Finding My Second Great-Grandparents: The Kilcullen Family of Sligo, Ireland

Sligo, Ireland

In 2023, I wrote this post about my paternal great-grandmother Sarah Kilcullen, who emigrated from Sligo, Ireland to San Francisco in the early 1900s. Over the years, I'd explored many avenues to try to learn more about Sarah, but hadn't been able to come up with much new information. Her parents were still unknown, as was her place of birth in County Sligo. 

In advance of a trip to Ireland with my family this summer, I dug into my Kilcullen notes again to see if I could make any progress on this mystery. I also searched family history resources in Sligo and found the County Sligo Heritage & Genealogy Centre. Since my upcoming travels included a stop in Sligo, I wondered if I might be able to visit the centre and look at local records, so I sent off an email query. 

Everyone encounters brick walls in their family history research. It can be frustrating and disheartening. It's easy to resign yourself to the idea that some mysteries just can't be solved. However, as I've learned many times in my genealogy work, you've got to keep trying, because the answers are out there. When you are stuck, seek assistance. I wrote the County Sligo Heritage & Genealogy Centre asking for help, and boy did I get it. I'd like to say a huge thank you to Theresa and Lorraine, who received my message two months before I planned to arrive in Sligo, and were immediately responsive. They emailed back and forth with me, they started researching, and then Lorraine met me in Sligo and delivered a treasure trove of information and a handwritten family tree. To say I'm grateful is an understatement, and I'm also deeply appreciative of how quickly they worked. They really went above and beyond for me.

When I first got in contact with Lorraine and Theresa, they recommended I revisit my previous research to see if there were any gaps. In particular, they asked if I had contacted the San Francisco church where Sarah Kilcullen married Thomas Lacey in 1908. There is a marriage license visible online which lists their names and the date, but Lorraine and Theresa reminded me that the church might have more information. Well, of course I'd reached out to the church. Hadn't I? This is a great reminder that a solid research checklist is critical. If I'd created one for Sarah, I might have realized this oversight in my research sooner. It turns out that I had not actually made contact with the church.

I found an email for St. Teresa of Avila in San Francisco and sent them a message. Honestly, I expected nothing. Sarah and Thomas were married in 1908, two years after the great San Francisco earthquake and fire devastated the city, burning over 80% of San Francisco. Would records have been kept as the city struggled to rebuild? If so, would the church still have them 117 years later? The church was moved in 1924 and partially destroyed by fire in 1932, making me skeptical that marriage records would have survived. If they did, would anyone at the church have time to go searching through the old books? Despite the odds, just two days later, I received an email from the church with a scanned image of my great-grandparents' marriage record.

This record was full of information I already knew, including the date of the marriage and the names of Thomas Lacey's parents. It also shows that Sarah's younger sister Annie was a witness to the marriage. There was no doubt that this was my great-grandparents. It also clearly lists the names of Sarah's parents, information my family has been trying to find for many, many years. Thank you, St. Teresa of Avila for keeping and sharing your records! Thanks to them, I finally learned that Sarah's parents were Dominic Kilcullen and Catherine Kerins. I had never heard either of these names before. In all the research I'd done on Kilcullen families in Sligo, they had never appeared as a possibility. I passed along the names to the County Sligo Heritage & Genealogy Centre and hoped they might be able to provide more information about the family.

Entering my busiest work moment of the year, I didn't have time to meaningfully research my newly-discovered second great-grandparents, so I showed up in Sligo in June hopeful that Lorraine and Teresa had been able to uncover more details. I can't really say enough about how lovely they were, and how deeply I appreciate all Lorraine's research and time. She put together a whole family tree, including Sarah's parents, grandparents, and siblings. She researched each sibling in detail, provided information about where the family lived and Dominic's occupation. She answered all my questions and gave me suggestions on what to search for next. It was such a fantastic experience, and I highly encourage anyone researching County Sligo ancestors to contact the County Sligo Heritage & Genealogy Centre. Below, in a nutshell, is what I learned from Lorraine.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo

The Kilcullen Family in Sligo

Sarah Kilcullen's parents were married on November 30, 1858 at The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in Sligo. Their marriage register lists them as Dominic Kilcullen of Knocknaganny and Catherine Keirnes of Old Pound Street. Catherine's surname, Kerins, is sometimes found with different spellings, but it is a popular surname in County Sligo, and it is traditionally spelled Kerins, so that's what I'll use here. The marriage registration also lists Dominic and Catherine's parents: Dominic Kilcullen and Alice Dunleavy, and Patrick Keirnes and Winifred Mulrooney.

