Looking for my Curley/Conboy ancestors

Hi Jill

RootsIreland shows no record for an Anthony Conboy in the timeline you mention. To reach out directly to the descendant of Anthony Conboy (b1824) you mentioned, please post a message below his Ancestor Profile HERE. 

RootsIreland Athleague RC records do reveal a marriage in 1810 for Michael Conboy & Sarah Curley witnessed by John Conboy & Hugh Curley. This might suggest that your Conboy-Curly ancestors were neighbours.

SOMERS (Summers) & CURLEY (Corley)

Hugh & Mary (Maria) Curly were baptising in the RC parish of Athleague from 1815-1826 and invited Catherine & Mary Sommers to godparent. They were also close to the Wade and McDermott families. Henry Wade & Esther Higgins return invited Hugh Curley to godparent. 

Kilmeane is a civil parish just east of Athleague in Co. Roscommon. But doesn't contain a town or townland of that name. That said, the townland of Tromaun Athleague (aka Tremane aka Kilcommon aka Lissenreagh) adj. Mote Park Demesne is right on the parish boundary with Kilmeane. In the latter half of the 19th Century the Curly & Summers familys of Tromaun were particularly close (godparenting for each other). Indeed, the Curly family was a popular choice of godparent for the Summers' from 1808–1847 in Athleague RC but with no address given it's hard to pinpoint their location. In 1827 a John Curley was recorded (next-door to Tromaun) in Tullyroe in the Kilmeane Tithes. Troumaun (Athleague) Tithes don't reveal any names of the "tenants of Lord Crofton" which may have included your Hugh Curley and Mary Somers. By 1858 a Bartholomew, John and Patrick Somers all have land holdings at Tromaun. 

Athleague Death Records record a Matthew Curley of Tremane (Tromaun) RIP 1809 and more thereafter incl.  Matthew Curley of Tremane d.1835. One might presume the Matthew Curly of Tullyroe (next-door) recorded in Griffith's Valuation 1858 is a descendant. A Thomas and Peter Curly were small farmers in mid 19thC Tremane as were John Curley & Eleanor Mullen.  In 1833, a Brigid and Thomas Somers of Tremane died (age 23 and 26 respectively) and an Elizabeth Somers in 1836 (age 22). So we can confidently place the both families here in the early 19th century.

1825 Tithe records place a Pat and Hugh Curley in Castlecoote (Fuerty) which can also appear in Athleague RC records. 

Coincidence?

In 1864, Sergeant Major (Royal Artillery) Martin Conboy (son of John Conboy, labourer) married Margaret Cannon in Roscommon Church of Ireland.  By 1865, Martin was an army pensioner residing in Tremane (Tromaun) when they baptised Martin Conboy Jr.  In 1867 this couple baptise Frederick Conboy in Athleague. Frederick did not remain in Roscommon and went on the join the RIC. 

CONBOY (Comboy, Conaboy, Cunaboy)

The Conboys were numerous just south of Athleague (and baptising there) in the civil parish of Tisrara in particular around Mount Talbot (incl. Cloondarrah and Lismaha) on the Galway/Roscommon border.

The RootsIreland death records reveal Athleague RC Conboys (aka Connaboy) in the townland of Coramore (aka Gorteencloogh) c.1814 and in Mount Talbot (civil parish of Tisrara) c. 1834.

In 1834 Michael Summers & partners appear on Tithe records in Corrabeg (Athleague) right by Mount Talbot. (Michael & Eleanor Sommers were baptising in Athleague RC from 1809-1810). These Sommers "partners" could be Curly and/or Conby. The Athleague Tithe Applotments record only one Conboy in the townland of Clouraugh and Caldragh (John Conboy). 

Griffith's Valuation of 1858 shows numberous Comboy (variant) in Tisrara – at Cloondarrah, Lismaha and Cloonakilleg.

Conboy couples baptising in Athleague RC

1809 Daniel & Mary Conboy (no address recorded)

1817 John & Mary Conboy (no address recorded)

1827-1842 Daniel Conboy & Margaret Costello (no address recorded)

1835 George & Ann Conboy (no address recorded)

1836 Peter Conboy & Mary Skully (no address recorded)

1836-1845 Thomas & Catherine Conboy  (no address recorded)

1838-41 James Conboy & Brigid Burke aka Biddy (no address recorded)

1839 John Conboy & Catherine Fineran (no address recorded)

1847-1850 Michael Conboy & Brigid Cormican (no address recorded)

1854-1860 Patrick & Mary/Brigid Conboy (no address recorded)

1857-59* John & Brigid Conboy  (no address recorded)

1859 James & Brigid Conboy (no address recorded)

1863 Patrick & Rose Conboy (no address recorded)

1868* John Conboy & Brigid Murphy of Curravaughla

1860 Patrick Conboy & Mary Finnegan of Rusalen (married 1850)

1864-67 John Conboy & Brigid Creagh (aka Creaghan/ Crehan) of Lismaha (Tisrara) farmer 

1865-73 Daniel Conboy & Anne Miner (aka Minaher) of Lismaha (Tisrara) shepherd

1867 Martin Conboy & Margaret Cannon of Athleague, pensioner

1867-1882 Peter & Celia Conboy of Cloondarrah Tisara, small farmer

1874-81 Patrick Conboy (son of Daniel Conboy of Mount Prospect) & Catherine Ward of Oldtown m. 1874 lived at Lissacarrow (Fuerty, just north of Athleague) 

1876 Thomas & Brigid Conboy of Mount Prospect (Fuerty, just north of Athleague) labourer

1877 Thomas Conboy & Mary Flanagan of Cloondarrah Tisara, small farmer

1878 John Conboy (son of Daniel Conboy) of Rockfield & Margaret Grady of Oran  

1878 John Conboy (son of Daniel Conboy of Mount Prospect) & Mary Connaghton of Farnykelly lived at Tubbervaddy (Fuerty, just north of Athleague)   

After the famine, these Conboys were mainly from the southern civil parish of Tisrara and the northern civil parish of Fuerty (near Tromaun).

For this reason you may want to join our TISRARA community  and FUERTY community  and link this Message Board post to those communities as well. 

Hope this helps!

Oh, my goodness - this is incredible! How incredibly kind of you - thank you so much. I am just starting to dig into my family's history to try to better understand some things about my life and who I am as a person and as a member of a family - trying to get a better sense of how I fit into the world as a person descended from so many immigrants and refugees from so many different parts of the world. 

Anthony and Mary lived in New York for around thirty years after their arrival and had about ten children. The story ends on a fairly tragic note - Anthony stepped on a nail at work in 1870 and was dead two days later from tetanus. Mary died the following year, and the cause of death was diplomatically listed as "debility" secondary to liver disease, so it's probably a good guess that her death was alcohol related. The older children, including my great great grandfather Thomas, stepped up and became surrogate parents for the little ones. But the trauma of losing both parents within a year never seems to have left the children, because there are gaps in some of their records that may be related to things like vagrancy.

But I am amazed by the strength and resiliency shown by all of them, whatever their failings might be. My ancestors survived famine and a perilous sea journey to arrive in a new country where they would have faced discrimination and dangerous working and living conditions. But despite all of that, they carved out a life that had happiness and love and family in it. And no matter how many obstacles the world threw in their way, they prevailed so powerfully that here I am, 200 years later, happy and healthy. 

Thank you so much for giving me some new places to look for more of this wonderful story that I am a part of!