I have information from newspapers that Hugh and John Kearney came from Strabane Ireland, after arriving in Easton PA. There is mention of a letter from John Marshall, M.A.Ballindreat, dated 11 May 1791 that John is of "fair character...received in thia congretation". There is an implication that he arrived with his brother Hugh and his wife. She gave birth on the trip to America. John married a woman from the Easton area and moved with his brother Hugh to the Sparta NY area. This is in LIvingston County, towards the southern part of the state. My information is that they were farmers, crop and livestock after they arrived in the Livingston County area.
I would like to find more about them, their life in Ireland, and particularly, why they would start a voyage with Hugh's wife being so close to delivering the baby. From what I have read of the history of the time, there was some unrest, and Presbyterians, as they seemingly were, were a part of this situation.
There have been seveal of the descendants who have researched those who were descended from Hugh and John but I have not found anyone who has found anything about why they left Ireland. Everyone references the obiturary of John's Grandson, William for this information. One of my cousins speculated that they were indentured servents as they lived in the Easton area and arrived in the Sparta area in 1796 after finishing their obligation.
I appreciate any information anyone can share with me.
Mary Carney Zingerella
Mary Catherine
Monday 8th Nov 2021, 02:05PMMessage Board Replies
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Hi Mary
Whilst i don't have access to any direct information, check out the links for some details on researching Northern Irish ancestors and Passenger Lists developed by one of our colleagues at the Tower Museum Derry.
https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/tracing-your-northern-irish-ances…
https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/researching-irish-passenger-lists
This is also a link to the Irish Family History Foundation - RootsIreland - is a database of records that includes the County Tyrone region.
https://www.rootsireland.ie/irish-world-family-history/
Plus a link to a very active Family History group in Strabane.
https://strabanehistorysociety.org/about/
regards, Bernadette
IrelandXO Volunteer Partner NI
Tower Museum Derry
Bernadette Walsh, IrelandXO Partner
Monday 8th Nov 2021, 08:55PM -
Hi Mary,
My name is Tricia and I'm a descendant of John (and Mary Heater, the woman he married from Easton, PA). I've been researching family history for a while and have been trying to learn more about John and Mary along with trying to find out the name of the ship he sailed on. I believe he came here from Londonderry through Philadelphia around 1791. I didn't know Hugh's wife gave birth on the way over so thank you for that info as it could help me narrow down the window of travel. Based on the letter you mentioned, they arrived before May 1791.
Not sure about the servitude angle, but would be interested in finding out if that's true. If you would like to know a little more about when John arrived in Western NY, there is a book on archive.org called "The History of Steuben County" where there is some info about him and his children starting on page 479.
If you happen to find out anything new about John and Hugh and their life before leaving Ireland, could you please share? I'll do the same if you would like. I'm really glad I found your post and I plan on exploring more of this site to see what other gems I can find. Thank you!
Have an amazingly blessed day!
Tricia
Tricia
Thursday 18th Nov 2021, 06:18PM