James and Mary Redmond Whelan from Litterbeg (Blackwater)

Mike:

Hello again!

You are in the correct parish page.

The 1853 Griffiths Valuation head of household listing for Kilmuckridge civil parish shows a Mary Whelan in Litterbeg townland which likely is your ancestor and confirms that James died in Ireland prior to 1853. The parish register does not show any death records and since James died before civil registration started in 1864 likely there is no death record. 

http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0600

I would doubt that there are any cemetery records or a headstone for James Whelan. You could contact the parish and ask

http://ferns.ie/kilmuckridge/

I also checked the online phone book and did not see any Whelan records in the Kilmuckridge area.

http://ferns.ie/kilmuckridge/

Roger McDonnell

Hi Roger,

Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly.  I will contact the parish and ask about any records they may have.  It definitely makes since that Mary Whelan in the 1853 Griffith's Valuation for Kilmuckride would be the same Mary Whelan who emigrated from Litterbeg in 1856.  As you noted, Mary Whelan would only show up as head of a house if she was a widow.  Thanks for checking the online phone book.  I will defintiely use that source (online phone book) to check on possible long lost relatives for some of our other Irish ancestors.

Thanks for the information and suggestions.

Mike Lancor

Hi, Mike,

I find your letter tantalizing. I have traced my roots solidly to a great great grandfather Andrew Redmond, born in Garridonnel in 1789. I think Garridonnel is a small town in Litter parish. The names overlap a lot in records I've seen. Andrew emigrated to near Quebec, Canada in ~1826. The only siblings I've found are Margaret Redmond, born 1795, and Mary Redmond, born 1796, but I don't have married names. This is a year from your Mary Redmond Whelan. You say her 1797 baptism is a year off from her gravestone. What does the gravestone say, and which is correct?

You say Mary Redmond Whelan's parents were Ed (?) Redmond and Mary Murphy. My research for Andrew, Margaret, and Mary points to parents Guillielmus/William Redmond, born 1765, and Hanna Murphy. 

Could we have something here?

Alice

Hi Alice,

It is Monday, May 28 and my wife Kate and I are in Ireland.  As I am writing this reply, we are in the Glendalough area in Wicklow County.  I could not believe you posted a reply to my email today since we spent the afternoon today in Kilmuckridge, Co. Wexford "chasing" my Whelan and Redmond ancestors.  We went to St. Mary's Catholic Church, the old Catholic cemetery between Kilmuckridge and Kilcooley, the Catholic section of the old graveyard associated with the Church of Ireland, and drove to the area where my 2nd great grandmother Mary Redmond Whelan lived before emigrating to New York State.

When we return from Ireland, I will do some more research and let you know if I think we are following the same Redmond family from Kilmuckridge.  It is a very small community, so there is an excellet change that my 2nd great grandmother Mary Redmond was related in some way to your 2nd great grandfather Andrew Redmond.

Thanks for replying and you will hear from me again.

Mike Lancor

Hi Mike, 

If you left a note under a rock around the neighborhood, I'll find it. We will do probably the same drive around the Litter/Killmuckridge area June 18-19. I have wondered about St. Mary's Church and the cemetery. I don't have specific places to find, like old property, but I expect to take in the air and feel the soil!

Cheers,

Alice

Hi Alice,

If you send an email to my personal email account (loonatic@roadrunner.com), then I can give you some suggestions about your time in Litter/Kilmuckridge.

Mike