52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 15 "Solitude"

It was hard to think of an ancestor that I associated with this week's theme of solitude. After some thought I have decided to write about one of my Irish immigrant 2xgreat-grandmothers: Hanora (Collins) Wallace Kennedy (my pamamama). She immigrated from Ireland in 1852 or 1853 with a husband and an infant daughter. After the birth of their second daughter, her husband presumably died. She was left alone in a foreign country with two daughters under the age of two. That sure feels like solitude to me. 

According to her grave marker, Hanora was born on 25 March 1830 in Glenbrohane Parish, County Limerick, Ireland. She married John Wallace in Ireland in about 1850. On 1 August 1852, their daughter Ellen "Nellie" Wallace was born somewhere in Ireland. Sometime between her birth and the birth of their next daughter the family came to the United States. On 31 May 1853, Hanora "Nora" Wallace was born, probably near Beloit, Wisconsin.

I assume that John Wallace died sometime in 1852 or 1853, because on 10 November 1854, Hanora married John Kennedy at Old St. Mary's catholic Church in Chicago, Illinois. I have no idea how or where they met. Shortly before the marriage John Kennedy had acquired land in Clinton County, Iowa, where the newlyweds soon settled. They went on to have four children together--the first born 9 September 1855. 

Hanora died on 24 November 1888. She was only 58 years old. Her daughter Julia, who had become a nun died three years before her. 

Hanora sure packed a lot into her brief life. I hope she found enough happiness to offset all the losses she experienced and that any traces of solitude disappeared with her second marriage and their life together raising children and farming in Clinton County.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 3 "Out of Place"

 In the book "The History of Clinton County, Iowa" from 1879 (The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns &c., Biographical Sketches of Citizens. United States: Western Historical Company, 1879.) my 2xgreat-grandfather John Kennedy (1826-1913) said that he married Honora Collins (1830-1888) on 10 November 1854, but he named no place. It also says that he moved to Wisconsin in 1849 and in 1854 moved to Clinton Co. 

Hanora Wallace (1853-1911), Honora's second daughter, from her first marriage to John Wallace was most likely born near Beloit, Wisconsin in 1853. That puts both John Kennedy and Honora in Wisconsin at the same time. That was where I have spent the last several years looking without success for a marriage record for them. 

Then one day I was looking through the records from Old St. Mary's Catholic Church, the first Catholic church in Chicago. I had determined that John Kennedy's sister Mary (1837-1899) had married her first husband, Stephen Lawler (1831-1866), in Chicago and had found a baptism record for a son of theirs in 1856. I was looking for a record of their marriage when I came across this entry from 1854:

Imagine my surprise! I quickly checked that it was the right date and sure enough I had accidently stumbled across a record of John and Honora's marriage. I have no idea what they were doing in Chicago. That was not where I had expected to find them.

John's sister's obituary says that she came to the US as a child and settled in Chicago. John made no mention of Chicago in his county biography. More research is required into this Kennedy family's history in Chicago. Also I need more information on the movements of Honora, especially after the assumed death of her first husband in 1853 or 1854.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 1 "I'd Like to Meet"

For 2023, as a way to get back into blogging, I'm going to try to take part in Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge. This week's topic is "I'd Like to Meet."

I don't have any one ancestor I'd like to meet. My focus this year is on my four great-great-grandparents who came from Ireland in the mid-1800's and settled on adjacent farms in Hampshire Township, Clinton County, Iowa. These are the only 2xgreat-granparents that I have not been able to take back to the next generation. I would love to meet any one of them as they might be able to tell me not only about themselves, but also their spouse and their neighbors.

John Kain (1819-1892) and Mary Fox (1823-1890) were married in St. Louis, Missouri in 1848. They came to Clinton County in 1852. According to their grave marker they came from County Armagh and County Leitrim, respectively.

John Kennedy (1826-1913) and Hanora Collins (1830-1898) were married in Chicago, Illinois in 1854. They went to Clinton County that same year. According to the information on their grave marker, Hanora came from County Limerick. John's birthplace of King's Count (now County Offaly) comes from his obit in the Clinton newspaper. 

I have no idea how accurate the information on the grave markers is. For example, John Kennedy's age varies quite a bit in the records as he got older, so it is hard to pin down his birth year. 1826 is my best guess, but that is not what is on his marker. One of the items on my research list is to see if I can track down who had these markers erected and see if that might lead to the source of the info.

It would save me so much time and effort if I could talk to one of these Irish ancestors. It would be like a ladder over these backwalls and back to specific spots in Ireland. 

Surname Saturday: My Irish Lines

For St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd recap my Irish lines of Kain, Kennedy, Fox and Collins.

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

4. Joseph Andrew HUIGENS (b. 9 Mar 1891 near Creighton, Knox Co., NE, m. 18 Feb 1914 at St. Ludgers Catholic Church in Creighton, Knox Co., NE, d. 8 Nov 1957 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)
 (b. 19 May 1896 in Knox Co., NE, d. 29 Apr 1979 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)

10. Francis Joseph "Frank" KAIN (b. 14 Oct 1861 in Clinton Co., IA, m. 14 Feb 1888 at St. Iraneaus Catholic Church in Lyons, Clinton Co., IA, d. 12 Dec 1930 in Yankton, Yankton Co., SD)
11. Margaret H. "Maggie" KENNEDY (b. 9 Sep 1864 in Clinton Co., IA, d. 8 Dec 1831 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)