In my last post about Sarah Kilcullen and her sister Annie, I mentioned that when Annie arrived at Ellis Island on October 10, 1907, she recorded her most recent address as Pound Street, Sligo, and her closest relative as Mrs. James Mulrooney, a cousin. This makes so much sense since learning that her grandmother's maiden name was Mulrooney and the Kerins family lived on Old Pound Street.

The location of Old Pound Street, just south of Sligo's city center

The area where the Kilcullen and Kerins families lived is just south of Sligo's city center. The area is called Knocknaganny, and Old Pound Street is located between R287 and Gallows Hill Road. When my family drove into Sligo this summer, we drove right through this neighborhood, not knowing yet that it was the Kilcullen family home. Now, it filled with dense housing, just a three minute drive from the Garvoge River, flowing through Sligo's city center. Lorraine told me that when the Kilcullens lived there, it would have been farmland. 

Dominic Kilcullen is listed as a farmer on the baptismal records of his children, but Lorraine told me that at some point he transitioned to selling cattle. She also thought it possible that the Kilcullens may have originally come from Easky, a village located about 26 miles west of Sligo, right on the Atlantic Coast. There is a large concentration of people with the Kilcullen surname there. However, by the time Sarah was born, her family had been settled in the city of Sligo for some time.

A more detailed look at the neighborhood

The Children of Dominic Kilcullen and Catherine Kerins

Lorraine believes that Dominic and Catherine had twelve children:

1. M (perhaps Mary?) Kilcullen (b. 1859-1860)
2. John Kilcullen (b. 1861)
3. Bridget Kilcullen (b. 1863)
4. Dominic Kilcullen (b. 1865)
5. Thomas Kilcullen (b. 1867)
6. Catherine Kilcullen (b. 1869)
7. John Kilcullen (b. 1871)
8. Francis Kilcullen (b. 1873)
9. James Kilcullen (b. 1876)
10. Sarah Kilcullen (b. 1878)
11. Patrick Kilcullen (b. 1881)
12. Annie Kilcullen (b. 1883)

The first child for whom there are birth/baptismal records is John Kilcullen in 1861. However, Dominic and Catherine were married in 1858, and it would be extremely unusual to not have a child for three years after a marriage. Additionally, Dominic's death record was signed by a M. Kilcullen, stated to be his daughter. Lorraine proposed that M. Kilcullen was a first child whose records have not survived, and that her name was likely Mary, given naming patterns amongst Catholic residents in Sligo.

The second child, John, was born in 1861, but given that another John was born in 1871, it is almost certain that this first John died before that time, and the second John was named in his memory. Given that there were two other boys born after the first John, it sees likely that John died sometime between Thomas' birth in 1867 and the second John's birth in 1871, between the ages of 6-10. John's godparents are listed on his baptismal record as Michael Kearns and Margaret Kilcullen. This might be a brother of his mother, Catherine, and a sister of his father, Dominic.

Bridget, the third child, was born in 1862 and her godparents are recorded as Eugene Kilcullen and Anna Kilcullen. They may have been siblings or cousins of her father, Dominic. There are no further records for Bridget in Ireland, either marriage or death, and she does not appear in the Irish Census of 1901. Lorraine thinks this indicates that she either married and was never recorded with the name Kilcullen again, or she emigrated to the UK or America.

Dominic was born in 1865 and his godparents were listed as Eugene Kilcullen and Maria Kearns. On his civil birth entry, his father, Dominic Kilcullen Sr., listed the family's home as Marymount, Sligo. Marymount is a street in Knocknaganny, tucked right between Circular Road and R287, and around the corner from Old Pound Street. There are no further records for Dominic, Jr. in Sligo, and he does not appear in the 1901 census. Lorraine thought it was likely that he had emigrated, and I agree, because there are records for a Dominic Kilcullen in both Los Angeles and San Francisco in the early 1900s that I believe place him in America with some of his siblings.

