William Keenan b. 1830 son of Michael Keenan and Anne Marie Phelan
My gr-gr-grandfather was William Keenan. He was born 1830. When baptised, the cerificate says Balllyruin. It is a small town near Ballyroan. The other certiicae ways Abbeyleix. His father was Michael Keenan; mother was Anne Marie Phelan. She is bellieved to be from a rather large famiy. She and Michael stayed in Ireland. William came to St. Louis , Missouri in the Midwestern USA, on the Mississippi River. He maried Catherine Chester b. 1839. I believe she is from aneighboring area, but I'm not sure which. Her father was James Chester; mother Mary Elizabeth Larkin supposedly from Dublin - not sure I believe it. James was a Catholic convert from England.
Michael Keenan and Anne Marie Phelan were married in Abbeyleix in 1829 - fast work with William a year later! I do not know about any of their other children except for Lizzie who was born @1840. Lizzie, William, and Catherine came to St. Louis together. About a year later, William and Catherine were married in St. Louis in St. Patrick's Church in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. I have the record. They had 8 children of which only four made it past the year 1900. One of them was Annie Keenan,my gg-grandmother.
What I want to find out is 1) Who were the rest of William and Lizzy's sisters and brothers ? 2) Did they move to Cork, or was that just the port that William departed from on one of his trips back to the USA? 3) Who of my 4th cousins are still in the area and may I please correspond with them? 4) Who are Catherine Chester's siblings? 5) Where was she born? 6) Where was her father from i England? 7) Are there any Chester relatives in the area , and may I please correpond with them.?
I had heard that Catherine Chester had a brother who emigrated to New York and had something to do with horse - livery or trotters or something. Would love to know his name so that I can research him, too.
Ipromised my grandmother Marie Elizabeth Keenan-Schlanger Victor that I would find her famiy. She died in 1998. It's high time that I keep my commitment.
Can anyone help?
Thank you in advance - Mary Kathryn Victor
The file is the Victor family. All descendants of the Chester-Keenan families. Also the Phelan and Larkin families.