Greetings,
I recently joined the Ireland Reaching Out group and was excited to see how much detail and information there was about Clare and in particluar parish Moyarta. Hopefully I am on the right track!
My Catholic gggrandfather John Keane (born 1821?) left Parish Moyarta, County Clare, traveling to the USA in 1849, landing in Buffalo NY on July 4th. I can confirm that he had a brother Mike and possibly two other siblings, Mary and Thomas. He traveled around the US for several years, marrying in 1852 to Margaret Conners( born 1819, Galway) in Illinois and finally settled in Southern Minnesota in 1856. All the records are reasonably intact here in the US. I was hoping to narrow things down in Moyarta and determine his mother and father. Any help and tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Rick Keane
rkeane@bevcomm.net
Monday 1st Apr 2013, 08:43PMMessage Board Replies
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Hi Rick
Unfortunately Keane is a common surname in Moyarta parish and there are few surviving records for the parish from 1849 or earlier.
You will not be able to find your gggrandfather's parents' names in any of the standard sources for Moyarta parish as those sources did not yet exist or have not survived from the date that you need.
I recommend that you read through Captain Kennedy's reports and list any Keane families evicted from Moyarta parish before July 1849. Also go through the Tithe Applotment Book for Moyarta and list the Keane families in the parish. There are links from the parish home page.
Also look for all possible U.S. sources for your gggrandfather and his known and possible siblings which might give you their parents' names or native townland - marriage certificates, death certificates, tombstone inscriptions, biographical directories, newspaper obituaries, memorial cards, etc., etc. Letters to or from Ireland which have been passed down through the family and family bibles are other possible sources.
If John Keane and Margaret Conners followed common Irish naming conventions for their children, you can use this information to deduce the likely first names of their parents, and look for Keane families with those first names.
Also research those who travelled to the U.S. with John Keane in 1849, who are likely to include neighbours or relatives from Moyarta parish, and may include others who were evicted at the same time.
If you post full details of the sources that confirm that John was born in Moyarta parish, other readers may spot hidden clues the significance of which you might not have recognised.
Good luck with your research
Best wishes
Paddy Waldron
Parish administrator, Moyarta.
Paddy Waldron, IrelandXO Volunteer
Sunday 7th Apr 2013, 01:55PM -
Hi Rick,
In my family tree I have a Daniel Keane married (in 1875) to Margaret O'Dea. (I am from the O'Dea line.) They lived in Winona, Minnesota and later in St. Paul, Minnesota. They are all buried in Winona.
They had 6 children, Mary, Katherine, John, Gertrude, Stephan and Daniel.
Don't know if that connects with your Keanes!
Pat Britt
Wednesday 10th Jul 2013, 03:52AM