20. John KAIN (b. 11 Jun 1819 in Armagh, County Armagh, Ireland, UK, 2 Jul 1848 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in St. Louis, St. Louis Co., MO, d. 16 Nov 1893 in Lyons, Clinton Co., IA)
21. Mary FOX (b. 29 Sep 1823 in County Leitrim, Ireland, UK, d. 12 May 1890 in Lyons, Clinton Co., IA)

22. John KENNEDY (b. 2 Jun 1826? in King's County, Ireland, m. 10 Nov 1854 in ?, d. 6 Nov 1913 in Clinton, Clinton Co., IA)
23. Hanora COLLINS (b. 25 Mar 1830 in Glenbrohane, County Limerick, Ireland, d. 24 Nov 1888 in Clinton, Cinton Co., IA)

44. Michael KENNEDY (b. ? in Ireland, m. ? in ?, d. ? in ?)
45. Unknown NOLAURD? (b. ? in Ireland, d. ? in ?)

Future research plans include getting Iowa death records for all four of my Irish great-greats. I also need to look for the will for John Kennedy at the Clinton Co. Historical Society. I want to do more research on Mary Fox's brothers: Thomas, who died young in Clinton Co. and Patrick, who I believe was a teamster in St. Louis.  I also need to reconcile John Kennedy's account of his early years in the US with that of his probable sister, Mary (Kennedy) Lawler Kennedy. I also need to find out more info on Hanora (Collins) Wallace Kennedy's early years in the US with her first husband. Naturalization records for John Kain and John Kennedy are also on my to do list. Once all that is done, I can begin the search back in the Old Country.

Fearless Females: Day 1

Since I'm trying to keep up the pace of a blog post a day, I guess I'll take advantage of Lisa Alzo's Fearless Females blog prompts for Women's History Month.

March 1 — Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key facts you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check.

My favorite female ancestor is my Grandma Julia, but she is not the one I want to learn more about. If I had to pick someone for that, I'd go with Hanora (Collins) Wallace Kennedy, one of my Irish great-great-grandmothers.

 What I know comes partly from her grave marker and partly from hand-written notes made by her granddaughter, my Grandma Julia's cousin. Hanora or Nora, was supposedly born in the parish of Glenbrohane in County Limerick. Her first husband's last name was Wallace (or Wallis). She had two daughters with him, Ellen/Nellie born in Ireland and Hanora/Nora in the US. She later married my great-great-grandfather John Kennedy and they settled near Clinton, IA and had four children. I've requested a records search in County Limerick for records of Hanora Collins and Ellen Wallace, but they turned up nothing. Her obituary provided no additional clues.

The next steps are county death records to look for parents' names, a search for marriage records in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin and a search in those three state for death records for a male Wallace of about her age dying between the birth of their last daughter and her second marriages. I'd welcome an other suggestions of  how to find more information about her.

Surname Saturday - 23: Collins

A day late and a week late with this line, but it's one where I have more unknowns than knowns.

1. Kevin Joseph HUIGENS

2. Joseph Anthony HUIGENS
3. Shirley Ann OGDEN

4. Joseph Andrew HUIGENS (b. 9 Mar 1891 near Creighton, Knox Co., NE, m. 18 Feb 1914 at St. Ludgers Catholic Church in Creighton, Knox Co., NE, d. 8 Nov 1957 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)
5. Mary Julia KAIN (b. 19 May 1896 in Knox Co., NE, d. 29 Apr 1979 in Rushville, Sheridan Co., NE)

10. Francis J. "Frank" KAIN (b. 14 Oct 1861 in Clinton Co., IA, m. 14 Feb 1888 at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Lyons, Clinton Co., IA, d. 12 Dec 1930 in Yankton, Yankton Co., SD)
11. Margaret H. "Maggie" KENNEDY (b. 9 Sep 1864 in Clinton Co., IA, d. 8 Dec 1831 in Creighton, Knox Co., NE)

22. John KENNEDY (b. 2 Jun 1826? in King's County, Ireland, m. 10 Nov 1854 in ?, d. 6 Nov 1913 in Clinton, Clinton Co., IA)
23. Hanora COLLINS (b. 25 Mar 1830 in Glenbrohane, County Limerick, Ireland, d. 24 Nov 1888 in Clinton, Cinton Co., IA)

What I know of Hanora (Collins) Wallace Kennedy mostly comes from a copy of a couple of pages of handwritten notes from my grandmother's cousin, Eileen Kennedy.  According to her, Hanora Collins was born in March 1830 in County Limerick, Ireland and died 24 Nov 1888 a the age of 58 in Lyons, Clinton Co., IA.  Eileen also notes that Hanora was previously married to Wallace and had two daughters with him: Edna Wallace Ryan and Nora Wallace Collins.

According to her second husband's county history biography, they were married on 10 Nov 1854, but he didn't happen to mention where, so it'll be tough to find their marriage record.

Her grave marker states she was born in the parish of Glenbrohane in County Limerick, but I don't know who was the source of that information.  In census records, I've identified her daughters Ellen "Nellie" who was born in 1851 in Ireland and Hanora "Nora" who was born in 1853 in either Illinois, Iowa or Wisconsin (all three places are given in various censuses, but her children in the census records consistently list Wisconsin). 

I've paid for research in Glenbrohane records, but they were not able to turn up any baptism or marriage records for Hanora or Ellen. 

I conjecture that Hanora married this Wallace character in Ireland before 1851, the family came to America between 1851 and 1853, her first husband died in 1853 or 1854 and she married my great-great-grandfather between then and 1855 when their first son was born.

This line is a brick wall for now.  Further research will involve trying to find vital records in Iowa for Nellie and Nora to see if I can get more info on their parents.  If I can find where Nora was born, I can begin my search there for the death of her father and the second marriage of her mother.