Looking for the family of John Lynch, born about 1826, Cork city (St Finbarr's South Parish)

I believe the following two federal census records are for your John Lynch and family. Note that the first son is named Daniel.According to Irish naming patterns, the first son was usually named after the paternal grandfather—Daniel. Now, please see comments following the two census records.

1860 US federal census

John Lynch

Age

36

Birth Year

abt 1824[abt 1824]

Gender

Male

Race

White

Birth Place

Ireland

Home in 1860

Grand Rapids Ward 1, Kent, Michigan

Post Office

Grand Rapids

Dwelling Number

311

Family Number

280

Occupation

Laborer

Cannot Read, Write

Y

Inferred Spouse

Joanna Lynch

Inferred Child

Daniel LynchJohn LynchCornelius Lynch

1870 US federal census

Name John Lynch

Age in 1870

45

Birth Date

abt 1825

Birthplace

Ireland

Dwelling Number

55

Home in 1870

Grand Rapids Ward 1, Kent, Michigan

Race

White

Gender

Male

Post Office

Grand Rapids

Occupation

Deck Hand On Boat

Father of Foreign Birth

Yes

Mother of Foreign Birth

Yes

Cannot Write

Yes

Male Citizen Over 21

Yes

Personal Estate Value

100

Real Estate Value

5000

Household Members (Name) Age

John Lynch 45

Joanna Lynch

41

Daniel Lynch

18

John Lynch

14

Cornelius Lynch

12

Joanna Lynch

10

Timothy Lynch

8

Julia Lynch

6

Elizabeth Lynch

4

The first or second daughter was generally named after the paternal grandmother---in this case, Joanna or Julia.

The following baptismal record is a transcription from RootsIreland. It shows a John Lynch born in Castletownroche parish on 23 April 1825 to parents Daniel Lynch and Johanna Barret.

Name: John Lynch

Date of Baptism: 23-Apr-1825

Address: Ballivohar

Parish/District: CASTLETOWNROCHE

Gender: Male

County Co. Cork

Denomination: Roman Catholic

Father: Daniel Lynch

Mother: Johanna Barret

Sponsor 1 /

Informant 1: John Barret

Sponsor 2 /

Informant 2: Catherine Lynch

So it is possible, but not proved, that this is your John. But it does not seem likely that the John Lynch, son of Michael, is your ancestor. Your John had no sons named Michael. Unless of course he died and is not in the census records. Nor did your John have a daughter Mary, the name of Michael's wife.

More research on the Lynches in America is needed to try to connect them to the Cork Lynches.

Hi Patricia,

Thank you so much for taking the time to look into my John Lynch and his family. Yes, those two census records are definitely ours: John, Joanna, Daniel, John, Cornelius, Joanna, Timothy, Julia and Elizabeth in Grand Rapids.

Your point about the naming pattern is very helpful. I hadn't thought about the fact that our John had no son named Michael and no daughter named Mary. The Castletownroche baptism is very interesting. Daniel as the first son and Joanna as the first daughter fit nicely. The family remembers John's birthday as 2 April 1826, so the date is about a year off, but I know ages and dates moved around a lot back then.

I'll keep the Castletownroche family in mind as a strong possibility and keep searching for a record that might connect John to his parents. If you come across anything else, I'd be very grateful to hear from you.

Thank you again for your kindness and help.

Kind regards,

 Jennifer Lynch