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Thomas Moloney and Elizabeth Staunton

Limerick

I recently came across a record at Rootsireland for a John Moloney born to Thomas Moloney and Eliz Staunton in 1827 at Rockhill. 

My Thomas Moloney came to America around 1829 before the Famine. He and his wife brought 12 kids with them 11 girls and 1 boy and landed in Troy, New York. Sometimes between then and 1840 Thomas died. His wife and some of the kids moved to St. Louis, Missouri. 

The record of John Moloney is the only evidence I can find for this couple in Ireland. In America, I have found evidence of them through the kids getting married but I have only found 6 children so far. 

I see that in Rockhill is a John Moloney's Bar does anyone have information on the bar or a Moloney or Staunton family in Rockhill? 

Thank you!

Susan 

Susan

10 replies

Susan:

Can I ask if you knew the family came from Co. Limerick before you made the search on Roots Ireland?

Roots Ireland has Rockhill/Bruree RC baptismal records from 1825-1834, so you would think that at least one other child would have been born in 1825. 

Staunton is a surname mainly found in Mayo and Galway while Moloney is found in many counties with the largest number in Co. Clare followed by Co. Limerick. RC records in Mayo and Galway are not always available in many parishes pre-1830. Civil registration began in 1864.

Have you tested your DNA? 

Let me know what questions you have.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

My link to Limerick is as thin as a razor blade but I had one tiny piece of evidence for Limerick at first. 

Louis A. McGinness who is the son of Julia Moloney/Maloney and James C. McGinness stated on his mother's death certificate she came from Co. Lemerick(sik spelling). She is the sister of my great-great grandmother Anne Maloney/Moloney. Seems logical that the family came from somewhere in Limerick. I have searched through baptisms, and I expanded that search to all of Ireland. I found nothing for the parents or children. 

So then I did my DNA test and I searched for Moloney's in my family DNA line. I came up with a hit to Daniel Moloney and Norah(Nora) Daly/Dealy in Bruff. This is my second link because it is a DNA cousin in a specific town, county and area in Limerick. None of the others came up with anything.  So I narrowed down my search to Bruff. I created a spreadsheet and copied every birth and marriage from Bruff area. Then expanded to Rockhill. 

I found Daniel Moloney is the son of Thomas Moloney and Margaret Dwyer from Bruff. Thomas and Margaret had Bridget and Thomas Jr. 

Some of Daniel and Nora's kids moved to London and that is where my "linking" cousin is living. I have tried contacting him but he has not been on Ancestry for almost a year. 

Then further digging through RootsIreland and I found: 

Name: John Moloney

Date of Birth:

Date of Baptism: 09-Mar-1827

Address:?

Parish/District: ROCKHILL & BRUREE

Gender: Unknown

County: Co. Limerick

Denomination: Roman Catholic

Father: Thomas Moloney

Mother: Eliza Staunton

Occupation:

Sponsor 1 / Informant 1: Wm. Daly

Sponsor 2 /Informant 2: Debora Leary

 

Rockhill does have Stanton's in the area. I have found a Richard Stanton and a James Stanton. I realized the Mayo is where most of the Stanton/Stauntons are from but they were spread out very thinly in other areas. 

 

So I am thinking Thomas Moloney is related to my Thomas Moloney as a cousin or maybe even nephew. 

 

Basically any suggestions would be welcome. I am hoping someone reads this and goes I know those Thomas Moloney's! I understand that is very much a dream. 

 

So the Parish books at the National Archives of Ireland are digitized but is each line done? Because I found off the top page a Moloney birth that was not indexed. 

 

What about cemeteries in the area? Does Bruff have a genealogy society I could contact? There is a John Moloney bar in Rockhill and I am almost desperate enough to call them from America...which seems silly and expensive. But I will put money down that if I walked into that bar and started talking to people somebody would know a Moloney. I come from a small town and I know how it is with people never leaving or some leaving but keeping in contact with people back home. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan

Susan,

I'm in America also. I've got roots going back to Bruree, Kilmallock, and Raymondstown. I believe they were attended Bruree/Rockhill. They are not the people you mentioned but you asked about cemeteries. I've come across a site that has done a great deal of documenting gravesites. It's https://historicgraves.com/. They have transferred names and dates as best as possible. You are able to search by county and I believe names.

Best of luck,

John Kerley

jjkerley3

Hi Susan.

