William H. Kehoe Clues b. ~1830

WexfordTintern (Wexford)

I dont have a lot of solid info but I am trying to find out where my 2nd great grandfather, William H. Kehoe, came from in Ireland having been born in about 1830. He left Ireland in 1850 and moved to Princeton, New Jersey, US where he was a carriage painter. He likely learned this skill in a carriage makers shop in Ireland.

He leaves no record of where he came from in Ireland in the US. He got married on 25 Nov 1855 to Mary Keefe in Princeton but they did not list their parents in the state or church record. Their 1st child on 11 Oct1856 was John E. Kehoe.

I do, however, have a DNA match to a family tree that contains a Bridget Kehoe of Wexford county. She married Thomas Gardiner (of Waterford) in about 1840 and had 4 children from 1841 to 1851 in Wexford:

Birth of Son Daniel Gardener(18411923)

08 Jun 1841 Ballycullane, Tintern, Wexford, Ireland

Birth of Daughter Elizabeth Gardener(1843)

12 Nov 1843 Loughnageer, Wexford, Ireland

Birth of Daughter Eleanor Gardener(1846)

07 Oct 1846 Loughnageer, Wexford, Ireland

Birth of Daughter Ellen Gardener(1851)

May 1851 Wexford, Ireland

I will attach the record of Ellens birth from Ferns/ Rathangan which lists a Thomas Kehoe (a brother) and Catherine Clancy as Godparents in a townland of Dunk (?) maybe short for Duncormick. I do have records of the other 3 children from parish records.

The DNA match suggests that William H. Kehoe could be a sibling of Mary and Thomas Kehoe of Wexford.

Griffiths Valuation for Ballycullane, where their 1st child is born, shows Patrick Kehoe and Mary Kehoe living at locations 23a and 23b.

Can anyone help and/or point me to other sources? My cousin, also William Kehoe, will be visiting Ireland for St. Patricks Day and I hope to figure out if Wexford is the correct county. We both have our DNA on Ancestry.com and mine is on FamilytreeDNA and Gedmatch.

Thanks for any help, William (Kehoe) Alexander

Maryland, USA

bear5336{at]Verizon(dot}net

IrelandXO member

10 years ago

4 replies

Dear Bill and Amy:

Many thanks for your query to Ireland Reaching Out.

There is a baptism entry through Roots Ireland of a William Kehoe in County Wexford baptised on 13 July 1826 in Enniscorthy to James Kehoe and Mary Canon. In addition, there are other Kehoe siblings (possibly) born to James Kehoe.

The entry is attached below for your reference.

William Kehoe    Date of Birth:
        Date of Baptism:    13-Jul-1826
Address:        Parish/District:    Enniscorthy
Gender:    Male    County    Co. Wexford
       Denomination:    Roman Catholic
Father:    James Kehoe    Mother:    Mary Canon
Occupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:    N R N R
   Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:    Mary Bolger

County Wexford is certainly a good locaton to start with as your DNA match appears there. Do you have other information on Bridget Kehoe Gardiner that might tie her in with James?

There is a Bridget Kehoe referece listed below:

Bridget Kehoe    Date of Birth:    Not Recorded
        Date of Baptism:    05-Jan-1836
Address:    Parkannesly    Parish/District:    Ballygarrett
Gender:        County    Co. Wexford
       Denomination:    Roman Catholic
Father:    James Kehoe    Mother:    Mary Kinsalagh
Occupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:    Petro Redmond
   Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:    Maria Smith

Might this be the same Bridget that you referred to?

Good luck with your research. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Jane.

Tulla Clare, IrelandXO VolunteerIrelandXO Volunteer

10 years ago

Hi Jane,

Thanks for pulling out these 2 options. Unfortunately, I think the William is too old and the Bridget too young. Willima should be closer to 1832 and Bridget is having her 1st (?) baby Daniel in 1841.

The other clues I have are the locations and witnesses to the 4 births:

Daniel 1841: Witnesses: Georgius Murphy & Maria Mahn, in Loughnageer;

Elizabeth 1843: Witnesses: Joannes Busher & Lourensa Murphy, in Loughnageer;

Eleanor1846: Witnesses: James McGrath & Maria Delany, in Loughnageer;

Ellen1851: Witnesses: Thomas Kehoe & Catherine Cloney, in Duncormack

I have screen shots from the parish records but they did not paste in.

William's surviving childern were: John, Margaret, Thomas, Mary, Katie, & Emma. So maybe his father was John and his mother was Mary?

- Bill

IrelandXO member

10 years ago

Hi Bill,

My Kehoe line is also connected to the Gardiner line per Ancestry DNA (5-8 gen). My best guess is that they lived in Tintern/Loughnageer area in the early 1800s. There are splinters in the Ballycullane RC Parish in other towns that I'm searching. I think your William (Guilelmus) was Baptised 18 Aug 1833 at Ballycullane and parents were Dennis (Dionysius) Kehoe & Mary Roche. That seems to match your area and timeframe the best. Anyways, happy hunting and maybe we'll find the common link someday!

Regards, Tom

IrelandXO member

8 years ago

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your suggestion. I had come to the same conclusion last year and added Dennis Kehoe and Mary Roache as my William H. Kehoe's parents. Last summer we were in Ireland for 2 weeks and traveled to Ballycullane for a few hours - but we got a lot done. We took a photo on the property that the Kehoe's rented across the street from St. Martin's church, we visited the graveyard/church, & we spoke to the RC priest (by chance) and purchased a book on the local graveyard transcriptions from him (10 Euro!). We talked to a young man in a Tyre Center on the old Kehoe property (who taught us how to pronounce “Ballycullane” as Ballyclane). He didn’t know who owned the property before his family (6 years) and he laughed when I said my family was there in ~1850.

We didn't have time to stop in Loughnageer where the Gardiner's moved a few years before the famine. Maybe next time.

I have a tree up on Ancestry and MyHeritage to try to reach more cousins. Good luck with your research,

Bill (Kehoe) Alexander

IrelandXO member

8 years ago

William H. Kehoe Clues b. ~1830

4 replies

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