The Tithe Applotments list three Michael Kanes as head of household in 1827 in Westmeath:

Surname Forename Townland/Street Parish County Year

Kane Michael Gageborough Long Meadow Ardnurcher Westmeath 1827

Kane Michael Gageborough Long Meadow Ardnurcher Westmeath 1827

Kane Michael Gageborough Ardnurcher Westmeath 1827

And one in 1833:

Cain Michl Glascoran Mullingar Westmeath 1833

About Thomas's birth year of 1832...I'm assuming you have no baptismal record and are basing the year on censuses and the headstone? These sources are not always accurate. Irish people at the time were not so aware of their birth dates as we are. Birthdays were not celebrated in Ireland at the time. On census records, Thomas himself may not have provided the information. On the death record, he obviously didn't provide it. If a stonemason was told to inscribe 1832, that's what he did. Not sure if you have seen all the census records since Thomas arrived in the U.S., but if not, you might look at those as well. Good luck.

Hello,

Are you certain that his mother's name was Margaret? On the paid site, Roots Ireland, there is a baptism record for a Thomas Kain, born 31 May 1829 to Michael Kain & Catherine Flinn in the RC parish of Collinstown, Westmeath. Kain is a variation of Kane/Keane. I also found a marriage record for Michael and Catherine on 1 Jun 1825 in Collinstown. Michael's surname is translated as "Keir" on Roots, but if you look at the original, it is Kain. Two of the three witnesses to their marriage were James Flinn and Thomas Flinn.

The baptism records for the RC parish of Collinstown go from 1806 - 1917 & the marriage records go from 1784 to 1918.

Regards,

Wow, I thank you for the information! but of course it will get to be very confuding. Heck, I even spelled that right! As for the parents of Thomas, I have a death certificate that shows his parents as Michael and Margaret. Dated 1902 so I believe it to be correct. Now what? Is it possiblle that Margaret is a part of her name..i.e. Katherine Margaret Flinn? Or Margaret Katherine Flinn? I believe that I included a copy of that certificate. Is this possibly a sister and he ended up marrying twice? I would have no problem changing it...except I have a different name on the Death Certificate.

Any possibility of information that goes back further than that? Thank you!!!

Hello,

A couple of thoughts - I do not think that his mother had a first and middle name as that was not the custom in the late 18th/early 19th century when she would have been born. I took a second look for a Margaret Flinn/Flynn on Roots Ireland, but found nothing. I did, however, find another Thomas born 13 months after the marriage of Michael Kain and Catherine Flinn. He was born on 8 Mar 1826...the record shows the mother is Catherine "not recorded" - no surname. But this could be their first son who died, and it was customary to name the next son after the deceased one. I did not find any other children for this couple. Another clue that might work is this...if he stuck to the Irish naming tradition, even though he was not in Ireland, what did he name his second daughter? The second daughter was often given the name of the father's mother. That tradition was not always practiced, but just something to consider. Finally, assuming that his wife reported the names of his parents on his death record, there is the possibility that she made a mistake or just didn't know her name.

Regards,

Epatgal, unfortunately it is common to find death certificates with the wrong information. The info is only as good as the knowledge of the person providing the info and the accuracy of the person writing it down. The person providing the info could be grieving, confused, etc. My great-grandmother's death cert said her father was called William--his name was actually Daniel. I've seen certs where a stepmother is listed as the mother, and others where one or both of the parents' names were wrong. Ages are sometimes wrong, birthplaces wrong, years in the country wrong. Sometimes I think the only info on a death certificate that is completely trustworthy is that the person died!

Thank you for the continued in-depth research. I have gone back to the 1880 and 1900 Census records; they list his wife as Catherine. So will go with that and include all the correcting information. The information on the Death Certificatw was given by an upnknown person, so can only assume a family friend.

Also commentiung on the names of his daughters; Mary born 1857, Margaret born 1863, Agnes born 1868, and Katherine born 1874. Interestingly, our line comes from his last issue, a son John James who was born in 1881. This would make his mother 42 at that time.

Further, How do I find a death date and possible location for the parents, Michael and Katherine? Possible to get pictures of their graves? Hire someone to get further back into the Kane/Kain line? Or should I even ask if that is possible at this point in time?

Again, I thank you for any help that is offered!

Hello,

The civil death registration records began in 1871, so his parents would have had to live until then to locate a record, and

given that he emigrated to the US in the mid 19th century, he could have done that because his parents were deceased. You mention the 1880 and 1900 US census records with his "wife as Catherine".....you are not referring to his mother are you? Most likely his parents did not emigrate. And not having any other children, it is often difficult to figure out what happened to his parents...I have this same story in my family tree where all three children emigrated to the US, and I cannot verify death records for their parents. Finally, not knowing exactly which town land in the RC parish of Collinstown that Thomas was from makes your research challenging.

Regards,

In continuing my research, I am facing some confusing information. Since I am not there to do anything myself, I must say that anything in the way of help is extremely appreciated. I have found that both the father - Dennis Kane (Kain), dates unknown, and the son - Thomas Kane, 1829-1902, had wives named Catherine. This innformation has been provide to me earlier. My thanks.

Is there any way of further research into the lives of Dennis Kane (Kain) (Kair) (abt 1805? - dates unknown) and that of his wife, Catherine Flinn, (1805? - dates unknown). I can see that "Carolyn" has provided me with two likley or possible brothers, Thomas and James Flinn. Reading over this thread, I have more here than on my FamilyTreemaker listing. Wow, thank you again.

And regarding this reference from earlier; Kane Michael Gageborough Long Meadow Ardnurcher Westmeath 1827, How do I determine which Parish he would be in? Oh, now I see. Follow directions. He is in the Gageborough Townland. Does not have much. And of course giving that much to the "Vicar." Just leaves them with so little.

Not sure if you have this obit from Livingston County Daily Press and Argus (Howell, Michigan, Jan 15, 1902). It gives a birth date for Thomas Kane, but of course this would have to be confirmed.

Patricia, yes, I have that note from the newspaper. Is there any way of following up on the early RC records for Michael Kane (Kain) and Catherine Flynn? Anything from the records and possibly their birth and death dates? Would there be a cemetery where their bodies would be? Any place you could send me for earlier records? Am I technically at a dead end?

Ed Bentley