I have traced my ancestors back to my great-great grandfather, Richard Heffernanfrom Co. Kildare. He was married to Catherine Ennis on 4 July 1833 in Sillet parish. He was born around 1806. If anyone could provide some guidance as to where I could further my search, I would be very grateful.
Thank you,
Richard J. Heffernan
Warwick, RI USA
Richard:
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!
I was confused by the mention of the parish Sillet. I checked the subscription site Roots Ireland and the marriage was held in the RC parish of Kildare and Rathangan and both Richard and Catherine were from Rathangan. The baptismal records for that parish start in 1815 so if Richard was born in 1806 so a record would not be available. I did check Roots and they did not have any Richard Heffernan baptismal records in Kildare. Roots had an 1817 Catherine Ennis baptismal record in Kildare and Rathangan which is unlikely your Catherine unless she was almost 16 when she married.
Name:Catherine EnnisDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:21-Aug-1817Address:
Parish/District:KILDAREGender:FemaleCountyCo. Kildare
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Michael EnnisMother:Unknown UnknownOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:William Keegan Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Cath O'Neill
Notes:
NO ADDRESS GIVEN. MOTHERS NAME NOT GIVEN.
I did check the 1827 Tithe listing for Rathangan and did not see any Heffernan records but there was a Bryan Ennis in Rathangan http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004625709/004625709_00423.pdf
Roger McDonnell
The entry for Richard and Catherine's 1833 Marriage (NLI RC register images) in the Register gives 'Sillet' as residence, the column header has 'abode', although it's not clear from this if it applies to the bride, the groom or is the intended residence after marriage. I suspect that Sillet is a reference to the townland of Silliothill in a detached portion of Moone civil parish (placename database) located a short distance south west of Kildare town (there's a second townland of the same name further east).
Griffith's Valuation, dated 1853 for this area, shows a number of Heffernan properties at Silliothill, Moone civil parish - all leasing from the Marquis of Drogheda, Thomas Heffernan leasing a house and about 14 acres of land, William Heffernan with a house and 22 acres, Simon Heffernan with a house and just over 2 acres and John Heffernan with a house and just over 6 acres. William Heffernan also sub-leases small properties to a Margaret Kennedy, Thomas Neill, Bridget Miles, Lawrence Neill and Daniel Dolan.
I apologise for taking nearly three years to reply to these posts. I have been very busy confirming my ancestor's identities here in the US. On my mother's side, I've found that I'm related to two of the passengers that arrived aboard the Mayflower in 1620.
However, I would like a further connection to my great, great grandfather Richard Heffernan. The information from the above replies is helpful but to confirm who his parents or siblings were. I am currently subscribed to Amcestry.com and MyHeritage.com but these sources haven't gotten me any closer.
I appreciate your assistance!
Richard Heffernan
The records for the Catholic parish of Kildare and Rathangan cover baptisms back to 1815, quite early for RC records in Ireland, as Roger mentioned there would be no record for Richard in these if he was born about 1806. Very few Irish Catholic parishes have records back to the early 1800s or beyond..
Most of the Catholic registers for Ireland, over 1,000 parishes, have been imaged and available on the website of the National Library of Ireland, and also indexed and searchable by FindMyPast and Ancestry. A search for Heffernan baptisms in Kildare & Rathangan RC parish shows a small number including two in the 1820s two seperete families a James in 1825 and an Anne in 1828. I checked the various adjacent parishes but only one has earlier records - Suncroft, but no sign of any earlier Heffernans that I could see in their registers.
Roger and Shanew147,
Thank you for your assistance. I was doing some research today on my great, great grandmother, Catherine Ennis, and I came across a baptismal list with her parent's names dated 21 April 1808. It looks like their names may have been mispelled. Her father was listed as Patrick Ennisy and her mother was listed as Catherine Grinnan, not Grennan. The name of the parish was not listed but I believe they were from Co. Wexford. It looks like the baptism was for Henry Ennis, probably Catherine's brother. Listed as sponsor was Bryan Ennisy.
Richard and Catherine Heffernan emigrated to the US in 1849 but I'm sure they had family remaining in Ireland.
I will continue searching with the clues you have given me. I have been trying to plan a trip to Ireland but, as with everyone else, I have had to deal with the restrictions that Covid has presented. I'm hoping that I will have enough information on extended family to enable me to located them when I do arrive.
Thanks again for all your hard work!
That 1809 baptism took place in the Catholic parish of Old Ross in County Wexford - a bit of a distance from Rathangan County Kildare, about 100km (~60 miles). I'd be a little cautious of linking that to your Ennis family - it could just be a case of an Ennis family living in a parish that happens to have older records.
Hello Shane,
I’m still working on tracing my family back to our homeland. As mentioned in our previous correspondence, my great, great grandfather, Richard Heffernan, emigrated to the USA in 1849. I have no knowledge of his parents or siblings he may have left behind. I have looked up common Irish naming protocols and learned that it was common to name the first born son after the father’s father. In this case, my great, great grandfather named his first son Thomas, leading me to believe that his father’s name was Thomas. Do the records show a Thomas Heffernan from Rathangan parish in Kildare county in the late 18th or early 29th centuries?
as always, I truly appreciate any information you may find and the time it takes to find it.
Sincerely,
Richard Heffernan