John O'Keefe Tulla to Canada 1840

Hello Jane,

Thank you for looking into my family history at Tulla. I think the family below would be the best lead to follow. My John O'Keefe arrived in Canada in 1840 and is listed as John Keef on the list of immigrants. He was 22  years of age on the list. His obituary states he was born in 1818 and was born in Tulla, County Clare, Ireland. The 1881 Canada census states his age as 62 years old. 

1.  John Keefe    22/6/1821  Father:  Denis Keeffe, Mother:  Mary Keeffe. 

He is the oldest of 4 children.  Their address is:  Liscullane.  Sponsors were Michael Keeffe and Margaret Keeffe.

  Thank you very much for doing this for me,

Kevin

Side Note: My Mother was from Cloonigan, Co. Sligo and emmigrated to Lindsay in 1952. My Father died at Limerick Regional Hospital in 1985 while on a vacation to Ireland. 

Hello Jane,

Thank you very much for finding this me me. I guess there is a strong chance this family may be related. If the John Keefe is related he left for Canada in 1840 and his name was recorded as John Keefe.

What port would he have sailed from? I don't think I have a ship's name. If there is a record of him sailing to Canada in 1840 from an Irish port then he would most likely be related. 

I wonder if Mary, Darby and Anne survived the potato famine? The three of them were between 8 and 18 years old during the famine years. 

Possibly they survived and stayed in Ireland or left for Canada or Australia when they grew older.

At any rate, thank you and Merry Christmas to all in County Clair!

Kevin

Hello Jane,

I have more information about Irish immigrants arriving at Quebec from County Clare in 1840. Assisted immigration from Colonel George Wyndham saw an Irish agent, Thomas Crowe, sending Wyndham’s Lissofin tenants to either Canada, Australia or throughout Ireland and Europe.

In 1840 Thomas Crowe sent approximately 100 immigrants from Shannon to Quebec with no superintendent and a small landing allowance of money. The ship may have been the ‘Waterloo’ but I am not sure of this. Upon arriving at Quebec, the Governor [of Lower Canada] Thomson, sent the new arrivals on to Upper Canada at Cobourg in the care of Wyndham’s superintendent, Charles Rubidge.

Cobourg and Lindsay are where Newcastle District was in 1840.  My gggrand-father lived in Cobourg from 1840-44 then came to Lindsay. He was a shoemaker. Could the John Keefe, born 22 June 1821, be on a ships manifest of a ship leaving Shannon for Quebec in 1840? Was this ship arranged by the Irish agent, Thomas Crowe for Col. George Wyndham?

Bye for now,

Kevin

Hi Kevin.

My name is John O'Keeffe.

I am originally from Tulla but now live in Virginia USA.

There are still O'Keeffe's in Tulla. Let me know if you are still looking for information.

Thanks,

John

Hello John,

  Thank you for your email.  The internet makes for a very small world. I live in Lindsay, Ontario, just north of Lake Ontario.   It seems my family line is from the Tulla in East Clare. My line goes back to the oldest son John, son of Denis and Mary Keefe.    Has your O'Keeffe family lived in Tulla from the 1840's? Could any Tulla O'Keefes be related to us?  I have attached his obituary which names Tulla as his home.

Bye for now,  Kevin  O'Keefe   

Denis & Mary Keefe (possibly Keeffe) had the following children:

1.  John 22/6/1821

2. Mary 3/12/1828

3. Daily (I believe that this is Darby) 18/11/1831

4. Anne 20/9/1836.

They lived in Liscullane. 

Dear Kevin and John:  

Thank you both for your messages.  It is great to hear from you again, Kevin and welcome John!  Will you both consider creating Ancestor profiles under the XO Chronicles feature at the top of this page?  It will also assist others researching the same family and may also add to your family trees.  

If you have any questions, please let me know.  

