Reynolds Co. Leitrim
Hello all.
I had been searching for my grandfather's birth family for many years and finally found them in 2016. We knew he was born a Reynolds and the living descendants said they came from Co. Leitrim. Patrick Reynolds born circa 1812 and his wife Bridget (1816) (?Conity, Connaughty?) arrived in NYC in June of 1837 with their three month old son Thomas. They settled in NYC and had three other children, Catherine, James and Martha.
James married Annie Shanley. Her parents were John Shanley and Mary Rinn (about 1824). They were related to the Shanley family that opened several famous restaurants in NYC in the early 1900s. Thomas Shanley born 1859 in Moher, Annaduff to Michael Shanley and Margaret Faughnan was the founder of the restaurants and lived with his Aunt Mary Rinn Shanley when he first arrived in NYC in 1880.
James and Annie had 8 children one being Catherine Reynolds (1897), my grandfather's birth mother. He was born in 1916 Bronx to an unwed Catherine and given up to the NYC Foundling Hospital the day after birth. He was later placed on anOrphan Train in 1921 to be adopted by the Eveld family in Altus, AR. I've also deduced his birth father from DNA matches as a McGinty boy that lived across the street in the Bronx.
There is also a connection to the Sheridan and Hand families. They are noted to be cousins in Patrick and Bridget's daughter Martha's will. I believe that Martha Connaughty who married Michael Hand may have been my Bridget's sister. No proof just a gut feeling.
I've connected with a distant Leitrim cousin and we thought for sure we were on the right tract only to discover we matched her mother's Flynn side not the assumed paternal Reynolds.
I had hoped to find a townland for my Patrick before our May arrival but I've ran out of ideas. He died by 1860 and I've been unable to find any naturalization or death records for him. Birth records aren't back that far. DNA lands me in Southeast Leitrim per Ancestry. So, I thought I'd give this a shot and see if any of these names ring a bell with anyone out there.
Thanks for your time,