The History of County Kilkenny- our Ancient Ancestors

This website has a concise overall history- just follow the links.

Ancient Kilkenny- The Kings of Osraighe, Brian Boru and the Viking Invaders

Medieval Kilkenny- Strongbow and the Baronies


Anglo-Irish Families in Kilkenny 1300- our Fitzgeralds, Graces, Walshes

Map of Old English Family Landowners c. 1640
You can see the Fitzgeralds, Graces, Gauls, Powers and Walshes in the southern part of what is now County Kilkenny. These were primarily catholic familes.

After Cromwell's Invasion- Catholic Landowners their lands to new Protestant Landowners 

Ellen "Nellie" Flynn Durney b 1865 Kilkenny d 1951 Jerseyville

 Catherine Quinn was the youngest child of John Quinn and Mary Fitzgerald. She married Patrick Flynn in Ireland and did not come to America with the rest of her family. But they surely kept in touch by letter as several of her children did emigrate to America.

Her daughter Ellen "Nellie" Flynn was born on 15 May 1865 and baptized in Kilmacow Parish, Kilkenny.

According to the 1830 census, Nellie attended school until she finished 6th grade. She reported to the census that she came to America about 1881, when she was still a very young teen. She married her cousin, John Durney, who was the son of James Durney and Margaret Quinn (sister of Thomas Quinn.)

The couple had three children but only two survived; Margaret born 30 April 1889 in St. Louis, and Mary "Mayme" born in March 1895. John Durney died suddenly on 16 January 1900 and was buried at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Jerseyville. He was buried with his parents.

Nellie was a young widow with two daughters. She moved in to keep house for her uncle, Richard Quinn, in Jerseyville.

In 1910, she was caring for both her 80 year old uncle, Richard Quinn, and his 78 year old sister, Mary Quinn Cuddihey at 405 Hollow Ave. in Jerseyville.

In 1920 she was still caring for her uncle, and her daughter Maymie, age 24, was living with them and working as a saleswoman at a dry goods store.

Richard Quinn must have left her the house when he passed away in ? as on the 1930 census she is shown as owner of the house, valued at $800, and only occupant of the household. She was still living in the house in 1940, when she reported her age as 73.

Nellie Flynn Durney died on 15 January, 1951. at her home in Jerseyville. She was given a requiem high mass at St. Francis and was buried at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery on January 17. Her daughters were listed as Mrs. Dave Tarkington of Chicago and Mrs. Mayme Durney Exposite of Brooklyn, NY.

Kelly, the Boy from Killane

 

If you go to an Irish Pub, you may hear the ballad of  "Kelly, the boy from Killane."

His story began at the Battle of New Ross, which took place less than twelve miles from the homes of our Quinn and Fitzgerald ancestors in Kilkenny, on June 5, 1798.

Our immigrant ancestors, born in the early 1800's, would have heard the story of this epic battle from their parents and grandparents, some of whom may well have taken part in the battle. 

Our Quinn ancestors were living at Rathnasmolagh near Mullinavat.  Our immigrant ancestor John Quinn was 3 months old at the time of the battle, his sister Margaret was two years old. Living nearby, in Rathlikeen/Rahillakeen were our Fitzgerald ancestors. Richard Fitzgerald (who would marry Margaret Quinn and also emigrate to Jerseyville, Illinois) was five years old at the time of the battle. We do not yet know the names of their parents, but we can imagine how they felt as the rebellion came so close to their isolated rural homes.

The news of this great battle had to bring the families both great hope and terrible fear. Hope for a free Ireland, and fear of British reprisals. From ten miles away they could hear the booms of the cannons. Some may have climbed to the top of Tory Hill, where the smoke from the burning town of Ross could be seen. Eye witness accounts and word of mouth rumors would have soon reached the town of Mullinavat and spread through the countryside. Some of the Irish rebels may have come home to tell the story. The details of the battle were grisly. 

Over 50,000 Irishmen took part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798- an attempt to take back control of Ireland from its British oppressors. At the time of the battle of Ross, The United Irishmen had control of County Wexford and had defeated the British garrison at the town of Wexford on Mary 30.  Next they wanted to spread their control to neighboring Kilkenny.

 On June 5, 1798, ten thousand Irishmen advanced on the British garrison at Ross (now New Ross) just across the River Barrow from Kilkenny. An Irish soldier carrying a white flag in an attempt to negotiate a surrender of the 2,000 British troops there was shot down by them. After this atrocity, John Kelly led a charge of 500 of the Irishmen through the Three Bullet Gate of New Ross, aided by a herd of cattle which they drove before them. 

