Ireland XO
Back to Message Board

Patrick J Finley and Anne McKenna

I am looking for information about my wife's great-great grandfather and mother, Patrick Joseph Finley and Anne (McKenna) Finley from County Monaghan.

I  believe both were born around 1820 and they married before 1851 because they had five children beginning in 1851 with Ellen, Mary A in 1852, Katie in 1855, Michael in 1859 and Patrick Joseph in 1861.

I believe they emigrated United States in the 1880s.

Any information about Patrick and Anne (McKenna) Finley is appreciated. I am particularly interested in their exact townlamds, their parents names, any siblings and when they were married.

 

Thank you,

Bill Prendergast

 

 

Prendergast

4 replies

Hello again Bill!

Unfortunately, from searched I did on two subscriptions sites, I'm not finding any baptismal records for children of Patrick Finley and Anne McKenna. I even dropped the McKenna on one of the searches but still end up with finding no records. I also did not locate the marriage record.

I looked at the 1861 Griffiths Valuation head of household listing and there were eight Patrick Finlay/Finley records. There is no guarantee that your Patrick is listed. In looking at the civil parishes below, in at least two of the situations (Aghnamullen and Drumsnat), the related RC parishes have late starting records. One question for you-- did the parents emigrate or just the children?

Roger McDonnell

SourceSurnameFirst NameTownlandParishCounty

 GriffithFinlayPatrickFairtahyAghnamullenCo. Monaghan

GriffithFinlayPatrickBallaghDrumsnatCo. Monaghan

GriffithFinlayPatrickDrumcallEmatrisCo. Monaghan

GriffithFinlayPatrickStranoodanKilmoreCo. Monaghan

GriffithFinleyPatrickTullynahinneraAghnamullenCo. Monaghan

GriffithFinleyPatrickCorravacanEmatrisCo. Monaghan

GriffithFinleyPatrickDrumlinaKilleevanCo. Monaghan

GriffithFinleyPatrickCorcaghanKilmoreCo. Monaghan

 

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger,

Thank you for your time and research effort,

In response to your question, all of the five children emigrated to Hartford, Connecticut in the United States with this information taken from various U.S. census, employment and marriage records:

Ellen born est. April 1851 in County Monaghan; emigrated in 1870;

Mary A born est. May 1852 in County Monaghan; emigrated in 1872;

Katie born est. 1855 in County Monaghan; no known date of emigration but she was living in Hartford in 1880; she likely emigrated in the 1870s following her older sisters;

Michael born on February 3, 1859 in County Monaghan; emigrated in 1884;

Patrick J born March 4, 1961 in New Bliss, County Monaghan; emigrated in 1879;

With respect to Patrick J Finley their father, from what I can gather from records in the U.S., it appears he was born around 1820 in Drumilna, Killeevan, County Monaghan. He may have a brother Michael. Both owned farms in Drumlina. I also believe an Elizabeth Finley lived in New Bliss at the time but I do not know if she is related. I believe Patrick never emigrated it the United States and died in County Monaghan in 1875-76 (not 100% certain).

With respect to Ann (McKenna) Finley, a 1880 Hartford, Connecticut census shows her living with all five of her children (ages 28 to 19) at "60 years old" and birthplace "Ireland." Hence her estimated 1820 year of birth. She may have emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1870s after her husband Patrick's death.

i cannot find a formal record of Ann's maiden name in the U.S. Her McKenna name has been mentioned/repeated over the years by family and two of our female family members first names are McKenna, named for her. 
 

Maybe Patrick married an Ann with a different maiden name?

I'll look into. Anything you can find is welcomed and very much appreciated.

Bill

 

Prendergast

Bill:

So Drumlina was the home townland and Patrick was the seventh record from Griffiths that I listed above. Michael Finley was also listed in Drumlina.

The Killevan (New Bliss) baptismal records start in 1867 which explains not finding any records.

I searched for a death record for Patrick but did not find a record. Not all deaths were registered.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

This post came up in a search I was doing for my maternal grandfather. I am the great-granddaughter of Patrick J. Finley, who died in 1931, in Hartford, CT. He was the son of Patrick and Ann. I don’t know much about my Finley ancestors, so this is very interesting that someone may have info on them or is searching for more.

thank you

nikkir007

Reply

Reply
One image file up to 2 MB.