Searching births of Margaret Mulhall and Patrick Leonard

Audrey:

Do you have a copy the civil marriage record which would show the name of her father? I checked Roots Ireland www.rootsireland.ie   and located two Margaret Mulhall baptismal records in the Doonane RC records: one in 1844 and the other in 1846. If you knew the fathers name you could figure out which one to pay for and view the transcription of the church record.

I did not locate a Patrick Leonard baptism in Doonane.

Roger McDonnell

Roger, Margaret's father's name is listed as Jeremiah Mulhall and shows her at age 21 on Nov 11, 1865 (date of marriage).  It also shows her address as Clonbrock.  The church they were married in is St. Albans in Doonane.  Thanks for any help you can provide.    Audrey

Audrey:

I entered Jeremiah as the fathers name for both records in Roots and I got a " no record" response which means that the fathers name was other than Jeremiah. That was not the response I was expecting. Sorry!

Roger

Roger, what was the name of the father of the Margaret Mulhall born in 1844, mentioned in your earlier email in the Doonane RC records?  Sorry it took so long to get back with you.  Thanks for any help, Audrey

Audrey:

Turns out it was Ger. I guess when I searched in 2014, I entered Jeremiah and the search routines did not hook up Ger with Jeremiah.

Roger

Name:Margaret MulhallDate of Birth:09-Feb-1844
Date of Baptism:Not RecordedAddress:DoonaneParish/District:DoonaneGender:
CountyCo. Laois
Denomination:
Father:Ger MulhallMother:Anty BoyleOccupation:Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:John Boyle Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Catherine Brennan 

Audrey,

My gr grandfather was Abban Leonard born about 1838 (cannot find any definite date) in Laois.  He married Catherine Dunn at St. Abban's church, RC Parish of Doonane in 1856. Abban's father's name was Patrick.  I think there might be some possibility that Abban and your Patrick could have been brothers.  I do know, from a document written by an elderly family member, that Mulhalls and Leonards were cousins.  My Gr Grandparents immigrated to USA 1884-85 and eventually settled in New York City after living in the Decatur, Illinois area for a few years.

The Griffith's Valuation,  show the names - Patrick Leonard, Jeremiah Mulhall - living in the Parish of Rathaspick.  This area is not very far from St. Abban's Church.

Where did your Patrick and Margaret settle in America?

Peg

Roger, thank you this is my Margaret Mulhall and her parents/sponsors.  Do you have any idea how I can obtain a copy of her birth or baptismal certificates?  Thanks for any suggestions.   Audrey

Audrey:

Civil registration of births started in 1864 so no birth record available.

For the baptismal record, the best I can do is give you a link to the actual parish register entry. It will be on the left-hand side of the page  https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634507#page/8/mode/1up

Roger

Hi Peg, Wow it sounds like we might be related.  My Patrick Leonard (great great grandfather) married Margaret Mulhall in 1865 at St. Albans church.  They emigrated to Stonybrook NY in 1866 where they settled and raised their family.  I have visited their gravesite in nearby Haverstraw NY.  Their daughter, Mary F. Leonard, moved to NJ when she married Bernard Hanlon.  Mary F Leonard's daughter (Catherine--my grandmother) moved from Neward NJ (where my mother was born) to Brooklyn NY when she married James Gunshinan (sometimes spelled Gunshanan).  My grandmother spend the rest of life in Brooklyn NY.  My Mom (Margaret Gunshinan Stucko) grew up in Brooklyn where she met and married my Dad (George Stucko).  They had four children there, of which I am the oldest.  I now live in Arlington VA with my husband and son.  Where in NYC did your gr grandparents settle?  I have been to St. Albans Church in Doonane and have copies of indexed church records. Most of these are of the Mulhalls.  The only record I have found for Leonard is my gr gr grandfather's marriage to Margaret Mulhall in 1865.  This record shows his father also as Patrick Leonard. Census records in the US show him born somewhere around 1838--so the two brothers were probably close in age.  It appears that the Leonards did come from somewhere else in Ireland, but I have been unable to determine where.  I have the reference to Griffith's as well. Do you know where the Parish of Rathaspcik is located?  Jeremiah Mulhall is my Margaret's father. Looking forward to hearing from you, Audrey

Hi Audrey,

A few years ago, I had been in contact with Caroline Kolby in Morris Plains, NJ about our possible relationship through the Leonard family.  I have not been in touch with her for some time, though I just went back and re-read some of our correspondence.  Caroline mentioned a cousin, Audrey, which I am assuming is you, that had also been researching the family.  I hope we can continue to sort some of this out further, but it does seem we are related.  It might be a good idea to correspond via email, or thru Ancestry, rather than on this site.  My email address is :  pegod@comcast.net if you would like to write to me there. Or, pegod, on Ancestry.

Looking forward to sharing more with you.

Peg