General Notes

May need to delete this section--Godparents were William Kenny and Sarah Kenny (per birth records)
I have a birth certificate showing that a Bartholomew has a Thomas in 1794, bapt. Aug. 5. 1794.  It also shows brother Richard born 1795. The Fitzwilliam eviction records show this Thomas, age  48, wife Ellen, 35, Bartholomew 12, James 10 , Edward 4 , Richard 6  and Anne 2, from Motabower, Wexford, left New Ross in June 1851.  There was also a Mary, age 17 on there list to leave, but was scratched.
This would have Thomas' birth date at 1803. I have found similar age mistakes while reseaching the Kenny's in these days.  I don't think they paid close attention to their actual age.
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John O'Neill's report: We first see THOMAS KENNY listed in the MS. 6082 (Pos. 8564 NLI) rentals but he only appears firstly in 1839 and no sign of him previous to that. He is listed a MOTYBOWER in co.WEXFORD living in the following plot :

JOHN and ROBERT ROACH on 39 acres 2 rod 1 perch.
WILLIAM ROACH aged 36 and his wife 31. On 19 acres 1 rod with 3 sons and 5 daughters living with them.
THOMAS ROACH aged 41 and his wife aged 35 on 19 acres 1 rod with 4 sons and 2 daughters living with them.
JOSEPH ROACH aged 40 and his wife aged 40 living with 1 son and 1 dau. He was a TAILOR.
THOMAS KENNY aged 40 with his wife aged 25 (no land) living with 1 son and referred to as a  SHOEMAKER.

(ALL these ROACH emigrated. For that reason THOMAS KENNY changed plots in the same townland of MOTYBOWER between 1840 and 1847).

He appears again in 1848 and 1850 in the same townlnad of MOTYBOWER but this time he is living on the plot of ROBERT CONNORS aged 54 with his wife aged 66. They lived on 8 acres 2 rod 28 perch. They had one daughter with them in 1848 and 4 male and 1 female servants/relatives.
THOMAS KENNY aged 43 with his wife aged 35 with a HOUSE and YARD (NO LAND). They had 4 sons living with them in 1848 and THOMAS KENNY was referred to as a LABOURER.
In 1850 THOMAS KENNY gave his age as 47 and his wife as 37. He was only on a HOUSE and KITCHEN GARDEN. They also had 4 sons living with them in 1850.

SYNOPSIS :
From this we can determine that THOMAS KENNY was born c. 1803 (most ages given agree with this year) with one age giving a possible date of 1799.
His wife ELLEN PURCELL was born c. 1814.

There is a gap in the TOMACORK register from 1797 to 1807 so not much hope in knowing exactly if THOMAS KENNY was born to anyone in KENNYSTOWN alias KILCAVAN.
There is nobody called PURCELL in the TOMACORK area and I believe ELLEN PURCELL was daughter of one of many PURCELL found to the west of MOTYBOWER in WEXFORD.This area has very sketchy records. MOTYBOWER is actually covered by the KILRUSH and ASKAMORE RC register  which only starts in 1841 with baptisms ( no marriages and has a gap).
Then, John O'Neil came back one year later after further looking at Thomas kenny and said the following:
This Thomas Kenny was missing from the family farm in 1827 and I suspect
> it is the same THOMAS KENNY who was at MOTABOWER on ROCHE family farm as a
> shoemaker before 1839. I think even though this THOMAS KENNY  was named as
> a LIFE in the LEASE of 1808
> he actually went to his second brother RICHARD KENNY and his age was wrong
> in 1808 as well.
Tom Kenny and Sally Kenny was sponsor to Bary Balfe, daughter of Sally Kenny and Tom Balfe. John further wrote:
This SPONSOR maybe the same THOMAS KENNY at MOTABOWER as he did not live
> at KILCAVAN in 1827 or 1839. When he was named in 1839 THOMAS KENNY gave
> his age as 40 but he was actually 45 and married to a very much young
> woman and perhaps this may have given rise to problems with his family.The
> FAMILY FARM is all important in those areas. It could be of course that he
> just had no interest in farming.
> NOTE:
> So I think its fairly definite that THOMAS KENNY at MOTABOWER in 1839 is
> of this family.

