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John and Mary (McGee) McVeigh of Dunnaval Townland, Kilkeel

Continued from Selina (McVeigh) Kelly, of Kilkeel and Chicago.

John McVeigh was born in County Down, Ireland, about 1813. As we have seen in the article Christina O'Rourke, Killowen to Chicago, John was a widower living in Dunnaval Townland in 1901 with granddaughters Christina and Joanna O'Rourke and a grandson James Doyle.1 John had been on parcel 38A and 38B in Dunnaval from 1866 onward according to the Valuation Revision Books.2

In his will written June 12, 1904, John leaves a certain amount "for masses to be said or offered from time to time for the repose of the souls of the testator & his wife Mary & their son James." He leaves his property to "my grandson James Doyle (who now lives with me)." According to the indexed summary at the Will Calendars site, John died October 15, 1906, and his grandson received the property March 22, 1907.3 See Will of John McVeigh of Dunnaval Townland, Kilkeel.

This helps us to fill out the family of John McVeigh. We now know for certain that his wife's given name was Mary, and that they had a son named James who died before John. In the earlier articles, we identified two other children of John and Mary, namely Margaret (McVeigh) O'Rourke, the mother of William, Christina, and Joanna; and Selina (McVeigh) Kelly, of Chicago, Christina's aunt.

Can we find any other children for this couple?

For starters, the parents of this James Doyle who inherits John McVeigh's farm could be Jane M'Veigh and John Doyle, both listed in Volume 1, page 715, for 1870 in the Ireland, Civil Registration Marriage Indexes.4

There is also Thomas McVeigh born August 19, 1864, in Kilkeel, son of John McVeigh and Mary Magee. And Daniel McVeigh born November 13, 1866, in County Down, son of John McVeigh and Mary (Magee) Mcveigh.5

We'll have to stop there. It has been a long way from a single O'Rourke--Farron connection in Cleveland, Ohio, to the McVeighs of Dunnaval Townland. But it illustrates how to use records from both sides of the Atlantic to piece together a family from the documents. And it also shows how much more information is available online now than there was a few years ago when I started researching.

Footnotes

  1. National Archives of Ireland, 1901 Census.
  2. Valuation Revision Book Search, at http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/val12b.htm
  3. Search at Will Calendars, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, at http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/will_calendars.htm. Transcribed on my site at: Will of John McVeigh, of Dunnaval Townland, Kilkeel.
  4. Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958, Volume Number 1, Page Number 715
    for Jane M'Veigh:
    "Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FYSK-HJ9 : accessed 25 Nov 2013), Jane M'Veigh, 1870; citing vol. 1, p. 715, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin, Ireland; FHL microfilm 101251.
  5. for John Doyle
    "Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FYSP-9ZX : accessed 25 Nov 2013), John Doyle, 1870; citing vol. 1, p. 715, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin, Ireland; FHL microfilm 101251.
  6. Ireland, Births and Baptisms, 1620-1911.
  7. For Thomas: FHL Film Number: 101090. search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-g&gsln_x=NP&msfng0=john&msfns0=mcveigh&msmng0=mary&msmns0=mcgee&cpxt=0&catBucket=rstp&uidh=hti&cp=0&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=103570&recoff=25+26+37+38&db=FSIrelandBirth&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1.
  8. For Daniel: FHL Film Number: 101135,
    search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-g&gsln_x=NP&msfng0=john&msfns0=mcveigh&msmng0=mary&msmns0=mcgee&cpxt=0&catBucket=rstp&uidh=hti&cp=0&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=112744&recoff=24+25+37+38&db=FSIrelandBirth&indiv=1&ml_rpos=2l Townland, Kilkeel
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