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

 Ellen was likely named after her aunt, Ellen Kinsella (Walsh), her father John Kinsella's only sister. I found out more about her aunt from a DNA match on Ancestry.com. Ellen Kinsella (Walsh) Ellen Kinsella (Walsh) was born in Kileavaroon to Thomas Kinsella and Margaret Kelter and was baptized on a spring day on 14 May 1816.                  Ancestry.com.  Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915 With five older brothers, she was surely a welcomed addition to the family. She would have been 18 years old when our Ellen was born; a young girl likely very pleased to have a namesake as a niece. A few years later, she was married  to Thomas Walsh. This family, according to the baptismal records of their children, lived in Kilnaspic. So our Ellen would have continued to see her aunt Ellen when they attended church on Sundays, along with family gatherings.                   ...

                                                              This picture was among my mother's things, along with the pictures of her grandparents, Ellen Kinsella and John Quinn. On the back of the picture was written "Grace." Apparently, through the years, the first name of the lady on the picture had been lost. Aunt Helen and Margie Allen's notebook, however, is clear- Margaret Grace was the wife of John Kinsella and the mother of Ellen Kinsella. Her cemetery marker is unknown, at least on Findagrave, although perhaps some dedicated sleuth can find it in person, along with that of her husband, John Kinsella, at the cemetery at St. Francis Xavier in Jerseyville. But we know that she is buried there; we have her burial records from St. Francis, from 16 April 1884. Father Hardy penned her entry "Margaret...

               The view from Tory Hill overlooking the surrounding countryside Map of Rahillakeen  - you can see all the ancient raths on this map that probably gave the place its name. It lies at the foot of Tory Hill in southern Kilkenny. Rahillakeen (sometimes called "Rathlikeen" and in church records "Rahalickeen") is a tiny townland consisting of about 391 acres. You can find this on a Google Map at  52° 20' 39" N, 7° 8' 10" W. So- I just realized TODAY that TWO of my great- great grandmothers came from Rahillakeen! With a townland of 300 acres in size, they lived within walking distance of each other and most certainly knew each other. They met once again in Jerseyville, and their children married each other! Margaret Grace born 1804, married John Kinsella in 1831, died 16 April 1884 Jerseyville was the mother of Ellen Kinsella.  Here is her  marriage record. Mary Fitzgerald born 1791, married John Quinn in 1815 died 7 N...

They were poor, very poor. The weather had been bad, the crops uncertain, and while a great deal of food from Ireland was still exported to England, the local farmers who toiled the fields subsisted on mostly potatoes and buttermilk.  But in a classic example of getting blood out of a turnip, in 1823 the Protestant lead government made a new law to extract money from them. Every farmer would be required to pay a 10% cash tithe, based on the quality of their land and the price of corn, to support the church. But it did not support the local Catholic Church which they attended in Kilnaspic. This tithe supported the vicars and churches of the official Irish state church- the Protestant Church of Ireland. Naturally, there was great resentment against this unfair tax. In 1829, there was some hope. The Roman Catholic Relief Act was passed. Led by Daniel O'Conner, and supported by the Marquess Wellesley (Hugh Allen's neighbor) this did away with the remaining Penal Laws of Cromwellian...