Diocese of Limerick Heritage Project Home Page

In the Link above, please select Parish Index & select Rockhill & Bruree From the drop down Menu,

Please Select (Text Only Version), to read the History of Rockhill & Bruree Parishs.

John.

oconnelljohn1

Susan:

Based on your DNA matches, I agree that you have connections in Co. Limerick. It would appear that the Thomas Moloney/Elizabeth Staunton family were in Bruree parish but possibly the Moloneys may have originally been from Bruff. Roots Ireland has Bruff records back to the early 1800s and also has records for Bruff from 1781-1793.

You asked this question:  "So the Parish books at the National Archives of Ireland are digitized but is each line done? Because I found off the top page a Moloney birth that was not indexed".         The parish registers were transcribed by the various county Heritage groups and those transcribed records were merged into the Roots Ireland data base for searching by subscription members. The transcription process had errors. Names were mistranscribed ( I encounterd one yesterday were Michaelem was transcribed as Nicholas), records were not transcribed because they were illegible and as you pointed out records were missed and not transcribed. About 4-5 years ago two other subscription sites Find My Past and Ancestry embarked on another effort to transcribe the parish registers. There were also errors in that process but all in all the three integrated data bases have been extremely helpful to researchers.

As an aside, I searched on FindMyPast and they did not have the 1827 John Moloney record that you located on Roots Ireland.

Here is some info on Rockhill/Bruree cemeteries. https://www.brureerockhill.com/church/rockhill-bruree-graveyards/ ;   I did not locate a Bruff Genealogy group.

Let me know what questions you have. FYI- I also live in the States.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

This is all wonderful suggestions for next steps. Thank you!

Susan

Susan

 

 

Just to say that Rockhill/Bruree was the parish with Rockhill was the main church whereas there was no real town in that area --the sub-church was Bruree where there was a substantial church and I remember my mother telling me that there were 12 policemen based in that barracks keeping an eye on the local gentry in case they would be attacked as they were from time to time. ( my mother told the story of Gubbins lived in Bruree House he promised the local people of Water Street that he would give them free light and water if he could walk down the street un stoned).

There is a pub in the Village of Bruree owned by John Moloney ( now closed this two years) and there are Stantons living outside Bruree on the road to Kilmallock.

 

George Quain.

georgequain@ho…IrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Susan

My great great Grandmother was a Maloney.she was from Rockhill,Bruree .

Her kin were Tennant farmers at Garryfine and Garouse not far from Rockhill .I believe the family 

We're evicted from Bruree area in the 1860s

Dennis Daly

DALYFAMILY4@GM…

Dennis Daly, 

I am so glad I checked this page. It has been awhile since I looked. Can you share anymore information with me about your family from that area?

What was your great great grannies name? Where did they move after being evicted? 

It is interesting that my DNA link is through Daniel Moloney and Hanorah(Nora) Daly in Ardykedbane, Bruff, Limerick. They had a daughter Bridget Moloney who married Denis Stapleton, does anyone ring a bell for you? 

If you would like you can email me at susanhiland1@comcast.net and we could communicate more on this. 

I am very interested to hear your family story. 

 

Susan

UPDATED: I have had to put this research aside for the last few years because of life stuff. 

About six months ago I created a spreadsheet and using RootsIreland and couple other sites I was able to collect all the Moloney's I could find in the area of Rockhill, Bruree and Bruff. I sorted it roughly by years and family groups. This has helped tremendously in my research as it has names dates and places altogether. 

Two days ago I was able to use several websites at once and start to build on the Daniel Moloney and Hanora Daly family backwards. Doing this I was able to add several branches onto this budding tree and make connections. From the marriage license I found Daniel Moloney father's name of Thomas. From the 1901 Census Thomas Moloney was born in Cork. He married an Annie. In the 1911 census her brother David Connell came to live with her. Thomas was dead by then. So she was a Annie O'Connell(Or does the O get dropped for the women?)

I searched Find My Past and Thomas spent a good deal of time in Bruff, Limerick in and out of trouble from about 1870 onwards. (Dude got busted about every year!) 

So good guess he moved sometime in that period from Cork. 

I am very slowly starting to piece things together. It is very slow going as I am trying hard to double check every single person before adding them.

The link to Bruree is not coming clear yet. I suspect I will be able to connect most of the families in Bruff, and they will link to some families in Bruree and Rockhill. But I could be wrong.  

Susan

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