Three Bullet Gate- Philip Hore, History of the Town and County of Wexford. Vol. I Old and New Ross

The British soldiers within the town were well armed with rifles and cannons but the Irish, armed mostly with pikes, still managed to seize most of the town. However British reinforcements arrived forcing them to withdraw. Rather than pursuing the Irish army, the British began a massacre of both trapped Irish rebels and innocent civilians within the town. Irish casualty stations were set on fire, with hundreds of the injured trapped inside and burned alive. Records show that about 2,800 Irish rebels were killed, with a loss of 200 British soldiers. After the battle, most of the dead rebels were thrown into the River Barrow or buried in a mass grave outside of the town walls. 

The Battle of Ross by George Cruikshank 

John Kelly, the brave leader of the attack at Ross, met a horrific end. Wounded during the retreat, he was recuperating in Wexford when he was arrested, dragged from his bed, and sent to trial where he was sentenced to death. He was hung with other rebel leaders on Wexford bridge on June 25, then decapitated with his body thrown into the River Slaney and his head kicked through the streets before being set on a pike for display.

But the United Irishmen did not give up the fight. (See Battle of Vinegar Hill Post)

History of the Three Bullet Gate in New Ross

A famous Irish ballad written by Patrick Joseph McCall is about John Kelly and the Battle of Ross.

"Kelly the Boy From Killane"

Enniscorthy's in flames and old Wexford is won
And tomorrow the Barrow we will cross
On a hill o'er the town we have planted a gun
That will batter the gateway to Ross
All the Forth men and Bargy men will march o'er the heath
With brave Harvey to lead in the van
But the foremost of all in that grim gap of death
Will be Kelly the boy from Killane

More to read and hear:

Ballad of Kelly the Boy from Killane - Sean Cannon and the Dubliners

New Ross history and Kennedy

Places: Parishes of Interest in the Ossory Diocese- Mooncoin, Mullinavat, Kilmacow, Owning and Templeorum, Slieveroe, and Windgap parishes

Parishes of Interest in the Ossory Diocese- Mooncoin, Mullinavat, Kilmacow, Owning and Templeorum, Slieveroe, and Windgap parishes



Individual Parishes near our known ancestors

It appears that our known ancestors came from the southernmost part of Ossary Diocese- the parishes of Carrigeen and Mooncoin, Mullinavat, Kilmacow, Owning and Templeorum, Glenmore, and Slieverue. One related Jersey County family came from Windgap. Their post town would have been Waterford City.


https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/County_Kilkenny_Civil_Parishes
A list of civil parish names within each catholic parish

Location of Chapels in each parish:
link to 1837 maps and current google map

https://www.swilson.info/rcparishlink.php?seldioceseid=0&selrcparid=481&parl=1&lmode=map&anch=0&bsrch=
this site has maps and a link to each parish registry for births, deaths, marriages
https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0995


Mooncoin Chapels-
 Mooncoin in Mooncoin, Licketstown in Portnascully, Tubrid (Kilnaspic) (look up each chapel for pictures and history)
Civil parishes- aglish, ballytarsney, burnchurch, clonmore, pollrone, portnascully, rathkieran, tubbrid

Kilmacow Chapels- 4.6 km east of Mooncoin
Mullinavat Church in Mullinavat, Kilmacow in Kilmacow, Hill
 (civil parishes Dunkitt, Gaulskill, Kilbeacon, Killahy (Knocktopher), Kilmacow, Rossinan, Ullid
Mullinavat Chapels- 9 km NE of Mooncoin

Mullinavat Church (civil parish Kilbeacon)

Templeorum Chapels- 7 km NW of Mooncoin
Owning, Templeorum, and Pilltown (civil parishes- Fiddown, Kilkieran, Muckalee, Owning, Tibberaghny, Whitechurch

Slieveroe (Glenmore) Chapels- 10 km E of Mooncoin
Glenmore chapel (civil parish kilcoan, kilmakevogue)

Windgap Chapels- 6 km NW of Templeorum
Kilmacolivert
Windgap (civil parishes killamery and tullahought)

In Waterford and Lismore Parish, directly across the River Suir from Mooncoin is: Portlaw and Ballyduff Parish - chapels Ballyduff West and Coolfin (due to the close pronunciation of Ballyduff and Garryduff and the proximity to Mooncoin and Polerone, this parish should be researched )









Sources:
http://pwaldron.info/ACE/2016/parishregisters/

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/digital-book-collection/digital-books-by-subject/church-history/carrigan-history-and-anti/

https://ossory.ie/diocese/history/

http://www.mooncoinparish.ie/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Ossory

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/County_Kilkenny_Civil_Parishes

Quinn Blog- The farm at Fidelity in 1880

                              
                            

The farm of Charles Brooks -Township 8 Range 11, one and a half miles north east of Jerseyville (1872)

 In 1880, Nellie Quinn, the youngest of her family, was eight years old. She lived with her parents, Thomas Quinn (age 53), and Ellen Kinsella Quinn (age 45) on a farm near Fidelity, in Jersey County, Illinois.  Her closest siblings in age were her three older brothers; Thomas 9, John 11, and Richard 13. She also had four older sisters; Katie 14, Bridget 16, Maggie 18, and Mary 20.

