Kinsella's of Mooncoin Parish, County Kilkenny and Jersey County, Illinois

                                           Ellen Kinsella- my great grandmother Ellen was the eldest child of John Kinsella and Margaret Grace. She was born in the coldest days of winter, on January 15, 1834, three years after the marriage of her parents.  The church, in the Diocese of Ossary, Parish of Mooncoin, would have been at Killinaspick. There was an older church ruin at Tubbrid, closer to Barronswood, but that was likely no longer in use. Her baptismal sponsors were Thomas Kinsella and Mrs. Farrell.The new church we see now at Killinaspick would not be built until 1866; when Ellen was baptized, it would have been at a smaller chapel on the same site, built in the early 1800's. The family lived at Barronswood; a townland also known as Kileavaroon in Clogga. In 1833, her father farmed 28 acres of land. Their neighbors included two other Kinsella relatives; Denis and ...

        (Google Maps photo of where the Kinsella farm was in Barronswood (based on Griffiths Valuation Map of 1853) Ellen grew up on a small farm in southern Kilkenny in the townland of Barronswood. This is a beautiful area with lush green landscapes and fertile farms. The Walsh mountains rise in the distance. It is an ancient place, whose history goes back to 400 A.D., when Celtic farmers built fortified settlements which left subtle hints to this day of "fairy forts." By medieval Christian times, we have written records of the inhabitants- in 1220, the Bishop of Ossory owned woodlands in the areas- so Baronswood to this day is also known as "Bishops Wood" or Kileavaroon.  Her father, John Kinsella, was, like all Catholic farmers, a tenant farmer who had a lease on the land from a Protestant landowner. In 1833, he farmed 28 acres of land (Irish plantation acres= 1.62 acres) and was forced to pay 10% of his yearly earnings- 1 pound 9 1/2 Pence - to the Protestan...

 Ellen Kinsella turned 10 years old in January 1844. Her sister Bridget turned six that year, and Robert was just three - barely toddling about the cottage. John Kinsella had no sons old enough to help him in the fields. He  would have relied on the help of relatives and neighbors, and helped them in return. There had to be a cash crop to pay the rent- most families grew oats or barley and sold milk or butter from a family cow. They lived simply but honestly, and with faith and persistence, carved out an existence from the rocky hillside and green fields below. But the next seven years would provide hardships that John Kinsella, Margaret Grace, and 10 year old Ellen could have never imagined, hardships that would change their lives forever. Although bread was eaten in the towns, where there were bakers and ovens, in the countryside the small farmers ate oatmeal porridge or oatcakes in the Spring and Summer,when the fields provided grain. Spring and Summer were fine months when...

  Trips back to the Kinsella's homeland in Clogga,  Kilkenny, Ireland The Church at Kilnaspic Kinsella gravestones Monument erected by Michael Kinsella for his parents and grandparents A year later- Janice and Anne at the grave of a Kinsella ancestor Patrick's monument to his wife Catherine The farm of our Kinsella family Stones from the cottage of our Kinsella family, kept by their friends and neighbors, the Gilmartins

  Ellen was the eldest child in the Kinsella family. Her mother, Margaret, would have counted on her when the babies came, even when she was quite young. Our family notebook shows five surviving children that made the trip to America; Ellen, Bridget, Robert, Patrick, and Martin. I found one more daughter; Mary. No doubt there were more who did not survive those harsh days. Ellen was three years old when her sister  Mary Kinsella was baptized on 13 February 1837. Her sponsors were Pat Kinsella and Mary Reade. Our family notebook makes no mention of Mary. Did she survive or die before the family left Ireland? Or did she stay in Ireland when the others left? Another little girl, Bridget, was baptized on 1 October 1838. Her sponsors were Thomas Walsh and Johanna Farrell. After Bridget there is a five year gap until the next child. Were these babies lost, or have I just not yet found their baptisms? In any case, it a son was born to the family in 1843. Ellen now had a baby brother....

                                       Ellen Kinsella Quinn- charcoal portrait My great-grandmother, Ellen Kinsella, was a handsome woman. She had fine facial features with high cheekbones, petite shell ears and a well formed mouth. Her shiny sable hair would have been worn long in her girlhood, and put up when she married. Her eyes, perhaps, were her finest feature- even in a black and white portrait, they appear to be a shimmering light blue. There is a hint of a smile in those eyes, though not on her lips, as was expected in portraits of that time. Her lips turn down a bit- almost in a frown of concentration, but it is her eyes that I wonder about. Those beautiful eyes are surrounded by dark shadows that the artist clearly notes as part of her character. What happened in her life to surround those bright eyes with such shadows? Her facial expression looks far away- almost haunted. What...