A Woman’s Lot: Three Generations of Maternal Forebears

Or, Subtitled: “A Woman’s Lot“ The collage above, which shows the three generations of female ancestors prior to me, happened to be on my Ancestry page when I opened it on International Women’s Day (8 March). Ancestry had prepared this collage from photos in my tree, and, though I doubt that Ancestry did this to … More A Woman’s Lot: Three Generations of Maternal Forebears

Family Stories and Surprising Ways New Documentation Can Confirm Them: The Story of Robert Allen Sumrall and Margaret and Catherine Ryan

Or, Subtitled: “May her soul rest in peis.” This posting tells a story. It tells a story about a story, one told to me in my formative years. It also tells a story about how sudden genealogical surprises can either confirm or disprove our long-cherished family traditions. So that we do well to keep ourselves … More Family Stories and Surprising Ways New Documentation Can Confirm Them: The Story of Robert Allen Sumrall and Margaret and Catherine Ryan

Bridget Tobin Ryan (1818-1873) of Co. Kilkenny, Ireland: Records Possibly Pointing to Her Family Members

Or, Subtitled: In the Absence of Records Necessary to Prove Genealogical Connections, One Goes A-Fishing In a previous posting, I explained my reasons for concluding that my ancestor Bridget Tobin, who was born in 1818 in County Kilkenny, Ireland, and who married Valentine Ryan, son of John Ryan and Margaret Oates, in Kilmacow parish on … More Bridget Tobin Ryan (1818-1873) of Co. Kilkenny, Ireland: Records Possibly Pointing to Her Family Members

Family of Valentine Ryan and Bridget Tobin of County Kilkenny, Ireland, and Grant County, Arkansas: New Information (2)

Or, Subtitled: The Challenge of Teasing Genealogical Clues from Sparse Early 19th-Century Irish Catholic Records I’ve told you that I have not been able to find information about the family of my 2nd-great-grandmother Bridget Ryan, who married Valentine Ryan in Kilmacow Catholic parish, County Kilkenny, Ireland, on 21 September 1836 with Edmond Hayden and Margaret Fitzgerald … More Family of Valentine Ryan and Bridget Tobin of County Kilkenny, Ireland, and Grant County, Arkansas: New Information (2)

“In Memory of Valentine Ryan, Born in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, Feb. 23, 1810, Died Feb. 22, 1881. Erected by his son Patrick Ryan”: Irish Roots of Ryan Family, Grant County, Arkansas (3)

In my previous two postings in this series, I’ve explained how I eventually found my Ryan ancestors’ roots in County Kilkenny, Ireland, after many years of searching. I now want to tell you what I found, once documents began to open to me after I had determined a specific place of residence for the family and a … More “In Memory of Valentine Ryan, Born in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, Feb. 23, 1810, Died Feb. 22, 1881. Erected by his son Patrick Ryan”: Irish Roots of Ryan Family, Grant County, Arkansas (3)