KENNY family: Fermanagh to Gatineau, Quebec, Canada in1830.

[jazznblues]

Hi Don,

Thanks for looking into it. I've been working on my genealogy for about a year or so now and I'm hooked. I've been getting bits and pieces but once I get to the 3rd or 4th generation there is less and less information to "prove" that what I have is correct. But of course that is not uncommon. The Kenny line is very interesting.

The Mark Kenny angle is a bit confusing. I did find one site that someone had a brief writeup on the Kenny's and said that he married  Elizabeth Hand but also he had a 2nd marriage to a woman with the surname "Reddy" or something like that (Ready?). Perhaps he had a child with the Reddy woman.

The Brideau/Gibbs/Kenny family tree is definetely the one to use. I should have most things updated but gathering "the proof" is still a work in progress.

I am visiting my grandmother Dorina Gibbs (Kenny) this weekend and will be asking her for more information. We had a long chat the last time I spent the weekend there but we spoke more about her siblings. She is the last one still living (92 yrs old) from her family. I am bringing documents of her father (Stephen) such as marriage and death certificate and I am hoping she has something tucked away that she can share.

Marc

[donkenny]

Hi Marc and all:

I found the William Kenny (Kilkenny Co, Ireland – Anglican) documentation I received in 2001. It has an address stamp as follows:

(*) Moderator Note: name, address and telephone number of person removed in accordance with Rootscht policy. Please do not post such details

Mark Kenny married, first a Miss Reddy, then Elizabeth Hand. There were 2 sons and a daughter (Ann) by the first marriage. The second marriage produced 8 children, Mark, Wm, James, Thomas, Robert, Sarah, Jane and Lizzie.

I did not see any reference to New Brunswick, but it might be there.

The whole package is very interesting. For example, Mark Kenny (1844-1925) married Olivia Healey (1849-1926), a great granddaughter of Lady Ann Talbot, sister of Sir John Talbot, Nenagh, Tipperary, Ireland. Lady Ann eloped with Sir John’s overseer.

Send me a safe mailing address via Rootschat’s personal message system, and I will copy you. There are 17 full 8 ˝ x 14 pages with charts and notes.

If any other Kenny family Roots Chatter would like this documentation, I would be pleased to mail it to you under the same conditions, as getting this all on the internet could take me years.

Don.

[jazznblues]

Thank you Don! I will drop you a private message.

The Mark Kenny connection in my family tree is the point where I am not convinced on. Again hopefully this weekend I can find more information from my grandmother. It would seem Elizabeth Hand is not the mother of John Kenny so I wonder if Miss Reddy is the mother since she had 2 sons.

Marc

[Garvary]

Hi friends, back after a long absence.
Interesting to read MacCionnaoith's post about a Kenny family business.
My grandfather James Kenny, born 1909 was a shoemaker and this was a family business. He reportedly went to 9 different schools in Fermanagh (and other counties) as his father William travelled with the family as a journeyman shoemaker (though he would turn his hand to any leatherwork). My uncle Jim Kenny carried on the business in Enniskillen until the 1980's in his shoe repair shop in Enniskillen.
With regard to religion Kenny families in the Brookeborough/Maguiresbridge area were members of Church of Ireland and Methodist Churches and there would have been some interchangeability. With regard to a Catholic connection in Fermanagh I have no doubt there was a cross over here sometime in the 1700's or earlier in this family. It is pertinent to remember that the Brooke family the local large landowners were quite anti Catholic and employment by them may have been religion conditional. Added to this was the fact that intermarriage was not unknown so that families sometimes changed religion. Also, the Methodist evangelical missions in late 17th and early 18th century Ireland had many Catholic converts. There are Catholic Kennys to be found in Fermanagh who never were Protestants.

[Garvary]

Sorry ... the Methodist evangelists were active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Fermanagh.
I am myself a Kenny from Fermanagh now living in Galway.

