Seeking info about Sylvester Sullivan (b. ~ 1795) and wife Bridget Cunningham (b. ~ 1818) from Listowel area.

The baptism records for the RC parish of Listowel begin in 1802, so there will be no record of Sylvester born in 1795. There is one record between 1815 & 1820 on the church records tab on the free site irishgenealogy.ie for a Bridget Cunningham born 6 Feb 1820 in the RC parish of Listowel, residence Kilbaha, parents - Daniel Cunningham & Honora Enright, sponsors - Daniel Kennely & Margaret Enright. Then on their 3 Feb 1837 marriage record here is a Maurice Cunningham as one of the two witnesses.

Regards,

Thank you, Carolyn, for the confirmation of their wedding date and the name of the witness. Another clue to pursue!

I, too, had found the reference to Daniel Cunningham and Honora Enright, but I tend to doubt that they were the parents of "my" Bridget because the Cunningham family I'm investigating appears to have abided with traditional Irish naming patterns and neither Daniel nor Honora ever appear as given names in subsequent generations. The names that appear most regularly are John, Maurice (or Morris), William, and Patrick for boys and Bridget, Margaret, Catherine, and Anna for girls. 

In any case, thank you again for your kind response and assistance.

Regards,

Kurt

Hi Kurt,

I too think the Irish naming trad. is important and helpful when looking for connections, but with my own family research I have found that they don't always work....especially when a couple emigrates. Bridget must have been from the RC parish of Listowel since that is where she married. I found three more siblings of hers that are the same names you mentioned: (all found on irishgenealogy.ie under the church records tab)

Johanna (Anna) 23 Nov 1823

John 26 May 1825

Catherine 17 Apr 1830

All born to Daniel and Honora. The name Johanna is a variation of Honora. Given that they only had one son named John, Bridget's father Daniel's name does not appear. I've read that witnesses to marriages were cousins as often as they were siblings...they were often those who introduced the couple. So, Maurice could be her cousin.

Anyhow, just thought I'd share this information.

Regards,

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks for this information. I think it actually eliminates Daniel and Honora as the possible parents, though. Bridget Cunningham Sullivan had a brother named John Cunningham who was born 31 Oct 1814 and died 28 Feb 1876 per the dates inscribed on his gravestone. Daniel and Honora's son John was born in 1825. They would not have named a second son John if their first son John was still alive.

I'm certain that I have the correct John Cunningham (the one born in 1814) because in his will he left 1/5 of his estate to "my nephew John Sylvester Sullivan of Memphis, Tennessee."  

Thanks again for your help. Disproving a relationship can be as helpful as proving one. And thanks for pointing me toward irishgenealogy.ie website!

Kurt

Hi Kurt,

I'm a bit like a dog with a bone in solving a mystery....so here is another family to consider....with one big problem, I did not find a Bridget! I do think that over time some records get lost, destroyed, etc....There is a great feature on the irishgenealogy site where you can select "other search options". I did this for a few of the names you gave me as well as some names of Bridget's siblings I found on Ancestry, and found the following:

The parents to all of these children are Patrick Cunningham and Bridget Collins...(all Listowel)

Margaret 31 May 1817

Thomas 1 Jan 1821

John 29 Jun 1824 (I know, ten years younger than the headstone, but I don't always trust those!)

Francis 8 Feb 1827

Catherine 24 Apr 1830

You will see Margaret, Thomas, John and Catherine on Ancestry trees if you have an account. There are many gaps between these births for Bridget....just cannot find her! The marriage records for the RC parish of Listowel begin in 1837, so I could not find any more clues there for Patrick and Bridget.

Maybe your clan??

Regards,

Hi Carolyn,

I think the John born in 1824 eliminates Patrick Cunningham and Bridget Collins, too. The John Cunningham I'm looking at was almost certainly born in 1814. He emigrated to the U.S. and the 1850, 1860, and 1870 U.S. Censuses all point to 1814 or 1815 as his birth year. That suggests the dates on his gravestone are correct (and it's a rather impressive monument, too). I have the extended family pretty well delineated in the U.S., but making the jump to Ireland is daunting. The few (very few) records I have point to Listowel and anecdotal family lore says they came from there, too.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying exploring the irishgenealogy.ie website. Thanks for pointing me that way and thanks for all your other suggestions and observations, too.

Regards,

Kurt