Sample Report, Irish Research

Research conducted during the present session continued to focus on examining the ancestral TIERNEY family.  The results of the research are discussed below are keyed to the accompanying supporting documentation.

Research Conducted in Various Archives

Research conducted during the present session was conducted at a variety of locations including: the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah; the Public Record Office of the United Kingdom in Kewe, outside of London, England; the National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; the Land Valuation Office in Dublin, the Civil Registration Office in Dublin; and on location research in Kilfenora and East Likeen, County Clare, Ireland.  Catholic parish records from Kilfenora, referred to in this report, were examined at the National Library of Ireland.  These records are the property of the Catholic Church and were not available to be photocopied.  Most of the research, therefore, was conducted and hand extracted.  These notes were later compiled and are included, with references, in the body of this report.

A census of Kilfenora parishioners, taken in 1866, included three TIERNEY families in Likeen, those of: James TIERNEY, John TIERNEY, and the ancestor Timothy TIERNEY.  Timothy’s family included his wife Ann MULQUEENY and three sons: Michael, Thos., and Peter.  The boys were aged, respectively, four, two, and one-year-old.

An examination of christenings in Kilfenora Catholic parish included five sons of Timothy and Ann (MULQUEENY) TIERNEY.  The manuscript was virtually illegible around 1864 when Thomas TIERNEY was probably christened.  The extracted records included the following entries:[1] 

Martin TIERNEY, baptized 18 September 1858 witnesses: John DEVITT, Bridget CROW
Michael TIERNEY, baptized 8 January 1861, witnesses: Pat VAUGHAN, Mary FLATTERY
Peter TIERNEY, baptized 3 June 1865, witnesses: Michael TIERNEY, Mary MULQUEENY
Patrick TIERNEY, baptized 20 February 1867, witnesses: Henry and Juliana O’BRIEN
Thomas TIERNEY, not located
James TIERNEY, baptized 20 February 1869, witnesses: Dennis MULQUEENEY, Mary RYNNE

Family tradition suggested that the ancestral TIERNEY family consisted of seven boys.  Careful examination of the Kilfenora Catholic Parish records revealed five, and actually six, sons born to Timothy and Anne.  James TIERNEY was the last son that the couple christened in Kilfenora.

Previous information suggested that the family probably emigrated to America before 1880.  An examination of Irish Civil death indices did not include an entry for Timothy TIERNEY.  Indices from 1868 to 1895 were examined without positive results.

The ancestral couple was married in Kilfenora on 5 September 1857.  The parish register read:  “Sept. 5 -1857 Timothy Tierney to Anne Mulquiny Wit John Tierney & Mary Devitt.”[2]  One of the witnesses to the marriage, John TIERNEY, could have been Timothy’s brother.  John TIERNEY, the son of James TIERNEY and Elon BYRD, was christened in Kilfenora on 29 January 1846.[3]

The aforementioned 1866 census included the family of James TIERNEY and Ellen BYRT in Likeen.  This couple had three sons identified in the census: Michael, James, and John TIERNEY.  The third TIERNEY household in Likeen was that of John TIERNEY and Bridget KENNEDY.

Further examination of the Kilfenora parish records showed that James TIERNEY married Anne DOWNEY in Kilfenora on 27 February 1870.[4]  This man was probably the same one identified as the son of John TIERNEY and Elon BYRD.  A copy of the couple’s civil marriage showed that James was the son of John TIERNEY of Kilfenora.  James was employed as a carpenter and his father was a farmer.[5]

James’ probable brother, John TIERNEY, christened two children in Kilfenora between 1876 and 1880.  The family resided in Likeen, County Clare.  Mary TIERNEY was born on 9 September 1877 and John TIERNEY was born on 1 September 1879.  These children were those of John TIERNEY and Mary MORGAN.

A marginal note on the younger Mary’s baptism showed that she married James O’LOUGHLIN of Ballygalla, Kilsanny at the Roman Catholic church in Kilfenora on 7 July 1908.[6]

It is possible that Timothy TIERNEY was the son of James TIERNEY and Elon BYRD.  Timothy was, based upon the age of his wife, probably born around 1835.  His parents would have, accordingly, been born around 1815 or earlier.

