William Kelly, Buncrana, Co Donegal

[aghadowey]

Rootsireland terms & conditions do not allow posting details from their site so I've had to remove the above attachment.
http://www.rootsireland.ie/ifhf/terms.php

The same page lists the charges but there was a discussion about the new charges here:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,588877.0.html

[Henry5]

Sorry, Every days a school day.... I will get the hang of this,  Might not find out much family history,  But I will know the system.

[Henry5]

There is a baptism record for a William kelly on 08 April 1858 In a parish of Donegal called Culdaff.
Is this far from  Inishowen

[aghadowey]

See here-
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/culdaffproj.htm

[MarWhit]

Henry5

I know it is a little while since you posted but I thought I would reply as I think we are related. I am 99.99% certain that my grandfather is the William Kelly shown on the census reports i.e. your great grandfather's younger brother. Unfortunately I cannot help you with any information regarding William and Margaret (I am only just starting out on this genealogy business!). However my grandfather continued to live at Shandrum until his death in about 1973. His wife, Susan Fullerton, lived on in the family home with my uncle and his family until she died at the age of 101 in 2002.

My mother was one of nine although two of her siblings died in childhood. Four of my aunts and uncles still live either in Shandrum or within a few miles. My mother and two of her brothers moved to Birmingham in the 1950s.

Going back to the census details, I met the youngest child, my great-uncle George, when I was very young. By then he was living in Boston. I believe that one or two of your great grandfather's sisters also went to America (my mother, now passed on, told me this years ago but I didn't pay much attention then, and I have seen sailing records that may relate to them).  I think another brother did the same.

I hope this is of some use to you.

[Henry5]

Thank you for the reply. I know my my G-Grand farther's children all have been to Donegal to meet family,  all but one are no longer with us.  they all lived in Scotland where Joe Kelly settled.    Do you by any chance have any photos, even of the area.   I live near Leamington spa and have never been to the north of Ireland but would love to.

[MarWhit]

Hello again

Leamington Spa! It is such a small world. I live in a village near Shipston-on-Stour and my husband works at Stoneleigh. I think I mentioned that my mother and two of her brothers came to Birmingham - they all lived in Solihull and south Birmingham. Sadly all three passed on more than ten years ago but there are still a fair few of the next generation and beyond living in the area.

I don't have any photos myself - but my sister has all the family photos and she visits Donegal fairly frequently. My brother also goes there so he probably has photos of the area too. By coincidence I will be seeing both of them this evening at a 40th birthday party for a cousin on my father's side so I'll make enquiries. I've never seen any really old family photos though but then they are likely to have been kept at my grandmother's house.

You can see the old house on googlemaps streetview. I am not sure that I can post a link but enter Shandrum, Donegal (its about three miles outside Buncrana town) into the search field and the map comes up with the R238 road running bottom left to top right. The R238 is crossed by an unnamed road right in the centre of the picture. The section of the cross road going north is the bit you want. Drag the person icon onto it and streetview comes up. As you move north along that stretch the first house on the right is my uncle's house i.e your GGF's nephew. The very old house there was, I think, the Lynch family home, nothing to do with the Kelly family.  Keep going on the road and it turns sharp right and the next house is where my grandfather lived until he died, and where another uncle still lives. Go just a little further along past this house and on the left you see the old house in amongst some corrugated roofed buildings - I think part of it was turned into a barn. I know my mother was brought up in the old house and I guess it must have been the house owned by William & Margaret - though how they managed to bring up so many children in such a small house is beyond me. If your GGF's children visited then I assume my GF would have been farming the land at that point.

The new house was built some time in the 1950s I think. I don't recall ever having been in the old house but the byre which was either attached to it or around the yard, I don't remember which, was still in use for milking in the 1970s.

I hope the Googlemaps instructions work but I'll check back tomorrow and let you know if I can pull together some photos. In the meantime, did you manage to go back any further than William & Margaret?

[MarWhit]

Hi Henry

Just to update you, my brother  is trying to track down some photos for you. There may be a bit of a delay as the photos are in Ireland but he'll see if someone will make some scans. He is going to Donegal in August and will definitely talk to my uncle who has apparently done a lot of research on the family tree.  I could pass on your contact details if you PM'd them to me. 

Someone on the thread mentioned an 1858 birth for a William Kelly in Culdaff. I'm not aware of family links to Culdaff but it is only about 15 miles away and still in Inishowen so not beyond the bounds of possibility.

Marian

[Lkelly]

hi Henry i can confirm that you have the correct Kelly family.my dad still lives in shandrum and he can remember your great grandfather[ his uncle Joe ] coming to stay in shandrum on his holidays .my grandfather William Kelly  was Joes brother as well as pat ,George  and Owen and his sisters were rose-ann ,Winny ,Mary and  Sarah  .Joe and Owen went to Scotland  ,pat had a bar in Derry then moved to London . George moved to new york, and Winny and rose-ann moved to Boston. my granfather William stayed to farm and Mary and Sarah lived in the area .i hope this may be some help to you
regards Liam Kelly