Ireland Maps

Coming Events

What's Next?

There is a lot of activity going on with our research, and we have made contacts with "long lost" family members. Below are the highlights of what to expect over the next few weeks. The activity ranges from maps to wills & last testaments to family emails to obituaries. Also, Tim and I spent an evening last Thursday in Dallas, Texas; where we went to a barbeque restaurant to enjoy the local cuisine. On our way out, a man stopped us and asked, "are you twins?" He was excited to learn that we were. This seems to happen every time Tim and I go somewhere together....I must admit...we look more alike now than we did when we were younger.

The map on your right is a part of the official Griffiths survey maps that were drafted in the mid-1800s. Over the next few weeks, we will place onto the web the detailed maps which show farmlands, buildings, forests, local place names, etc. We do know that James Ryan farmed lots 11 and 12 in Gortnaskehy, and these detailed maps will show exactly where his farm land was located.

James Ryan renegotiated his lease in 1844, but the landlord was forced to sell his ownership in 1855. At this time, we don't know what effect it had on our ancestor's ability to farm this land. However, we do know that they were still living in Gortnaskehy in 1861 because the baptismal records of Daniel, their youngest son, provides this information to us. For more information on this property, go to james ryan farm.

Gortnaskehy is several kilometers from Newport, Tipperary. Newport was the closest market town in the area, and may have been the place where a young Batt Ryan won the Irish jig contest.

Click on Map to Get an Enlarged View of Kilnarath. It is a parish which consists of two geographic territories, one that is east of Bird Hill and a second geography that is east of Newport. Map of Kilnarath.

This map shows the same area in the 1820s. While Newport was the main market town, it was small by any standards. Castlewaller was the largest lordship in the area (originally called Cully, which was an ancient Ryan castle), and is likely that many residents, when asked where they lived, may have referred to the area as Castlewaller or Cully. Even today the area around Castlewaller is know by the locals as Cully.

Click on picture to Enlarge

"Coming Attractions"

There are a number of things that you will see over the next few weeks, in addition to detailed maps. These coming events include:

We have requested that distant family members provide information about their families. These family members include the James Ryan, Jr. and the Margaret Ryan family, both of whom were siblings to Bartholomew Ryan. In addition, we have been provided names of potential descendants of Daniel Ryan, the youngest son, and will make contact with this family soon.
We will be receiving the will & last testament for Ann Ryan, who was James Ryan Sr.'s wife. We know that it is her will because the names of Mary, Catherine, Nancy, Daniel, Maggie are among the names listed as heirs. It also supports our knowledge that her real name was "Nancy", as this is how she signed her name. In addition, search is underway to locate her obituary.

We are also collecting information on the Bartholomew Campbell family of Allamakee County. Bartholomew was from Tipperary and Catholic. There were only two Campbell families that were Catholic in Tipperary, and only one Bartholomew that we have found...and he was from Gortnaskehy as well. We believe he was either a brother or cousin to Ann Campbell Ryan. One other thing - he was a baptismal sponsor to Bridget Ryan, one of James and Ann's children born in Tipperary. To view his obituary, click on Campbell Obituary. His obituary reflects what happens commonly in family history - they misunderstood where he was from. They listed the county as "La Prairie" rather than "Tipperary". His will & last testament shows the following family members:

no widow

Ann Bidinger

James Campbell

John Campbell

Mrs. Mollie Morhead

Charley Campbell

We will also research other families of Allamakee County, Iowa. We believe that a number of these families originated in Gortnaskehy, as the surnames are the same as those that would have been neighbors to the James and Ann Ryan in Tipperary. See Gortnaskehy in Iowa
A complete listing of the obituaries from our Cushing, Oklahoma, connection is being assembled. Once we have this information, we will publish on this site.
Finally, we are completing our research on the McGonigles. We are attempting to connect Francis McGonigle (our ancestor) with another McGonigle family, whom appears to have had close ties.