Previous research showed that the ancestral TIERNEY family lived in the townland of Likeen East in Kilfenora Parish.  Records from the land Valuation Office in Dublin, Ireland, include the so-called Cancellation Books from various counties in the Republic of Ireland.

Cancellation books were tax lists that have been bound together, one year over the top of the next.  When a tenant or lessor left or sold the land, their name would be crossed out and a new name added.  John and James TIERNEY were listed as occupiers of lots 15a and 15b in Likeen East.  This land was once the property of Fitzgerald BLOOD and, by 1865, Millicent BLOOD.  The TIERNEY’s land measured forty-three acres, one rod, and thirty-two perches.[7]

A map of Likeen East, obtained from the Land Valuation Office, showed the exact location of the TIERNEY’s parcel of land in Likeen.  This document is included with this report and labeled as Reference document 1.  Cancellation books from 1865 to 1933 showed that James TIERNEY’s land eventually passed, before 1893, to John TIERNEY.  John TIERNEY held both parts of lot 15 until at least 1933.  His land was, however, owned by John BLOOD who received the land from Millicent BLOOD before 1870.[8]  Cancellation books, dated 1933 to 1970, showed that the two parcels of land in Likeen East eventually passed from John TIERNEY to Patrick TIERNEY.  Lot 15a eventually was occupied by Mc. TUNNANE while Lot 15b was transferred to John J. HEGARTY and Michael McCORMACK.[9]

John TIERNEY and his family were enumerated in the 1901 census of Likeen East.  John was fifty-five years-old and born in County Clare.  His household also included his wife Mary and four children: Mary, Austin, John, and Martin TIERNEY.  These children ranged in ages from twenty-two to eight years-old.  John’s household also included his mother, Ellon TIERNEY, She was ninety-one years-old, widowed, and born in County Clare.  The entire family worshiped at the Catholic Church and spoke both Irish and English.[10]

Ellen TIERNEY died in Likeen on 18 June 1902.  She was widowed and ninety-seven years-old at the time of her death.  Ellen died of senility.  The informant on her death record was her son John TIERNEY.  He was present at his mother’s death.[11]

John’s family was also enumerated in the 1911 census of Likeen East.  The couple had been married for the previous thirty-eight years, or since about 1873.  Their household included three children: Austin, John, and Martin TIERNEY.  Mary TIERNEY, John’s wife, was reportedly the mother of eleven children of whom three were still living.[12]  The 1911 manuscript is the most recent Irish census available for examination.  The aforementioned analysis of church, tax records, census, and civil records suggest that Timothy TIERNEY was undoubtedly part of the TIERNEY family from Likeen East.  He could have easily been one of James TIERNEY and Ellen BYRT/BYRD’s sons.

The TIERNEY land in Likeen probably changed hands from John, born about 1846, to his son John who was born about 1891.  John probably had a son, Patrick, who took over the land in Likeen sometime between 1933 and 1970.

The earliest Cancellation Book from Kilfenora dates to about 1846.  Unfortunately, it is comprised of only field notes about the land.  The portion dedicated to the TIERNEY homeland reads as follows, “Lickeen East and Likeen West the estates of = BLOOD Esq.  Set to tenants at from 6 to 1.50 then are cold rushy lands and portion very difficult of excess there is some bog and reclaimed land and some dry hills interspersed.”[13]

The next Cancellation Book is the one immediately prior to the more widely recognized Griffith’s Valuation.  James TIERNEY resided on parcel 15 1/2a in Likeen.  He had a house, office (shed), and land totaling about eleven acres.

John TIERNEY had a similar arrangement of house, shed and land of a little over six acres.  Both James and John’s parcels of land were leased from John BLOOD.[14]  John and James could have been brothers or a father and son.  There is no document that places Timothy within either family.  The 1866 census showed Timothy’s family and James and Ellen with their three sons (Michael, James, and John).  A third family, that of John TIERNEY and Bridget KENNEDY, could have been Timothy’s parents or his brother.

A tentative TIERNEY ancestry may be as follows:  James TIERNEY married. Ellen BYRT or BYRD (1805-1902).

• Timothy married Anne MULQUEENY, 5 September 1857

• Michael

• James married Ann DOWNEY, 27 February 1870

• John (baptized 29 January 1846) married Mary MORGAN abt. 1873

Timothy TIERNEY and his family emigrated to America after 1869.  John TIERNEY remained in Likeen East.  His son John (born about 1891) probably remained in Likeen and passed the land to his son Patrick. 

