Hi Deb,
Thank you very much for your message.
Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information without a more specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.
Do you have any documentation pertaining to the family that mentions any place names in Kildare at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records,census records, letters, diary entries etc.
There are some places where you can search online, however it may be difficult to discern whether the results are relevant to your family or not without more information:
www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.
www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.
I did find a record of a John Killeen in Griffith?s s Valuation. This is a property valuation survey that was carried out in Ireland 1848-64. It doesn?t offer any genealogical information but sometimes it can be used to tie a person to a specific place. Although there is no way to know for sure whether this is your John or not, if all else fails you could use it as a starting point for your research:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doNameSearch&Submit.x=-1212&Submit.y=-562&Submit=Submit&familyname=killeen&firstname=john&baronyname=&countyname=KILDARE&unionname=&parishname=
Some other websites that you may find useful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/index.htm
Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/kildare/index.html
You could also try contacting Kildare Genealogy for assistance, however a fee may apply. Here is their email: kildaregenealogy@iol.ie
Remember to post any new information that you find here. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
