I am tracing the Tunney/Tunny family in County Mayo, especially in the greater Swinford area. Some associated names are Lydon, Peyton, McNicholas, Gallagher, Groark. Please get in touch if you know of this family. Thank you! -- Kathleen Tunney
Kathleen:
Could you provide more specifics on your Tunny/Tunney family e.g names and ages of your family. It willl assist others who see this message.Thanks!
Roger McDonnell
Thank you, Roger, for your suggestion!
To begin with, the direct line Tunney/Tunny ancestors who migrated to the US settled in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Paternal great-grandfather who emigrated is James Leo Tunney (Sr.), who was born in 1860 to Patrick Tunny (born 4 Feb 1825 in Kilconduff/Curryane to John Tunny and Anne Groark) and Anne McNicholas (born ca. 1831). Patrick and Anne were married 22 Jan 1854 in Meelick & Kilconduff parish. In addition to James Leo, their children were Thomas, Mary, Bridget Agnes, Anne, Catherine and Martin.
Just to complicate my research further, James Leo got married in Allegheny City (later part of Pittsburgh) on 13 Apr 1884 to a woman named Mary Ann (b. 21 Dec 1870 in County Mayo) whose maiden name was ALSO Tunney! Mary Ann's parents were James Tunney and Bridget Peyton (married 12 Feb 1858 in Kilbeagh/Charlestown). Bridget Peyton's parents were James Peyton and Julia Gallagher and she had a sister, Ellen, who married James Lydon. In addition to Mary Ann, James' and Bridget's other children were Patrick, Mary, Thomas, Bridget/Delia (also emigrated to Pittsburgh), Michael, James, Ellen and Edward.
Should anyone want to know, I would be pleased to provide further details on the siblings of James Leo Tunney and his wife Mary Ann Tunney, as well as their children in the United States. I can also provide information on the children of James Lydon and Ellen Peyton.
Thank you for reading this, and I hope to hear from anyone who finds any of these names familiar.
All the best,
Kathleen Tunney
Kathleen:
Thanks for posting your family information and hopefully others may see a connection. I also live in the States (Maryland) and my grandfather came from Kilbeagh civil parish but he was from the village of Carracastle about five miles east of where James Tunney and Bridget Peyton were from.
A couple informational items. The spelling of the townland for James Leo Tunney and his family was Curryaun. I noticed in the 1901 census that there were four Tunny/Tunney families living in that townland.
For the James Tunney/Bridget Peyton family, I could not find a baptismal record for Mary Ann on the subscription site Roots Ireland or a birth record on the free site www.irishgenealogy.ie ; Here are the children I located: Patrick 1858 Mary 1859 Catherine 1863 Thomas 1866 Bridget 1868 James 1871 Ellen 1873 James 1874 Anne 1879 In addition to not finding a record for Mary Ann, I did not find a record for Michael. I assume the 1859 Mary was an older child who died young and the parents named a later girl Mary Ann?
Roger
Roger,
Thanks so much for all the detail!
I have Mary Ann's birth date (21 Dec 1870) and her parents' names from her Pennsylvania death certificate. I agree with you that Mary was most likely an earlier child who died young. Because I too did not find Mary Ann's Irish birth/baptismal record to compare, I wonder if Ann was her confirmation name rather than a middle name given at birth.
I obtained Michael's birth date (9 Jan 1870) and parents' names from records found on the free site familysearch.org. I notice that you also do not have Edward, whose birth information (23 Jan 1874) I got from the same website, which stated he was born in Lowpark. Do you think that indicates the family moved? I should have noted that Edward also emigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Thank you for mentioning spelling. I have Irish records which use the spelling Curryane as well as Curryaun. I've been assuming they refer to the same townland. Do you agree, or are they separate places?
All the best,
Kathleen
Kathleen:
Yes, Curryane and Curryaun would be the same. My grandmother came from Knockanaconny in Co. Roscommon and have probably seen 15 different spellings for that townland.
Lowpark was the name of a registration district for part of Kilbeagh parish. It is confusing but the family did not move and were still in Killaturly. Here is Edward's civil birth record (first record on the page. You will note that the family was in Killaturly but at the top Lowpark is shown as the Registration District which fed into the Superintendent's Registrar District which was Swineford.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_retur…
Is it possible that Mary Ann significantly lowered her age when she came to America and the 1859 record is her record? The family would not have known if she always used a much younger year of birth.
Roger
Roger, thanks for the link to Edward's birth registration. I notice that his father James is listed as being a "landholder." Does that have a particular legal status? Does it mean he owns the land free and clear?
If May Ann fudged her age and was really born 11 years earlier, her youngest son would have been born when she was 43. Not impossible, of course, but I'm wondering if it was common for women to have children into their forties? To pull off an eleven-year age difference, she also would have had to look quite young! It's an interesting situation to ponder.
Thanks, too, for sorting out the confusion over Lowpark and Kilaturly. Is there hope that I will eventually understand the whole system of place names with more time and experience, LOL?
I appreciate your helpful contributions to this thread.
All the best,
Kathleen
Kathleen:
No, in 1874 James would not have owned the land free and clear. I guess technically he should have been a leaseholder. It was not until the early 1900s that tenants were allowed to purchase their land from the landlords. I'm sure you could find more background material but he is one link of interest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congested_Districts_Board_for_Ireland
I think having women having children in their 40s was common. Many of the female emigrants worked as servants in houses when they came over and then married in their 30s. My grandmother, Nora Roddy, came over in 1906 at age 16. She worked as a servant in a number well to do houses in Philadelphia. She was 33 at marriage and immediately had four children, the last when she was 39.
Roger
Roger,
So I guess "landholder" meant the same thing as "leaseholder"? I need to do so much more research on how things worked in Ireland. Thanks for steering me right!
Giving birth later in life was riskier in terms of mortality and the health of both child and mother (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and other complications), so it was brave of them to postpone childbirth. I will keep this trend in mind as I continue navigating through the tangle of Tunneys.
Thanks for your information!
Kathleen
I have a Catherine tunney from Swineford marrying a Michael Roche ca 1890 in the USA
Her father was Patrick
Is this your family?
I am currently tracing my family tree but getting stuck on the Irish side. My grandad John Patrick Lydon was born in the work house in swinford co Mayo in 1912 his mother is listed as Bridget Lydon. My father always used to say we was related to the Tunney’s. Did you manage to trace your family?
David Michael Lydon
Hello David Michael!
I have a John Lydon born in 1871, and a Patrick Lydon born in 1872, but no John Patrick Lydon born in 1912. However, I did not pursue the Lydon line further forward than John and Patrick's generation (and they have 7 more Lydon siblings). If you should manage to get John Patrick's parents, I wouldn't be surprised if they are the same family. I have a James Lydon who died in 1892, who married Ellen Peyton (1850--1931). Ellen Peyton's sister, Bridget Peyton (1835-1908) married James Tunney. That's how my Tunneys ultimately connect with my Lydons. Let me know if you want more detail. Be sure to let me know if you can find your John Patrick's father, our trees might just connect.
Good luck to you with your search!
Happy hunting!
Kathleen Tunney