All the best,  

Jane 

Hello Kevin, Jane & John -   Sorry to be late to this conversation, I just uncovered a possible connection on my Keefe branch to Tulla.  My great-great-grandfather was John Keefe and we have a couple of records here in the States which show that he was born 18 June 1821 in County Clare.  I don't have any details on his parents or the town in County Clare.  However, I cannot help but wonder if my John isn't the one who was baptised 22 June 1821 in Tulla.  I realze all too well how common the names can be but the fact that he was born just 4 days before the Tulla John Keefe was baptised does have me very curious. Though my relatives spelled it Keefe in all records here, family tradition is that it was once O'Keeffe.

John O'Keefe - I am glad to hear there are still Keeffes / O'Keeffes in Tulla.  I used to live in Virginia (Alexandria) and my wife is from there as well.  My daughter, Clare of course is her name, lives in the area today though I now live back in my home state of Michigan.  Hopefully we will figure this all out.  A male Keefe cousin of mine will soon be taking the Y-DNA test so hopefully that helps.   - Bill O'Reilly (billoreilly3@gmail.com)

Hi Bill:

The date of 18 June 1821 and the corresponding baptism record of 22 June 1821 would indicate that he could well be the same person.  Most children were baptised 3 days after birth, so the dates definitely tie in.  If you would like me to look at anything here locally, please let me know.

All the best,

Jane

Hello Bill, Jane & John,  It is great to hear from you.! Here is some information about  'John (Keefe) O'Keefe' after le left Ireland.

Bill, How does your O'Keefe family line trace back to John( Keefe) O'Keefe?  One of the eight children was Michael O'Keefe, last known to be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All I have is that he is mentioned in the 1921obituary for my Great-grandfather, Daniel O'Keefe. 

John (Keefe) O'Keefe Sr. is the man who emigrated to Canada in 1840 from the townland known as "Lisofen" in East County Clare, Ireland. John O'Keefe [Sr's] parents lived at "Liscullane" townland.  He came to Cobourg, Ontario, and lived there until 1844. A baptismal record from 1840 exists in St. Michael the Archangel Church at Cobourg, of a son, John O'Keefe, son of (John Keefe and Ann McMahon); the baby son died December 1840. John (Keefe) O'Keefe [Sr] moved to Lindsay, Ontario in 1844. He was a shoemaker and one of his Lindsay born sons, John O'Keefe Jr., was also a shoemaker. John O'Keefe Sr. married Ann McMahon (died 1861) and they had eight children of which Daniel O'Keefe is my great grandfather. John (Keefe) O'Keefe married again in 1866, Jane McMahon and they had two children. 

Bye for now, Kevin O'Keefe

kj_okeefe@cogeco.ca

Hi Kevin:

Many thanks for your assistance with this.  I'm sure that the others will appreciate it!

All the best,

Jane

Hello Bill, Jane & John,  It is great to hear from you.!  My current email is: kjokeefe1960@gmail.com

Here is some information about  'John (Keefe) O'Keefe' after le left Ireland.

Bill, How does your O'Keefe family line trace back to John( Keefe) O'Keefe?  One of the eight children was Michael O'Keefe, last known to be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All I have is that he is mentioned in the 1921obituary for my Great-grandfather, Daniel O'Keefe. 

John (Keefe) O'Keefe Sr. is the man who emigrated to Canada in 1840 from the townland known as "Lisofen" in East County Clare, Ireland. John O'Keefe [Sr's] parents lived at "Liscullane" townland.  He came to Cobourg, Ontario, and lived there until 1844. A baptismal record from 1840 exists in St. Michael the Archangel Church at Cobourg, of a son, John O'Keefe, son of (John Keefe and Ann McMahon); the baby son died December 1840. John (Keefe) O'Keefe [Sr] moved to Lindsay, Ontario in 1844. He was a shoemaker and one of his Lindsay born sons, John O'Keefe Jr., was also a shoemaker. John O'Keefe Sr. married Ann McMahon (died 1861) and they had eight children of which Daniel O'Keefe is my great grandfather. John (Keefe) O'Keefe married again in 1866, Jane McMahon and they had two children. 

Bye for now, Kevin O'Keefe