Searching for Phelans
I am trying to trace the family of a great grandmother on my fathers side of the family. Her name was Mary Phelan (1862-1929); she came to America in 1873 (apparently), and she married my great grandfather Charles Henry Goodwin in 1876 (yes, at age 14, although she claimed at the time to be 19). I have a fair amount of other data that support an 1862 birth, rather than an 1857 birth. Marys parents were Nicholas Phelan (1832-1893) and Joanna (Ryan) Phelan (1839-1923), who lived in or near Urlingford in County Kilkenny. I have no idea why Mary came to America, but she had a sister Ellen (1854-1891) who also came, apparently a year or two later than Mary. Ellen married a Thomas Tyrell. Both sisters settled in Fall River, Massachusetts. Mary apparently came on a ship called the City of Montreal, and she apparently came with another family of Phelans. I keep writing apparently because I do not have clear evidence of her arrival. However, on the ship manifest there is a Phelan family that includes two girls named Mary, one age 2 and one age 11 (which fits my Mary). So I think it is conceivable that she came to the U.S. with relatives. I have been unable to determine what happened to the rest of these immigrant Phelans. They do not appear in the Fall River City Directories, but these directories have a large number of Ryans in them, so I think it possible that Mary initially lived with some relative of her mothers. At any rate, I would appreciate any help in learning about the Phelans and Ryans of Urlingford