An agricultural census, taken in 1880, tells us something about the farm where Nellie grew up.  Her father rented 120 acres of farmland, which was valued at $6000. He owned farm implements valued at $125. An agricultural revolution had taken place during the post civil war period; horse power was now harnessed to farm tools to assist in plowing, planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops. Thomas Quinn had seven horses on his farm.

John F. Chapman plowing his fields- Township 8 Range 10, Jersey County

His main crop was corn; he raised 3000 bushels that year on 60 acres of land. Corn was a labor intensive crop; the cornstalks were chopped down one at a time, then stacked in teepee like shocks to dry. At harvest time a field would be covered with hundreds of these. After the stalks were dry, the family would have pitched in to shuck the corn. Some of the corn would be used fresh, but most would be taken to the corn crib to dry. The stalks and leaves were used for feed for animals as well. A welcomed innovation was the development of a machine that cut and bundled the corn stalks, and later a hand powered husking machine-stalks of corn were fed into the machine which separated the ears and shredded the stalks for fodder. The ears were then fed into husking rollers and the kernels removed.

James B. Fitzgerald's corn and wheat crops- Township 8 Range 11, Jersey County

Thomas also raised other crops- he grew 900 bushels of wheat that year, on 50 acres of land,  and 400 bushels of oats on 10 acres. By the 1880's horse drawn grain drills allowed seeds to be planted in furrows, greatly increasing the acreage a farmer could plant from the days when furrows were dug and planted by hand. Horse drawn cultivators kept weeds down during the season. At harvest time families and neighbors worked together to cut bundles of wheat, and set them in shocks to dry. Later they would be taken in wagons to be threshed to separate the grain from the stalk, and set out so the wind would blow away the chaff. Again, in time, machines helped with this laborious task. Hay was mowed down with hand sickles and later with horse drawn rakes.

A hay wagon on the farm of Josiah Vaughn -Township 8 Range 10, Jersey County

Needless to say, Thomas could not do all of this by himself.  His sons, John and Richard, were only 11 and 13 years old. The extended family surely helped and neighbors likely exchanged work, especially at harvest time, but still, the work load was staggering. The agricultural census shows that Thomas paid $350 that year to hire laborers to help with the farm work. All in all, including personal consumption, the farm was able to produce $1600 worth of goods that year.

Besides the field crops, Thomas seemed to have focused on raising hogs. He raised 75 that year. It seems from the drawings of Jersey County farms that the breed of choice for this area was the Poland China Hog. They look huge in the pictures! Those which were not sold would have been butchered in the fall for meat and lard, which was used for cooking, and soap making.

Henry Christopher's Poland China Hogs - Township 8 Range 10, Jersey County

The family also kept three milk cows, which had given birth to three calves that year. Two additional cows had been sold. All of the milk had been used for their personal consumption- not surprising in a family with eight children! Ellen and her daughters had been very busy with the churn- they estimated making 250 pounds of butter that year. They also kept a flock of chickens and estimated a production of 100 dozen eggs. A kitchen vegetable garden was certainly a large factor in their daily diet, although not mentioned in the census. Thomas did mention that he had cut 15 cords of wood, which was certainly used for heating and cooking their meals.

Cows owned by Silas Bates- Township 8 Range 10, Jersey County

The town of Fidelity in Township 8 Range 10, Jersey County, Illinois

All of the above drawings are from : "Atlas map of Jersey County, Illinois, compiled, drawn, and published from personal examinations and surveys" published by Andreas, Lyter, and Co. 1872

To see many more drawings (zoomable) and read more about Jersey County in 1872 go to the free online link for this book:

Atlas of Jersey County Illinois 1872

To read more about the agricultural census go to:

Agricultural Census

Here is the 1880 Agricultural Census for Fidelity, Jersey County, showing the data for Thomas Quinn.

