother was Hanora O'Sullivan the O'Sullivan came from a place called Lisnamuck Croagh a few miles outside Rathkeale the name Eugene I heard of my Dad had first cousin Eugene O'Sullivan he must have been called after your Eugene this is my email osheajoan76@gmail.com
Friday 5th May 2023, 11:14PM