On-Site Research in Kilfenora

A considerable amount of time was spent photographing places in and around Kilfenora.  A variety of enquiries were also made regarding recollections of the TIERNEY and MULQUEENEY families in Kilfenora and specifically those from Likeen East.

Many residents of Kilfenora remembered that Patrick, or Paddy, TIERNEY lived in Kilfenora until the 1950s or so.  He was believed to have emigrated to either Australia or America.  Several people remembered that Paddy’s sister stayed in Ireland and presently lives somewhere near to Kilfenora.  Her married name, however, could not be ascertained.

Perhaps the most remembered TIERNEY in Kilfenora was Austin TIERNEY.  He was one of John’s children and born in Kilfenora around 1889.  Austin TIERNEY was a member of the Kilfenora Ceili Band and remembered as a wonderful fiddle player.  Mary McCORMACK, the women who now lives in the old TIERNEY residence in Likeen East, noted that, “the Tierney’s were full of music.” Austin TIERNEY was rumored to have been buried with his violin.  The owner of Linnane’s Music Pub in Kilfenora knew of Austin TIERNEY.  Mr. LINNANE’s mother was the pianist in the Kilfenora Ceili Band.  Mr. LINNANE said that some of the local musicians could probably help to piece some of the TIERNEY family together given an opportunity.  He personally directed research toward the “old Tierney place” in East Likeen.

The TIERNEY place in East Likeen was last owned by Paddy TIERNEY before he left Ireland.  A man took over ownership of the property but eventually let the place “go derelict” or into disrepair.

A neighbor, Mr. McCORMACK and his friend, eventually bought the land several years ago.  Mary McCORMACK, the man’s daughter, now lives in the place and is remodeling the house to its former self.  Mary is re-thatching the roof as part of an Irish restoration program.  Mary has tracked down a photo of the house, taken many years ago, which shows the TIERNEY place as it was when still owned by the family.  Mary’s cousin, Dara McCORMACK, is buried in the Kilfenora cemetery next to a monument erected to the TIERNEY family.  The tombstone does not reveal any specific information about the family but, was erected by a branch of the family who emigrated to Australia.  Mary McCORMACK remembered being visited by a family of TIERNEY descendants from America several summers ago.  It is quite likely that this family may part of Timothy’s family who settled in New Jersey.

A series of photographs taken at the Land Valuation Office in Dublin, various places in Kilfenora, and of the old TIERNEY residence in Likeen East are included with this report.  These photos follow the general order of:

Land Valuation Books of Kilfenora from 1845 to 1971 (Ordinance Map of Kilfenora and Likeen East Computer generated version included with report as Reference document 1).

Photos

Continued Research

 Several avenues of research still remain to document and solidify the TIERNEY ancestry.  Various descendants from the New Jersey branch of the family should be traced, documented, and contacted for additional insight into where Timothy and Anne died and were buried.

Research should also continue to examine records from Kilfenora, County Clare, Ireland, to trace the descendants of John TIERNEY and Mary MORGAN.  It is likely that one of their children emigrated to Australia in the twentieth century.

An enormous number of significant Irish genealogical documents were destroyed in a fire in the early twentieth century.  Most of the Irish censuses from the nineteenth century were destroyed, as well as, other valuable church and tax documents.

Many Irish men served in the British Army.  Britain paid military pensions to its veterans and these records are a wonderful source of useful family information.  Unfortunately, British military records are difficult to use without an exact reference to a soldier’s unit or service.  The only index is available in the United Kingdom and it is, at present, a work-in-progress.

This index to British military records was consulted at the Public Records Office of England in Kewe, outside of London.  A search was conducted for men named TIERNEY who gave service in the British military and were born in County Clare near Kilfenora.  One possible man was identified in this process.

Bernard TIERNEY served in the 27th Foot Regiment.  He enlisted into service in 1840 and was discharged in 1853.  He was thirty years-old upon discharged and reported his place of birth as Kilfenora.[15]

Subsequent research should be conducted to locate Bernard’s military service and pension record.  These records are presently available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  The contents of these documents may be helpful in identifying an earlier TIERNEY generation.

The outlook for the successful continuation of research remains viable and exciting.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Paul A. Hefti, M.A.
Professional Genealogist