The parents of Arthur Kennedy of Cullenagh
Hello,
My great great great grandfather Arthur Kennedy lived in Cullenagh near Kildorrery. He later moved to Kilclooney. He died 28 Jan 1890 in Kilclooney, at the age of 79, which puts his birth date at 1811, long before Kildorrery baptisms begin.
I realised that marriages in Kildorrery start 1803, so his parents probably would appear in that register. I searched for male Kennedy marriages between 1803 and 1818, and I only found one. William Kenedy (variant of Kennedy) married Joanna Coughlan 26 Feb 1805. He lived in Ballyshonock, while she lived in Cullenagh.
Next I searched the tithe applotment books, and what I found was interesting. William Kennedy was living in Cullenagh amongst a lot of Coughlans. This means he moved to his wife’s townland.
Here is the link:
https://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004587394/004587394_00061.pdf
My first question is, why did he move to his wife’s townland?
I know Arthur started in Cullenagh because his first three children’s baptisms listed their address as Cullenagh. Secondly he appears crossed out in the House Books for Cullenagh, in 1850, interestingly replaced by John Coughlan.
Here is the link:
https://census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/vob/IRE_CENSUS_1821-51_007246791_00589.pdf
On family search:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-894J-SWV7?view=index&cc=2329951&lang=en&groupId=
Since John Coughlan owned many different plots in Cullenagh, I haven’t been able to find where Arthur’s house once was, and no acreage was included.
My second question is, where is Arthur’s old land in Cullenagh? By GV he was already in Kilclooney, but where is his old Cullenagh house and land? This question might be nearly impossible to answer though.
My third question is, are Arthur’s parents William and Joanna? I think so, but someone tell me if I made an error in my judgement. If William was the only Kennedy in Cullenagh in 1826 (when TAB occurred in the area), he probably was Arthur’s father, right?
Also in Arthur’s marriage to Catherine Keys in 1841, the witnesses are William Kennedy and Maurice Keys. Interestingly, Maurice was the name of Catherine’s father. Were these two the fathers of the bride and groom? I know Arthur and Catherine both also had brothers named William and Maurice, however.
My fourth question is where are they all buried? I searched HistoricGraves for every graveyard near Kildorrery, but there was nothing. I did find Coughlans that I will research next, but none of my immediate people (Arthur, Catherine, Arthur’s supposed parents). Were they all buried in unmarked graves? On their farm?
Finally, a relative told me that ‘the farm Arthur lived on is still called Arthur’s farm today.’ Does anyone from Kildorrery know if this is true? I assume my relative was referring to Arthur’s farm in Kilclooney.
Sorry for this extremely long message, also don’t try to answer all of my questions at once! I just realised how much I asked!
Thank you
From Aiden Kennedy