Thomas Maurice O'Connor & Catherine Murphy family in the Tralee area

Hi there,

I am trying to find out as much as I can about Thomas Maurice O'Connor , Esq. (1800-1866) & Catherine Murphy's (abt 1806-1873) family (Roman Catholic). I know that Thomas was born in Tralee in 1800 to James Connor and Elizabeth O'Connell. Thomas & Catherine's first child was baptized in Tralee Parish and in 1840 and later the others were baptized in Ardfert Parish, just outside Tralee, so it seems they moved further out of town. I have seen locations such as Ardfert Parish, Ballymakegoge, Kilfenora, Spa, Bayview pop up.

NOTE: Early references to this family were easy to find/corroborate, because Elizabeth O'Connell was sisters with Mary O'Connell, wife of Daniel O'Connell, the Liberator. So, newspaper articles often referred to members of this family along with their connection to Daniel, ie., nephew of Daniel O'Connell, grand-niece of the Liberator, etc. Over time those references decreased.

I have found 5 of Thomas & Catherine's children thus far.

• Elizabeth, born 1836 in Tralee, married Patrick Williams and eventually relocated to Dublin and raised their family there. She died in 1916.
• John, born 1840 in Ballymakegoge, baptized in Ardfert Parish. He appears to died in 1875 a bachelor. A suit was brought against some of his siblings in 1880 to claim money John owed.
• Hannah, born 1841 in Ballymakegoge, baptized in Ardfert Parish. She married Jeremiah O'Donoghue, a shoemaker, in 1861. They eventually immigrated to NYC, probably in the late 1860s/early 1870s and raised their family there.
• Charles, born 1846 in Ballymakegoge, baptized in Ardfert Parish. It is not known what happened to Charles. One unproven (yet) idea is that he immigrated to the USA.
• Catherine, birth/baptism unknown. She is referenced in a newspaper article in 1880 (attached) as Catherine Harris, sister to John, and living in Kilfenora. No additional information has been found about her.

Thomas died in 1866 in Kilfenora. Catherine appears to have died in 1873 in Kilfenora.

I have so many questions! I am just putting them to paper but don't expect all can be answered, at least not quite yet. But, here are some of the questions I am still trying to answer.

1) Who are Catherine Murphy's parents and where is she from? When did Thomas & Catherine marry?

2) Who are the rest of Thomas & Catherine's children? There are almost certainly more, but I've not found reference to them.

3) When was Catherine (the daughter) born, baptized, and married (apparently to a Mr. Harris). Did they have children?

4) What happened to Charles? Did he immigrate to the USA?

5) There is a James O'Connor listed as a sponsor to one of Elizabeth's children in 1861 in Dublin and the 1880 newspaper article references an unidentified brother in Dublin. If James is a brother, can we find his baptism or reference to him in Dublin?

6) Where are my direct ancestors buried? James Connor (died 1819) & Elizabeth (O'Connell) Connor (died 1815), Thomas O'Connor (died 1866) & Catherine (Murphy) O'Connor (died 1873).

Thank you.