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Hello - I have been researching my great grandparents, John Dolan and Anne/Anna Kelley/Kelly.   So what is the deal on the spelling of the name; Kelly or Kelley?

I am pretty certain John Dolan was from Roscommon, probably Lowtown Kilcashel.  I have identified the civil birth record of their 1st child, Mary Dolan.  On her birth record the location of birth is Lowtown Kilcashel, the mother's name is listed as Anne Kelly.  I recently located all the baptismal records of Anna and John's 6 children after Mary.  They were born in Boston, MA.  The name of the mother on the baptismal records is recorded as Anna Kelley.  I know she was referred to as Annie and Anna per census info and what my granmother referred to her as.  Her gravstone has her name as Ann.  Many other records note the spelling of Anna's last name as Kelly. 

More importantly, I'm trying to determine where Anna/Anne Kelley/Kelly was from.  I'm assuming that if her first child was born in Lowtown Kilcashel that there is a good chance she was from there too but not neciessarily.  I know there were quite a few Kelly families from that region.  

Would appreciate any insight into the name Kelly vs Kelley.

Sincerely,

Regina Cronin Walsh

 

RCW

Saturday 19th Oct 2019, 08:45PM

Message Board Replies

  • Hello Miriam - thank you for your reply.  I was assisted in finding Mary Dolan's birth record thru IrelandXO.   From her death record in Massachusetts, USA, it gave a birth of 06 Aug 1885.  Her IRE civil birth record shows her birth as 11 Feb 1886 recorded on 27 Feb 1886.   I wonder if her parents never recorded the birth in August, 1885 (or their marriage) and then decided at some point thereafter, they were going to re-locate/travel to the US and they needed some documentation of Mary's birth and recorded it in February, 1886.  On the ship passenger manifest it gives young Mary's age as 7 months.  They arrived in Boston, MA on 11 June 1886.  Travel at that time probably took anywhere from 6-12 weeks???  So they left IRE soon after recording Mary's civil birth.  Anna gave birth to her 2nd child on 24 Dec 1886.  

    Anyway about Anna/Anne/Ann Kelley/Kelly, all I know is that her father was named Patrick and there is no documentation or mention of a mother's name, per her death certificate.  In the 1901 IRE Census for Lowtown Kilcashel, Co Roscommon,  they note 3 Kelly families and 4 Dolan families.  There is a good chance both John and Anna were born here.  I have the info (email and Tel) for Moore parish and will probably reach out at some point. I am hoping to visit in the 2-3 years and want to put as much info together before I arrive.

    Appreciate any help and insights to help me on my journey.  

    Best,

    Regina

     

    RCW

    Monday 21st Oct 2019, 04:01PM
  • Thanks Miriam  I happened to be going through John Grenham.com and FindMyPast.ie and noted quite a few names of Anna Kelly in the Ballinasloe area of Galway - Roscommon.  Actually it was the first time I saw the name documented as Anna vs Ann or Anne.  Birth dates were all over the place but I did find quite a few children of Patricii and Maria and Patricii and Judith.  I will continue to research and one never knows what will come together.  Thanks for your help.

    Regina

    RCW

    Tuesday 22nd Oct 2019, 10:59PM
  • Miriam - my search continued today.  I did a search on Anna Kelly, b. 1863-1866 in the Ballinasloe Registration District on irishgenealogy.ie and I found a Civil Record for an Ann Kelly b. 27 Nov 1864 daughter of Patrick Kelly and Mary Murray of Clonfert.  The Superintendent Registrars District is Ballinasloe, Registrars District is Laurencetown, Co Galway.  It appears that Clonfert is very close to Roscommon.  I have spent that last 1.5 years looking in Co Roscommon for Dolan's and Kelly's.  After seeing all the Ballinasloe/Creagh location names I thought I'd give it a try.  So now I need to figure out if Patrick Kelly and Mary Murray had any other children and what Parish they were affiliated with.  What community would I look for resources in?  So if I am checking the IRE 1901 Census what DED and Townland would I look for?  

    Regina

    RCW

    Friday 25th Oct 2019, 08:03PM
  • Attached Files

    Hi Miriam - thank you for all your good resources, many I have used in the past.  The genealogy-toolkit looks interesting - I need to give it a little more attention.  In your last paragraph, you mentioned, "take note of the actual address on the records on irishgenealogy.ie".  I have attached the record from irishgenealogy.ie for Ann Kelly b. 27 Nov 1864 and from what I can tell, the address would be Clonfert.  Is that correct?  Am I missing anything else?   I see the Supt Registration District/PLU is Ballinasloe, Registration Sub-district is Laurencetown, Civil Parish is Clonfert, Religious Parish/Diocese is Clonfert and Townland is Clonfert.  

    Best,

    Regina

    RCW

    Tuesday 29th Oct 2019, 03:27AM
  • Great, just wanted to confirm.  That is where I typically have been finding a name of a location and assumed it was their Townland.  

    Regina

    RCW

    Tuesday 29th Oct 2019, 11:06PM

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