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Francis McKenna (b. 1800 or 1802) birth family

TyroneDungannon (Tyrone)

Hello, any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking for the siblings, parents, grandparents etc of Francis McKenna born 1800 or 1802 in Dungannon, County Tyrone. He was said to be a seminarian at Maynooth College in Dublin (I need to verify this yet). He left the seminary to marry Sarah Teresa O'Neill (m. 1820 I believe)of County Tyrone, born ~1798/1805. against objections from both families.

Her father was Captain Terence O'Neill. (I have not yet determined who her mother was as we have 2 potential mothers/wives of Terence: Margaret Stuart/Steward & Helena LNU). From what we can tell Terence O'Neill married twice. Rumor was Sarah & her brother John Falls O'Neill were sent North (? to Ulster/Tyrone County?) to be cared for by a relative after Terence remarried....

Anyway, Francis McKenna & Sarah Teresa O'Neill McKenna married in 1820 (I believe) & had 5 or 6 children born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Ireland who came with them to USA-Philadelphia, PA 29 Jul 1841 departing out of Liverpool, England on the Columbia) (alternate sources say 1838 to Pittsburg, PA)

Children: Francis b. 1821, Ann b.13 Jan 1836, Eliza/Elizabeth ~b. 1831, Michael ~b. 1832, John Falls McKenna b. 1 Feb 1834, Teresa Adelaide McKenna ~b.1835

Thank you in advance for any help provided!!!

MyGen.dlm@gmail.com

3 replies

The RC baptism records for Dungannon start in 1821 (parish of Drumglass). Have you searched them for the children’s baptisms 1821 – 1835? The RC parish records are on-line free on the National Library site:

https://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx

Researching the family earlier than that may be tricky due to the lack of records.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hello, I am new to this group but I actually found your post with a general web search and I am so glad I did!  I believe Francis and Sarah are my distant relatives!  Francis and Sarah arrived in the US in 1841.  Their son Michael married Mary L Eddy and resided in the Town of Moscow, Wisconsin.  They had four children Francis, Hugh, Charles and Mary.  
 

As for details about Francis and Sarah I am so curious!  My mother did remember reading something in the records about Francis leaving the seminary. This information is completely new to me!  So interesting!  My nephew has spurned a new look into my ancestors and the history they lived.  

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and I hope that we can fill in the gaps together!

All the best, 

Kelley McKenna Lawrenz
 

 

 

 

Kelley McKenna Lawrenz

Hello!

Francis' daughter Sarah Teressa McKenna married Samuel Gaw McWilliams.  Samuel was the brother of my husband's gg-grandfather Robert McWilliams.  If you have any information on the McWilliamses, I'd love to share!

John (Falls) McKenna was Francis' son.

John McKenna
Farmer; Sec. 4; P.O. Moscow; owns 500 acres of land, valued at $10 per acre; born in Ireland in 1837; came to America with his parents in 1841; in 1846, they settled in this town. He married Ann McNeil in 1864; they have five children - Mary Jane, Francis Eugene, Lucy, Ellen and John Charles. Are members of the Roman Catholic Church.[Source: "History of Iowa County, Wisconsin: Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources..."; Chicago: Western Historical Co. April, 1881. Tr. by K. Mohler]

 

http://genealogytrails.com/wis/iowa/biosM.html

 

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/G9JL-VCP

robmcw

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