Ireland XO
Back to Message Board

Looking for info on Daniel Joseph O'Neil and Mary Driscoll from County Clare

 

My cousin and I are planning to come to Ireland at the end of May or in September and we would like to have some more information about our great grandfather Daniel Joseph O'Neill and his wife, Mary Driscoll. According to Mary's tombstone she was from County Clare, but we are not sure if Daniel was from there or not. His death certificate only says he was born in Ireland. I haven't been able to find a birth or baptismal certificate for either one. According to the 1910 and 1920 US Census, Daniel immigrated to the US in 1864 or 1867 and Mary in 1869, in the 1900 US Census.

My great grandfather's parent's names are unknown, whereas my great granmother's parents were listed as Ellen Herbert and Patrick Driscoll, on her death certificate. They were married in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on July 12, 1870 and had their first child, Catherine, while living there. A subsequent move to San Francisco saw the arrival of 6 additional children, one of whom, Synon, died at age 5. The names of the other children were John Thomas, Mary Ellen, Daniel Joseph Jr., Margaret Elizabeth and James William. 

I would very much like to know where my grandfather was born, who his parents were, what they did for a living, if he had any siblings and where he lived (town, farm, etc). My father mentioned that Daniel might have had a brother who immigrated to Australia, but he didn't remember his name. I would also like to have more/similar information about my great grandmother. Would love to be able to go back even further and discover who my other ancestors were. I know the O'Neil clan was from Ulster, but don't have the lineage going back that far. 

Any information you can provide will be most appreciated!!  Thank you. Roberta O'Neill

Irishlass

3 replies

Irish Lad,

Civil records in Ireland are from January 1st 1864. Church records vary and can be from c1800 to 1864. Many rural parishes do not have records prior to c1870.

I attach records of Griffith's Valuation taken in Kilrush c1854 and printed in1855. It is a free site  www.askaboutireland.ie/Griffith's Valuation.

The records have a Sinon O'Neill in Pound Street and a Patrick Driscoll in Russell's Lane. The first name "Sinon"/Synon" is fairly common in West Clare. The name is from St. Senan of Scattery Island in the Shannon estuary There is nothing to indicate that those two men are part of your family. The surname O'Neill is quite common in County Clare. There are a number of Driscoll's in the area from Ennis to Kilrush. You might consult with your relatives in the USA as to what they know abiout the family.

You should check the US census from 1800 and note if the birth years for both Patrick and Ellen contain a regular pattern.

Credit: www.askaboutireland.ie ; and  www.findmypast.ie - Subscription site

Regards,

McCoy

Irish Lad:

The subscription site FindMyPast has a January 25 1849 baptismal record for a Michael Driscal with parents Pat Driscal and Ellen Herbert. The RC parish was Kilmurry Ibricken in Co. Clare. The family lived in Craggaknock townland in Kilmurry civil parish. There are two Craggaknocks-East and West but they would border each other. https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634719#page/159/mode/1up

Not sure why other baptismal records did not show up. You may want to search the parish register  https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0785

I did not find a marriage record.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger,

My apologies for not replying to your message in a timely manner. I want to thank you for taking the time to look into my ancestor's whereabouts.
Trying to find a birth record for Daniel O'Neil has been very frustratingand discouraging. He is nowhere to be found. I did find out that his wife, Mary Driscoll, was born in Cragganick and later moved to Kilrush, with her family. Therefore, the address you found for Patrick Driscoll, her father, may be correct. If that is the case, then Daniel may also have been born and raised in Kilrush, but the parish records don't show a Daniel O'Neil being baptized in that parish. 

Based on the naming practice in Ireland at that time, it is possible that Daniel's father could have been Sinon O'Neil, because Daniel named his first son Sinon, but I couldn't find a record that indicated that Sinon had a son named Daniel, so it's all speculative. The only thing that leads me to believe that Daniel O'Neill was from Kilrush is that Sinon (his hypothetical father) lived on Pound St, which is family lose to Russell's Lane, the residence of Mary Driscoll and her family. 
 

I have also come to find out that Mary Driscoll had two brothers, one of whom, Michael, you had mentioned in your message. Mary the eldest, was baptized on.      1844, Patrick on          and Michael on 

 

Irishlass

Reply

Reply
One image file up to 2 MB.