This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Bowes, Brophy, Crow, Kenney Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.netscape.com/mbexec/msg/4317/WWC.2ACI/3298.1 Message Board Post: Hi, My ancestor Michael Bowes (b. 1790) married an Aileen or Elizabeth Brophy. Their children were born in the 1820s. The Brophy mother died there, and the rest emigrated during the famine.That's all I have on Brophy, but I wanted to direct you to http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ for Kilkenny research. You will find a paragraph about the Brophy surname there. If I recall right, the sept originated in the Kilkenny area and it has been a rather common name there. That may make your research tricky. Try to find out what townlands had both Brophy and Nelson surnames, then see if that parish has birth records for the appropriate years (~1832). Go to http://www.ireland.com/ancestors and put in Brophy surname. Look at the results, then on the same screen, enter Nelson as the second surname. Of those results I might try Laois and Tipperary as being the closest to Kilkenny, since Kilkenny doesn't come up, but you will need to pay to see the results. Still, might help for a modest fee! . Then take it from there. Both websites above will help with the Kilkenny area generally. Good luck!