Fidelity, Jersey County, Illinois-home of Nellie Quinn

Mary Quinn, Thomas Robert Quinn, and Nellie Quinn circa 1885

My mother always said that the Quinn family came from Fidelity, which is a small village about 10 miles east of Jerseyville. When Nellie Quinn was beginning her teen years, in 1885, "going to town" meant visiting the local the village of Fidelity, which had about 200 residents. The family would have visited the post office in town to send their letters back to relatives in Ireland. The women of the family would have spent time in the general store, run by Mr. Lesem, where they could choose cloth for their dresses, and look at various items for sale. A Quaker gentleman, Mr. Mercer, was the local tailor for men's clothing. There was a grocery store run by Mr. Graham, for buying the few things that the family did not produce on their own.

Nellie's father would have gone to town for farming needs; Mr. Bringherst was the local blacksmith who would have mended tools, made horseshoes, and other metal items. Of prime importance to farm families was the local flour mill, run by the Miner family. The town boasted a railroad depot and the St. Louis, Jerseyville, and Springfield railroad ran through town.

Nellie would have attended the local school house in Fidelity, which was a two story building with a steeple built in 1866. The primary department was on the first floor, and the older students had classes on the second floor. Mr. Cornelius Roach was the principal for the school in 1885, and Nellie's eldest sister Mary was the primary teacher. Just like my mother, Nellie likely had her own sister Mary for a teacher when she was young. Nellie's brother Richard was also a teacher in Jersey County. Nellie herself would teach in rural Jersey County schools for nearly twenty years.

Richard Quinn

The closest village was Piasa, in Macoupin County, which was 5 miles away.

There were three protestant churches in Fidelity, but no Catholic church. The Quinn family would have had to travel 10 miles to Jerseyville to attend mass at St. Francis Xavier church. Surely the Sunday trip to Jerseyville was an event looked forward to every week by the hard working Quinn family. This welcomed day of rest provided for a leisurely ride to town for worship and fellowship. Once a week the family could reunite with their many relatives in the area, and meet up with old friends. The young people of the family must have enjoyed dressing their best to socialize with other young people in the congregation, and picnics and family dinners would have provided a bounty of enjoyment for all.

http://jersey.illinoisgenweb.org/jchistory/JC-Fidelity.htm

From History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois, Springfield, IL: Continental Historical Co., 1885, pp. 411 – 432

The Fitzgerald's of Rahillakeen, County Kilkenny

The view from Tory Hill overlooking the surrounding countryside

Map of Rahillakeen and Tory Hill - If you click on the purple squares you can see the nearby townslands, including Rathnasmolagh (Bigwood), where the cemetery is found.

Our family tree-
Nellie Quinn and Thomas Allen (my grandparents)
Thomas Quinn and Ellen Kinsella (my great grandparents)
John Quinn and Mary Fitzgerald (my gg grandparents)
So- who were my Fitzgerald ggg grandparents and who were Mary's siblings and family in Ireland?

Photo by P.Meado on findaGrave

According to the headstone, Mary (Fitzgerald) Quinn was 73 years old in 1864, making her birthdate about 1791.

This marriage record shows that John Quin and Mary Fitzgerald from Kilmacow Parish were married on 26 August, 1815. The townland on the record is Rahillakeen. (Usually the bride's home was listed on the marriage records.)
Their witnesses were Richard Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Murphy, and Anne Donovan.
Mary Fitzgerald would have been 24 years old, and John Quin 26. Here is the original record from St. Mary's Church, Kilkenny City. (1)

There is another Fitzgerald born in Rahillakeen and buried at St. Francis Cemetery in Jerseyville. Richard M. Fitzgerald's headstone says that he was born in Rahillakeen, Parish Mullinavat, in Co. Kilkenny Ireland. (2) There are no birth and death dates, but it says that his wife was Mary Powers, born in Kilcolm, Parish Glenmore, County Kilkenny. Mary Powers Fitzgerald died 7 Aug. 1891, age 55, so she was born about 1836. The 1880 census for Jerseyville shows Mary age 44 (born about 1837) wife of Richard Fitzgerald age 55.  If this is correct, Richard M. Fitzgerald would have been born about 1825.  The census shows both Richard and Mary born in Ireland. (2) But this Richard, although from Rahillakeen, is too young to be the Richard who stood up at Mary Fitzgerald Quinn's wedding in 1815. Did he have a father or uncle named Richard Fitzgerald?

Photo by P.Meadow on FindaGrave

Several family stories say that Richard's father was Thomas Fitzgerald, who died of typhus in Ireland. His wife, Mary Dougherty Fitzgerald then brought the children to America, landing in New Orleans before traveling to Illinois. There is a headstone at St. Francis Xavier that reads "Mary, wife of Thomas Fitzgerald, died Aug. 10, 1851, aged 51 years." This stone is near the headstone of James C. Fitzgerald (brother of Richard M. Fitzgerald) so it seems likely that this could be the grave of his mother.

