Searching for information on my family's origins in Ireland and any possible living relatives.
My great, great grandfather, John Cunniff - Cuniff - Cunniffe, was born around June, 1940, in county Roscommon Ireland, to John and Catherine Cunniff. He arrived on April 21, 1855, in the port of Boston, Massachusetts on the s.s. D. Webster. He was with his mother, Catherine, age 35, his sister, Catherine, age 20, and his brother, James, age 10. John's middle name may have been James. The mother and two boys were listed in the state census of 1855 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Catherine Cunniff was probably a Nolan. Her 1872 death record lists her parents as James and Mary Nolan. It is not known if John's father, John, died in Ireland or immigrated earlier and either died or never managed to rejoin the family.
He married Jane A. McDermott, who was also born in Ireland, in 1862 and they had four children together before her death in 1872. Their children's names were Thomas F. (1862–1899), John James (1865–1933), Joseph H. Cunniff (1868–1899) and Mary Jane (1870-1871). Jane's parents were Patrick and Mary according to her death record. I have no further information regarding Jane's place of birth or family.
In 1885, John married Mary Ann Condon and had five children with her. These children were named Edward Francis (1885-1971), Henry T. (1887-?), and Roland Lee (1889-1918). He died on December 1, 1902, in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, at the age of 62. Cause of death: intestinal obstruction, peritonitis (2 days) and gastric ulcer, hemorhage. On his death certificate, his parents are listed as John Cunniff and Mary Nolan.
siouxcq
Friday 16th May 2014, 01:28AMMessage Board Replies
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Susan:
Roots Ireland www.rootsireland.ie has an 1837 baptism for a John Cunniff whose parents were John Cunniff and Catherine Nolan. IRoots is a pay site to view the data that they transcribed from the church record. The baptism was recorded in the RC parish of Kilbegnet and Ballynakill. This parish is on the Galway/Roscommon border. I would pay to see the record in case the townland info was included on the baptism record. Some of the Kilbegnet parish townlands were moved from Galway to Roscommon 1898.
http://www.leitrim-roscommon.com/transferred_towns.html
The 1856 Griffiths Valuation head of household listing for Kilbegnet parish showed 3 Cunniffs and 5 Nolans. See link below.
http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/galway/kilbegnet.php
Let me know if you have any questions.
Roger McDonnell
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Friday 16th May 2014, 02:53PM -
Roger,
Thank you so much for the fast response to my inquiry. Very exciting! I found the record in question but now I am confused. Apparently this same baptism was recorded twice, once in KILBEGNET/BALLINAKILL-Roscommon and the other in GLINSK-Galway. Is this common? Also, I found no other children born to this couple in either Roscommon or Galway so I'm not sure how else to verfy that this is the couple I am looking for. I coudn't find any John Cunniff/Catherine Nolan marriages either. Any suggestions or advice would be most welcome.
Susan
siouxcq
Saturday 17th May 2014, 10:58PM -
Susan:
The parish was Glinsk and Kilbegnet and since part of the parish was Galway and part Roscommon, Roots posted the same baptism in both counties. I provided you with two links below which will give you more info on the area. I'm surprised there are no other siblings especially James.
It may be that this record is not for your John. Not all parishes have records going back to 1840 and it is possible that your Cunniffs came from another parish in Roscommon. Although the fact there are Cunniffs and Nolans in the 1856 Griffiths adds some weight to having the correct record.
Was there an obituary in 1902 or some other US record that would point to the parish in Co. Roscommon?
Roger
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Sunday 18th May 2014, 05:41PM -
Hello Roger,
The only indication I have as to where he came from is from his U.S. naturalization form, dated Oct 21, 1884 where is states simply that he was from County Roscommon. He also stated on that document that he was a marble worker though I'm not sure that's any parallels cam be drawn from this regarding his - (or his father's - occupation in Ireland. His 1862 marriage record states that he was from Ireland and was residing in Cambridge at that time. I cannot find an obituary though I have combed newspaper records in the hopes of finding something.
Many thaks for your efforts to help. I dom't have a clue how to proceed from here.
Best regards,
Susan
siouxcq
Tuesday 3rd Jun 2014, 11:44PM