Hi Billy and all:
It is really great to hear from you. This chat is not quite over yet, obviously.
My email address will be sent via Roots Chat’s personal mail. My previous address was lost when Canada.Com abandoned us.
In Canada, at least, we have no hesitation in sending letters and making telephone cold calls in hopes of finding ancestral info. I think a little diplomacy is all that is needed (and keeping time zones in mind).
‘dcgb’ contacted me a little later on. It turns out that he only lives about an hour away from here (Ottawa, Ontario). I hope to get a copy of his grandmothers brother’s letter. These things take time.
I’ve got a few bits to add, as follows:
Fermanagh (Brooke) Deeds
D998/26/60 : 3 Oct. 1773 Lease from Arthur Brooke, Colebrooke, Co. Fermanagh, to Wm Kenny, Tattinbarr, Co. Fermanagh, of one-third of the lands of Tattinbarr, Co. Fermanagh, for the lives of Wm Kenny, James Kenny and Edward Kenny, at a rent of £8 together with 12 pence per pound Receivers fees, eight days work of man and horse and eight fat hens or tenpence in lieu of each hen.
D998/26/61 : 3 Oct. 1773 Lease from Arthur Brooke, Colebrooke, Co. Fermanagh, to Thomas Kenny, Tattinbarr, Co. Fermanagh, of one-third of the lands of Tattinbarr, Co. Fermanagh, for the lives of Thomas Kenny, Thomas Kenny and John Kenny, at a rent of £8 10s. 0d. together with 12 pence per pound Receivers fees, eight days work of man and horse and eight fat hens or tenpence in lieu of each days work and fourpence in lieu of each hen.
D998/26/434 : 10 Aug. 1824 Lease from Henry Brooke, Colebrooke, Co. Fermanagh, to George Kenny, Tattinbarr, Co. Fermanagh, of 12a. 2r. 26p. of Tattinbarr, Co. Fermanagh, for the lives of John Kenny and Wm Kenny: (1) Reserves right to make a road; (2) Rent £6 6s. 7d.; (3) Three days work of man and horse and three hens or fifteen pence in lieu of each days work and sixpence in lieu of each hen; and, (4) Corn, etc, to be ground at mill of Henry Brooke, payment for not doing so £5.
Garvary reports that William and Thomas are brothers.
The second lease lists two Thomas Kenny’s, who I assume were father and son. Each generation at that time would be around 30 years apart. Therefore Thomas senior would be roughly 50 years old, and the son roughly 20.
Neither would be the husband of my Alice, as Alice was born around 1779, and her husband who we assume to be a Royal Artilleryman, would have been born around 1778. A prime age for joining the military would be 18 – 20. Thomas served 18 years, retiring from the service at age 36 – 38, again a reasonable span of service for the lucky ones.
My conclusion is that we have to have 3 Thomas’s, the first born about 1725 and the third dying about 1825-30?
William Kenny might be an ancestor of Billy Kenny of Prestwick, Scotland. Billy is my DNA cousin.
George is at least the next generation, and I guess could be a son of Thomas, but more likely William, as that branch appears to have stayed in the UK.
William Kenny – papist
PRONI Site Search (proni.gov.uk) – 1766 Religious Census
I only found the following, but the Religion entry is HUGE!
Index : 1766 Religious Census
Surname : Kenny
Forename : William
Townland :
Parish : Kinawley
County : Fermanagh
Religion : Papist
Number in Family :
Original Documents : The original documents referred to in this index DO NOT exist. No further information, other than that recorded above, has survived.
William could be a member of my line. His location is within 12 miles of my g-g-grandfather’s townland. Plus, William is a common first name in our Kenny lines.
This is the first documentation that potentially indicates our Kenny line was once Roman Catholic. This one item opens up whole new avenues for further exploration.
So Neil, we may yet establish a closer connection than either of us originally thought!
West Virginia. Mary Jane Kenny
Mary Jane Kenny appears to have married William Moneypenny at Maguire’s Bridge in County Fermanagh sometime after 1790. Maguire’s Bridge is only several miles from Tattenbarr, our Kenny Townland.
William and Mary Jane eventually settled in central West Virginia. There were a number of Fermanagh families who preceded or followed them to W.Va. at about the same time.
Given the circumstantial evidence, it seems quite possible that she is closely connected to our line.
I have to send this summary in a separate reply, due to the word limit in Rootschat.
Dr. Tyrone Bowes - Surname Association Site
I very recently contacted Dr Tyrone Bowes. He uses our 37 maker DNA to help determine the who and where of our ancestors. The web site is: ‘http://www.irishorigenes.com’. We are still working at getting started, and if we can make any progress, I’ll report back to you all.
Many thanks,
Don.