Looking for Jeremiah Dunlea,Delay,Dunlay, Dunley

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

Do you know an estimated year of birth for Jeremiah - you could have a look on irishgenealogy.ie alongside rootsireland.ie/familysearch.org if you haven't already done so. 

Best wishes

Clare Doyle

Ireland XO

My 2nd great grandfather William Dunlay (1823-Dec1911) arrived in Boston on 7 Jun 1847. He is said to have come from Tracton, Cork with some brothers. He worked in railroad construction in New England for several years before moving to Rosiere, Jefferson County, New York. His brother Luke Dunlay (born ca 1820?) and wife Margaret Russell also came from Cork and settled in Rosiere/Cape Vincent NY but I don't know if they came with William or not.

I have not seen the actual arrival record for William Dunlay, so I don't know whether other relatives might be on it. I have only seen the transcription from Ancestry.com. Boston, 1821-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. [Original data: Boston, Massachusetts. Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts 1820-1891. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. Micropublication M277, rolls # 1-36.]

We believe the spelling of our surname was changed. The pronunciation also may have changed. There is a family story of a priest who said in his sermon  "delays are dangerous", at which point some of the church members turned to look at the Dunlay family. A few of the census records even misspelled the name as "Delay", although I think it's more likely the old spelling was Dunlea or even Delea.

Another tidbit of possibly relevant information is that a distant relative of mine wrote that she had heard that some Dunlays disappeared in the Great Fire of Boston (1872 I assume). Not very many people died in that fire but I suppose many people became homeless and moved.

- Kate Dunlay

I am also looking for any information on Jeremiah Dunlea. We believe the name was changed from Dunlea (or possibly some other variant like Dunleigh, Dunlay, Dunley, etc.) to Dunlay after entering the US.  Jeremiah was born in Ireland about 1825-1830. Came to the USA between about 1845-1855 and settled in Winchester, VA. He married a Mary Conway who was also born in Ireland, probably between 1825-1835. We have no ancestral information on Mary Conway. They had a few kids moved to Clarksburg, WV and had more kids (total of about 11) and Mary Conway Dunlay died there at the age of 53. Jeremiah and children then moved to McKeesport, PA where he died in 1905. I am trying to find birth or baptism records, ship records, or any other records that might lead to any relatives in Ireland. Any help woulD be greatly appreciated.

Jeremiah Delay was born 1829 to Robert Delay and Catherine Foot.I also found a Margaret Delay born 1832 and William born 1827.The surname in some records changes to Delea.I found a Catherine Delay who died on 21st April 1885 who appears to be mother of Jeremiah. She lived in Knockacullen which is close to Tracton Parish.Hope this is some help.

Mary

Dear Mary,

Thank you for the information. I will further research the surnames Delay and Delea. I hope I can find those surnames or some variants in ship records to try to get some insight as to when Jeremiah may have arrived in the US. That may help to confirm origins of Dunlay from Delay or Delea. Or maybe not. 

Terry