Photo by P.Meado on FindaGrave

 Rahillakeen is a tiny townland encompassing about 390 acres- a little over half a square mile of land. It lies at the foot of Tory Hill (pictured above) and is in Mullinavat Catholic Parish. Unfortunately, the records for the parish are only available from (dates)

However, there are two records for this time period in Rahillakeen that give us evidence of Fitzgerald families in that townland- the 1825 Tithe Applotment and the 1853 Griffith's Valuation. The townland of Rahillakeen straddles two civil parishes- Dunkitt Civil Parish and Rossinan Civil Parish- so records are found in both areas. As you can see from the records, the same people farmed land in both formal civil parishes; this was a tiny neighborhood that happened to straddle a border.

The Rossinan Rahillakeen Tithe (1825) shows the landowner as Michael Dobbyn, Esq. Renting land there were: Michael Fitzgerald (6 acres) John and Edward Grace (72 acres,) John Grace (2 acres,) Martin Walsh (6 acres) John Murphy (17 acres) Wm Dermody and Toby Veriker.
1825 Tithe Rahillakeen, Rossinan Civil Parish

The Rossinan Rahillakeen Griffiths (1853) shows: Patrick Fitzgerald, Edward and John Grace, John Murphy, and Martin Walsh sharing 67 acres of land, with Thomas Power renting a garden from Edward and John Grace. Mary Fitzgerald rented 10 acres, Michael Walsh 6, Catherine Murphy 25, and John Murphy 3.
1853 Griffiths Rahillakeen Rossinan Civil Parish


The Dunkitt Rahillakeen Tithe (1825) shows the same landowner- Michael Dobbyn- with farmers Michael Fitzgerald (8 acres) Widow Grace (50 acres) John Grace (12 acres) and Slone, Dermody, Vereker and Dwyer.
1825 Tithe Rahillakeen Dunkitt Civil Parish

The Dunkitt Rahillakeen Griffiths (1853) shows (same landowner- Reps. of M. Dobbin Esq.) Patrick Fitzgerald, Edward and John Grace, John Murphy and Martin Walsh again share land together- this piece is 128 acres. Mary Fitzgerald rented 29 acres, and sublet houses to Robert Wall and Michael Dermody. Matthias Grace had a house, and again we see Murphys (Catherine Murphy had 49 acres) Verekers, and Dwyers.
1853 Rahillakeen Griffiths- Dunkitt Civil Parish

So- in 1825 the only Fitzgerald in Rahillakeen was Michael Fitzgerald, while int 1853 we find Patrick Fitzgerald and Mary Fitzgerald.

However, by 1853, we believe it was highly likely that our Fitzgerald family may have already left for America. So- the 1825 Michael Fitzgerald is likely a relative- but what relation was he to Mary Fitzgerald (Quinn) born 1791? Her father or her brother? What relation was he to Richard Fitzgerald, who stood up at her wedding? What relation was he to the supposed Thomas Fitzgerald, the husband of Mary (supposed Doherty) and father of Richard M. Fitzgerald, born about 1829? No Thomas Fitzgerald or Richard Fitzgerald shows in Rahillakeen in 1825- unless Michael Fitzgerald was the father, the head of family in the record. Without church baptismal records it is hard to know.


Another area mentioned in family stories is Ballyhomuck. This tiny townland adjoins Rahillakeen to the east. In the 1853 Griffith's we find an Ellen Fitzgerald leasing 10 acres of land from M. Dobbin, the local landowner. Peter Doherty was leasing 27 acres of farmland and there are other familiar family names here; Thomas Lahy (21 acres) John and Patrick Power, Michael Keefe, James Keily, Edward Grace (48 acres.)



Finally, there is neighboring Rahard townland. In the 1825 Tithe book we see John and Philip Fitzgerald. Their neighbors are Rich and Phillip Kelly.
 In the 1853 Griffith's there were 3 Fitzgerald farmers in Rahard renting land from Rev. James Hobson.
John Fitzgerald-19 acres
Patrick Fitzgerald- 7 acres
James Fitzgerald 11 acres

However, later birth records which ARE available led me to one more adjoining townland- Bigwood- also known as Rathnasmolagh.


Sources:

Headstones- St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, Jerseyville, Illinois (from FindaGrave)

1- National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 05028 / 04 Ancestry.com. Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

2-Year: 1880; Census Place: Otter Creek, Jersey, Illinois; Roll: 216; Page: 104B; Enumeration District: 099