[jazznblues]

I found further information on my Kenny line. I've upated it below:

Dorina Kenny- my grandmother (married Alfred Gibbs)

Great Grandparents

Stephen Kenny (Oct 6, 1871 to 1954)
Elizabeth Hebert (B:1878-1964)
Married: April 1898

Great Great Grandparents

John Kenny Jr (b:1836)
Anne Theriault (Nov 13, 1833)

Isaie Hebert
Catherine Pelletier

****new information below for GGG-Grandparents***

Great Great Great Grandparents

John Patrick Kenny Sr.- 1791-1866 (Born in Ireland but came to NB in 1825)
Mary Ann Drysdale 1805-1893 (born in NB)

Great Great Great Great Grandparents

End of Kenny line (so far) - he apparently had 2 brothers that he came to NB with in 1825.

William Drysdale 1775-1850 (Born in NB)
Margaret ?

Not sure if any Kenny's on here cross paths with the information above. Either way I thought I'd give an update.

jazznblues
Marc

[MacCionnaoith]

Hi everybody!
Have started on my "battle plan"- so we will see what comes of that!
Garvary - that is another link too coincidental not to be investigated further.....I would believe there will have been thousands of shoemakers....but the whole "journeyman" aspect and Enniskillen "link" would indicate potential relations between our families.....it may also be the case that my ancestor (the shoemaker) simply disappears from British Census records intermittently....he must have been working in Ireland....or returned home to see his family.
For all concerned I will "post" copies of the death certificates for Alice Kenny for the timescale that "my" Alice would have died.......my assumption is that
1) she emigrated with other family members
2) she died between 1857 (when she is indicated as being alive on my ancestors marriage certificate) and 1864 (when the Irish death records become available)
I assume this because all records of the possible Alice's I just don't believe are her.....geography etc etc (you will see).....
Garvary - do you have any relations still in the Fermanagh area....I presume not.....and the elder relatives will probably have passed on without leaving much information.........are you in a position to have your own DNA checked to determine if you are related to Don and I?
As to the religion "issue" - I feel it comes down to one simple thing - survival!
Professor Kevin Kenny intimated to me that it is extremely common to find cases where individuals change their religion through convenience.
As to "Irish" and "English/Norman" Kenny's - I had an interesting discussion with someone who has a keen interest in cultural histories the other day..........I thought it would be impossible to distinguish between these Kenny's (because of the Norman Kenny's intermarrying with locals etc during the English dilution of Ireland)....BUT......our DNA is "classically" Celtic (determined by Oxford Ancestors)......this may not be interesting.....BUT.....Normans (from "Norse Men") were actually Vikings who settled in the area now known as Normandy................who then invaded England, then moved to Ireland etc etc.........."bottom line" is that I clicked when this was mentioned.............in simple terms if you're DNA is "Celtic" (and ours is!)  then we are of the indigenous Irish Celts (albeit originally from the Continent!) and not the English infiltrators! - since their DNA would be classcially "Viking" - the first ten "markers" are quite distinct from the "Calts" - HURRAH! Result!!!!!!! Going to be giving Scotland a bigger shout than ever next Tuesday when my son and I roar Scotland on in the World Cup Qualifiers!!!!!!!

[Garvary]

Hi MacCionaoith,
there was record I found some years ago, a baptism that had a Thomas and Alice Kenny the parents of a Letty (properly Letitia or even sometimes petnamed Betsy)) from Tattinbar (not sure if that townland is in Aghavea or Aghalurcher COI parish) in September 1817. I think that was in the Belfast Public Record Office. Is that any connection to your Alice?
Garvary

[donkenny]

Hi Billy, Garvary, Marc and All:

I'm pleased to see Garvary that you are a Kenny. I too feel that there might be a connection to Billy's and my families.

The Alice referred to in your last message is my gggrandmother, born about 1779 and emigrated to Canada. This was the record that opened up so much history for us. Billy's Alice is at least a generation younger. The Lettie baptised also came to Canada, married and is buried in southwestern Ontario.

Billy"s research program looks great and we will look forward to anything new.

Marc's Kennys do not seem to be connected at this point in our research, but we will keep working our lines, and who knows where we will be later on.

I am on vacation and on tour until October so will be a non-contributor for a while.

Thanks everyone.

Don.