Looking for more information on my great great grandmother's Keegan family. My ancestor Bridget Keegan lived in Aghadiffin and was born approximately 1839 and died on 26 May 1879. She was married to Patrick Phillips in March 1862. I never have been able to find Bridget's parents.
I am visiting Ireland next month and will be staying in Kiltimagh for a couple of days so I can visit the Urlaur/Aghadiffin area.
Rita,
The baptism records for the RC parish of Kilmovee began in 1854, so you will not find a record for Bridget. As you know, her father's name is not in her church marriage record. Griffith's Valuation shows a number of Keegans in Aghadiffin, but it's difficult to pin down the correct one as her father. Did she have children? If they used the Irish naming convention to name their children, then the second born son was named after her father.
Regards,
Rita:
Although as Carolyn indicated baptismal records for Kilmovee start in 1854, there are marriage records for the parish from November 1824-August 1848. I searched on the subscription site Roots Ireland for marriages before 1839 in Kilmovee involving a male Keegan. There was only one marriage with that criteria-- Patrick Keegan married Mary Flatly on March 8 1835. No guarantee that these two are the parents of Bridget. It was possible that her mother was from a different nearby parish and the marriage was in that parish. In any event, the Keegan/Flatly marriage is a lead.
Roger McDonnell
She had one son and his name was John.
Oddly enough....when Bridget married Patrick Phillips in 1862 one of the witnesses was a Michael Flatly. Thanks for the tips. I will dig a little deeper on both clues.
Rita,
In exploring the marriage witnesses; and then trying to locate their marriages to discover a father's name, while that did not work, here is what I found. Assuming that the witnesses were siblings - Celia Keegan is a witness to Bridget; and her marriage I believe anyhow, in 1863 to Michael Carney, shows Mary Keegan as a witness. Then Mary's wedding in 1858 to Michael Frain has a Martin Flatly as a witness. I found these records on the paid site Roots Ireland....I believe the surname was transcribed incorrectly as they show it as Reegans, Regan, etc....On the original document it is difficult to decipher between the upper case R and K. When I viewed the Griffith's record with the many Keegans, there was also one person named Reegan - I wonder if that was an error in transcription too. You know better than I if your ancestors were Keegans or Reegans! Generally, I believe the surname Regan to be spelled either Reagan or Regan.
Regards,
Definitely Keegan(s). This is great info. I knew from records that she had at least one or two sisters. I didn't know about Mary. I did see an Atty Keegan as a witness on a birth record for one of their children. Any idea what Atty is short for?
Hi Rita,
There are a couple of possibilities for Atty...
It is a nickname for Attracta or Athract who was a saint from County Sligo, or it could be short for the Irish name Aithche. Given the proximity of Sligo to Mayo, I'd go with the first name.
Regards,