Hello, any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking for the siblings, parents, grandparents etc of Francis McKenna born 1800 or 1802 in Dungannon, County Tyrone. He was said to be a seminarian at Maynooth College in Dublin (I need to verify this yet). He left the seminary to marry Sarah Teresa O'Neill (m. 1820 I believe) of County Tyrone, born ~1798/1805. against objections from both families.
Her father was Captain Terence O'Neill. (I have not yet determined who her mother was as we have 2 potential mothers/wives of Terence: Margaret Stuart/Steward & Helena LNU). From what we can tell Terence O'Neill married twice. Rumor was Sarah & her brother John Falls O'Neill were sent North (? to Ulster/Tyrone County?) to be cared for by a relative after Terence remarried....
Anyway, Francis McKenna & Sarah Teresa O'Neill McKenna married in 1820 (I believe) & had 5 or 6 children born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Ireland who came with them to USA-Philadelphia, PA 29 Jul 1841 departing out of Liverpool, England on the Columbia) (alternate sources say 1838 to Pittsburg, PA)
Children: Francis b. 1821, Ann b.13 Jan 1836, Eliza/Elizabeth ~b. 1831, Michael ~b. 1832, John Falls McKenna b. 1 Feb 1834, Teresa Adelaide McKenna ~b.1835
Thank you in advance for any help provided!!!
Diane C
Sunday 8th Sep 2019, 08:19PMMessage Board Replies
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The RC baptism records for Dungannon start in 1821 (parish of Drumglass). Have you searched them for the children’s baptisms 1821 – 1835? The RC parish records are on-line free on the National Library site:
https://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
Researching the family earlier than that may be tricky due to the lack of records.
Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
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Hello, I am new to this group but I actually found your post with a general web search and I am so glad I did! I believe Francis and Sarah are my distant relatives! Francis and Sarah arrived in the US in 1841. Their son Michael married Mary L Eddy and resided in the Town of Moscow, Wisconsin. They had four children Francis, Hugh, Charles and Mary.
As for details about Francis and Sarah I am so curious! My mother did remember reading something in the records about Francis leaving the seminary. This information is completely new to me! So interesting! My nephew has spurned a new look into my ancestors and the history they lived.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and I hope that we can fill in the gaps together!
All the best,
Kelley McKenna Lawrenz
Kelley McKenna Lawrenz
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Attached FilesFrancis and Sarah and Michael McKenna.jpg (286.1 KB)francis mckenna.pdf (1.33 MB)
Hello!
Francis' daughter Sarah Teressa McKenna married Samuel Gaw McWilliams. Samuel was the brother of my husband's gg-grandfather Robert McWilliams. If you have any information on the McWilliamses, I'd love to share!
John (Falls) McKenna was Francis' son.
John McKenna
Farmer; Sec. 4; P.O. Moscow; owns 500 acres of land, valued at $10 per acre; born in Ireland in 1837; came to America with his parents in 1841; in 1846, they settled in this town. He married Ann McNeil in 1864; they have five children - Mary Jane, Francis Eugene, Lucy, Ellen and John Charles. Are members of the Roman Catholic Church.[Source: "History of Iowa County, Wisconsin: Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources..."; Chicago: Western Historical Co. April, 1881. Tr. by K. Mohler]http://genealogytrails.com/wis/iowa/biosM.html
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