My ancestor is John Alwood Kennedy, born 1810 in Kilkenny. Immigrated to US approximately 1830s, first to New Orleans, LA then homesteaded on a farm in Dubuque County, Whitewater, Iowa. His daughter married Patrick Grace, whose family was from Newchurch and also moved to Whitewater. Any info appreciated. Will share what records I have. Thanks
Hi,
Thanks again for your message and for your offer to share information!
Have you tried searching in church records for more information?
Most Catholic records are held locally so you may need to write to the local parish priest for possible assistance. One website that you may find useful is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. It also shows you where copies of the records are available. Kilmaganny civil parish is part of the ROman Catholic parish of Windgap.to see what is available there, follow this link:
As you can see from the above link Rothe House and Garden have copies. If you would like to contact them here is their email however a fee may apply: kilkennyfamilyhistory@rothehouse.com
Most surviving Church of Ireland records are still held by the local clergy, although some are in the National Archives of Ireland and others are in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin. Here are their websites: http://www.nationalarchives.ie/ and http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42
Lists of these surviving registers can also be found at the National Library of Ireland.
You could also check for record of the family in the land records pertaining to Ireland in the 19th century. There are two:
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1838) found at http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
and Griffith?s Valuation (1848-1864) found at http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/ You may find record of some family that stayed behing here.
Civil registration began in Ireland in 1864 so any births, deaths or marriages in the family after this date would be recorded in these records. Civil records are available from the General Register?s Office in Dublin. Here is their website:
http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You can search the indexes to these records online at:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
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
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/kilkenny/index.html
Familysearch: www.familysearch.org
The US National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/
Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Appreciate your help, Emma!