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Hello! My name is Maigen Connally and I am seeking clarification on the location and/or a direction to look for records on my Irish immigrant ancestor, Owen Connally, and his parents, Owen Connally and Mary Egan. The only information that I have is from a family history written around 1935 by Owen's son, George T. Connally:

"The Connallys originally came from the North of Ireland, But under Cromwell’s order of sending the Irish to hell or Connaught, the Connally’s settled in Connally’s Country. Which was a section, or parcel of land North of the River Shannon in the County Galway, extending almost to Connemara. Now I don’t pretend to claim that this, in all aut[cut off] For the simple reason that it has all been han[ded] down from one generation to another.

The first of my ancestors that I know off was my Great Great Grandfather Thomas Conn[ally] who had a lease on a farm on the Burke Estate at Cloncue situated on the River Shannon, County Galway. The lease for the period of three lives. He had there was born about 1730 who he married I don’t know he was the father of three sons Luke, who settled in the mountains and was a storekeeper. One went to America, his name is unknown to me. My Great Grandfather Thomas Connally who inherited the farm was born I should judge between 1750  and 1760. He married and was the father of three children, Patrick Owen, and Mary. Mary married a wealthy farmer named Lyons she was the mother of several sons and one daughter, some of her sons served in the Civil War in this country Patrick and Owen who was my grandfather inherited the farm.

Cloncue as I have said before was situated on the River Shannon about two miles from Woodford and about seven from Portumna."

I have deduced that Cloncue is likely Clonco, but aside from information about the estate of Edward Burke, I can't find much about the area and nothing about the family.

The Connallys (Mary Egan, her son Owen his twin sister Bridget, and their brother John) left Ireland in 1854 and arrived in Troy, New York, where some of the descendants, including myself, still live today.

Although I did visit Ireland 20 years ago, I had not yet discovered this family history and could not do any research while in Galway. I am also struggling to find ANY records of Connally spelled with an A. While city directories consistently spell it with an E or O, nearly every other record spells it with an A, however, I am not sure if that was changed by the family or if it was the case when they lived in Ireland.

Thank you so much!

MaigenConnally

Friday 29th Sep 2023, 12:18AM

Message Board Replies

  • We found the baptisms of three children of an Owen Connally and Mary Egan in the RC parish of Woodford, Co. Galway.  Note that there are only about 6.5 months between Francis and Catherine.  Perhaps the actual register can clarify if this is correct.  The child Judith’s father is “Eugene,” which is another name for Owen.

     

    Francis Conally         

    Date of Birth: 27-Sep-1829

    Date of Baptism:        02-Oct-1829

    Roman Catholic Parish/District:        Woodford

    Co. Galway    

    Father:           Owen Conally           

    Mother:          Mary Egan                

    Sponsor 1 /Informant 1:         John Burke

    Sponsor 2 /Informant 2:         Bridget Egan

    :

     

     

    Catherine Conally                           

    Baptism:         09-Apr-1830

    Roman Catholic Parish/District:        Woodford

    Co. Galway

    Father:           Owen Conally           

    Mother:          Maria Egan               

    Sponsor 1 /Informant 1:         John Burke

    Sponsor 2 /Informant 2:         Bridget Burke

     

     

    Judith Conally           

    Birth:  19-Oct-1834

    Baptism:         20-Oct-1834

    Roman Catholic Parish/District: Woodford

    Co. Galway

    Father:           Eugene Conally          [Eugene and Owen are interchangeable.]

    Mother:          Mary Egan                

    Sponsor 1 /Informant 1:         Denis Reddin

    Sponsor 2 /Informant 2:         Brigid Burice [Burke?]

     

    Source: RootsIreland.ie.

    Patricia

    Friday 29th Sep 2023, 12:58AM

  • Hello,

    There's a good article here on spelling in Irish records: 

    https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/genealogy/irish-family-name-variatio…

    You will find Connally spelled with an a, with an e, with one n, with two n's, etc.  

    Good luck.

    Patricia

    Friday 29th Sep 2023, 01:05AM

  • Thank you very much, Patricia. I really appreciate the help and the article is quite informative!  While I have no way to confirm whether those are my ancestor's siblings, there were several children whose names were left back in Ireland. That said, I know the name Eugene was passed down from the younger Owen to his son and grandson so that is interesting to see. Thank you again!

    MaigenConnally

    Tuesday 3rd Oct 2023, 02:40AM

  • Hi Maigen,

    You may have done this already, and if so, I apologize. But if not, here goes.  Start with yourself and research back in the American birth, marriage, death, and sacramental records, census records, wills, etc.  As you go back in time you may find connections to your ancestral place in Ireland. A person living with the family at the time of a census who is an in-law or a sibling of the head of household.  Wills or obituaries or headstones that mention a place in Ireland.  Witnesses at weddings and baptisms may be clues too.

    I hope this is helpful.

    Patricia

    Tuesday 3rd Oct 2023, 03:23PM

  • Thank you, Patricia! I have researched for many years but have just shifted my focus back to this line and discovered Irelandxo. I have started to look more into neighbors and fleshing out more of the distant relatives looking for clues as well, so thanks for the tip! 

    MaigenConnally

    Saturday 4th Nov 2023, 09:42PM

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