John later wrote:
I have discovered that BARTHOLOMEW KENNY was dead by 1845 and replac
> RICHARD KENNY on 19 acres 1rod.It states on Pos. 8565 that in 1825
> BARTHOLOMEW had the lease in his name from that date but the lease was
> dropped in 1844.MAURICE KENNY on 13 acres 1 rod 39 perch and RICHARD KENNY
> (junior or senior)?  on 37 acres 10 perch nearby and none of it was in
> lease.In 1850 they all had massive rent arrears.
> Its a bit peculiar that BARTHOLOMEW KENNY would have his son in 1794 and
> name him in a lease as a LIFE in 1808 as aged 6?? This must be a
> mistake.If THOMAS KENNY of 1794 had died then the eldest son would ha
> been RICHARD KENNY in 1808 and not THOMAS KENNY. I suspect THOMAS KEN
> was alive in 1825 but the property went to RICHARD but not in lease.THOMAS
> KENNY at MOTYBOWER must be much older than indicated. I think this is
> probably why its hard to place him. His age is completely wrong.It could
> be of course that THOMAS of 1794 died and THOMAS of 1802 was his
> brother.But if that was the case he would be a THIRD SON and hardly likely
> to be named as a LIFE in a lease before his two older brothers.
> Also take note that MOTYBOWER in 1845 had only 34 acres IN LEASE and all
> the ROCHE and CONNORS were on land MOSTLY NOT IN LEASE. In fact 158 acres
> was not in lease.
> So THOMAS KENNY who was a shoemaker and labourer on these farms was n
> even an UNDERTENANT as all the CONNORS and ROCHE were themselves
> UNDERTENANTS to the FITZWILLIAM ESTATE. Normally if you had a LEASE y
> were HEADTENANT.

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To my knowledge, Thomas and Eleanor stayed in Canada when the Lovely's and Richard Kenny moved to the US.
Francis E. Kenny gave me a tin type picture of what is believed to be Thomas Kenny.
The 1851 Ontario census shows the name spelled as KENNEY.  It lists Thomas, Ellen, Bartholomew, James, Richard, Edward and Ann, all spelled KENNEY.
The 1861 census shows Thomas, Eleanor, Bartholomew, James, Richard, Edward, Ana, Mary and Eliza Ann, all spelled KINNEY.
Thomas' alleged brother, Martin and his family, in the 1861 census was spelled KENNEY.

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Trevor James said:   "I live in Croneyhorn, Wicklow which is the next townsland to Tomacork and Kilcavan would be a townsland on the far side of Tomacork -about two miles away.   I think there are still Kennys living in Kilcavan......There are at least 70 Kennys interred in Tomacork and presumably similar numbers in other graveyards in the area.  It is a fairly common name although most are related in some way.  I have started to put all the gravestone names into a database and I will send you a copy when I finish, if you want....
In Tomacork graveyard there are two Bartholomew Kennys"

Richard abt 1814  married to Mary, abt 1820
Children:
John 1852-1891
Bridget 1854-1932
Bartholomew 1855-1928
Richard 1859-1924
Anne 1865-1905

Also found there was Bartholomew 1887-1964  wife Elizabeth
children
John 1916-1960
Denis

There was a Mary Kenny that was on the Fitzwilliam list as a passenger with this Kenny family as they left, but she was scratched.  Was this another daughter?  a cousin?  I figured her birth year to be about 1834.
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Someone reponded from a message genealogy.com with the following, refering to where records should be for the baptism of children from Motabower.:
Motabower is the northern most townland of the Roman Catholic Parish of Kilrush, ajoining two other R.C.Parishes.

It is bounded on its north west by the townland of Kennystown in the R.C.parish of Tomacork, on its north by the townsland of Parkmore in the R.C.Parish of Tomacork.

It is bounded on its north east by the townland of Aughnamaulmeen,on its west by the townland of Baltyfarrelland on its south east by the townland of Knockbrandon Lower, all three townlands in the R.C. Parish of Cranford.

It is bounded on the east by the townland of Park, on its south by the townland of Ballyellis and by the townland of Knockshaunfin, all three in the R.C.Parish of Kilrush.

Children were usually baptised in their own home and entered into the Catholic Parish register, in your case Kilrush.

Women were married in their own Parish which would be Kilrush, so men could be married in their own Parish or any of the ajoining Parishes.

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