Hi,
Thank you for your reply. Patrick Sullivan and Ellen moved to South Wales from Ireland. I was able to locate them in the Welsh Census of 1871 and 1881. In both Censuses the place of birth of Patrick and Ellen was given simply as Ireland. I did most likely locate the death certificate of Patrick but the place of birth was again given as Ireland.
A few months ago I gave up on the paper trail and took a DNA test. It turns out that I am not a Sullivan by blood (out of 200 Sullivan names in the database only 4 matched) and my forefathers adopted the name Sullivan. When the English decided to organize the Irish for governmental purposes (~1500AD) many Irish people had to take a Surname. Presumably, my forefathers living in the Clan territory of the Sullivan took on the name. The most definitive Sullivan match was a Sullivan with a known history near Glenbeigh on the Inverragh peninsular. So, my Patrick Sullivan my have originated in Kerry and the family may have moved north to Limerick during these turbulent times. Since, Patrick first son in Wales was Eugene, I have been using this as the name of Patrick's father and I have identified 5 Patricks that lived near Glenbeigh or Killorgin.
The next step for me was to look at all the Sullivans listed in the village in Wales where Patrick was in 1871 and see if I could identify a sibling. I started that at the end of March but it was interrupted by me having open heart surgery. I am now walking 3 miles a day and ready to get back to work.
I did find a Patrick Sullivan in 1851 (GV) renting a house in the town of Doon. It would be nice to see if the rental records exist and if this Patrick was a bachelor or had a family.
I can search databases with great speed and accuracy but I have no knowledge of the social history of Ireland. I read somewhere that the British were building roads and railways to give work to the Irish after the famine and maybe my Patrick followed the work and ended up in Doon. I feel that social history of Ireland would be very beneficial.
A long and rambling email and if you have any suggestions or questions then please ask. Thank you for taking the time to read my original posting.
Sean Sullivan