Dear Mary Thanks so much for the information, I'm just starting and who knows what will come of it. I know my Grandfather could read and wright as he was a Butler to a wealthy family in Ennis and my father went to Catholic School through High School in Ennis.I'll save your email and if I ever come across anythink that is remotely related I'll send it on to you, Thanks and good luck Michael ----- Original Message ----- From: <MCS642E@aol.com> To: <CARNEY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2000 12:15 PM Subject: Re: [CARNEY-L] Carneys VA > OH > Hi, Michael,I don't know much about the Kearneys in Ireland, but at least > what I do know goes back farther than yours. I guess people spelled names the > way they sounded in those days. I've often found official records as Carney > on my Kearney family, so I try to always look for both spellings. > > My grandmother Mary Kearney was born in Doonbeg, Co. Clare, in 1857 and her > brother Michael was born there in 1859. I think Doonbeg is about l0 - 15 > miles from Ennis? When my grandmother was 3 years old, the family came to > Upper Michigan where they had 8 more children, the other boys being Patrick, > John, James and William. They were Catholic. > > About 5 years ago I had research done by the Clare Heritage Centre. They not > only found Mary & Michael's baptismal records, but they found their mother, > Margaret Neylon (Kearney) who was born in Doonbeg in 1837. Unfortunately > their father Patrick Kearney was harder to find, since I had no birthdate or > parents; names. The only Kearney they could find a record of in Doonbeg was > Bartholomew, who lived next door to Margaret Neylon's parents. They surmised > that Bartholomew and Patrick were probably brothers. > > When Patrick died in Michigan in 1882 his age was given as 56. If this was > correct he would have been born in 1826. When Bartholomew died in Doonbeg in > 1891 his age was given as 77, making his birth in 1814. He also had a son > Michael. The trouble is, it seems that many people in those days couldn't > read and/or write and didn't really know their birthdate, or how old they > really were. > > I understand there are several Neylon families still living in Ennis, as well > as some Kearneys. Maybe that's where my Patrick came from. I'll probably > never find him, but wouldn't it be nice if some of this helps you someday? > Good luck. Mary >