Thomas Kilcullen was born in 1867. His godparents were Eugene Kilcullen and Sarah Kerins. Thomas's civil birth entry was registered by his father with an address of Cornageeha, which was part of Knocknaganny. Unfortunately, Lorraine located a death entry for a Thomas Kilcullen from Knocknaganny who died on March 17, 1891 (St. Patrick's Day) in the Sligo infirmary from Bright's disease. If this is our Thomas, he would have been 24 years old at the time of his death. He was unmarried and working as a laborer.

Bright’s disease is an archaic term for what is now referred to as ‘nephritis’. Nephritis is an inflammation of the kidneys, caused by toxins, infection or autoimmune conditions. It is not strictly a single disease, rather a condition with a number of types and causes. In glomerulonephritis, the most common type of nephritis, the infection affects the renal basin. In interstitial nephritis, the inflammation affects the space between the renal tubes. There are three main causes of nephritis, each with their own nomenclature. ‘Pyelonephritis’ is kidney inflammation that can develop when an untreated urinary tract infection spreads to the kidneys. ‘Lupus nephritis’ is caused by an autoimmune response during a lupus flare. Nephritis can also be caused by strain and injury to the kidneys during exercise, known as ‘athletic nephritis’. [Source: University of Leeds]

Catherine Kilcullen was born in 1869. Her godparents were Thomas Kilcullen and Eleonora (Ellen) Kerins. Like her sister Bridget, there are no further records for Catherine in Ireland, meaning she likely either married or emigrated. The time period when Catherine was a young woman was a time of frequent emigration by young Irish people, looking abroad for better work opportunities. Lorraine thinks it likely that most of the Kilcullen children left Ireland in their late teens and early twenties.

John Kilcullen (the second) was born in 1871. Lorraine was able to find his civil birth registration but not a baptismal record, so we don't know who his godparents were. We are certain that John emigrated to America in 1898, as Lorraine found him on a passenger list arriving in New York. I'll share more details about the post-emigration lives of the Kilcullen children later.

Francis Kilcullen was born in 1873, and his godparents were John Kilcullen and Maria Kilcullen. This is not completely confirmed, but it looks possible that at the age of 19, Francis joined the military. There is a Francis Kilcullen listed in Militia Attestation Papers who enlisted in the Sligo Royal Garrison Artillery as a gunner in 1896. Lorraine provided me with information about the military presence in Sligo and encouraged me to look at army records to confirm that this is the correct Francis Kilcullen. I'll be doing that soon.

James Kilcullen was born in 1876. His godparents were John Kilcullen and Maria Kilcullen. James can be found in the 1901 census living in Cornageeha with his mother and his younger brother, Patrick. He is listed as a farm laborer. It's unclear what happened to James after 1901. There is a James Kilcullen in the 1911 Irish census, living in a Sligo boarding house and working as a mason, but it's not certain that this is the same James.

Sarah Kilcullen, my great-grandmother, was most likely the next Kilcullen child, born in 1878. As noted in my previous post about Sarah, I have several different birth dates for her, ranging from 1883-1885. Her gravestone says 1883, a full five years after this Kilcullen child was born. Making this more complicated is the fact that the priest neglected to record the name of the female Kilcullen child baptized in Sligo on March 31, 1878. Civil records for this birth cannot be located, either. However, the two children born after this are clearly recorded, so this is really the only child that could be Sarah. Lorraine explained that while birth dates were noted accurately in baptismal records, ages often jump around in other records. For instance, Sarah's mother Catherine is listed as being age 50 in the 1901 Census. However, her baptismal record notes that she was born on January 13, 1841, which means she was actually 60 in 1901. Lorraine said that when the 1908 Old Age Pension was introduced, some people's ages jumped twenty years in the records, to ensure they'd qualify for the pension early. So, other than the initial baptismal record, ages and dates of birth can be taken with a grain of salt.

Patrick Kilcullen was born in 1881. His godparents were Dominic Kilcullen and Bridget Kilcullen. Patrick can be found in the 1901 census living in Cornageeha with his mother and his older brother James. Unfortunately, seven years later, Patrick died at the age of 27. His death record was registered by his brother James, so James was still living in Cornageeha in 1908. On the death record, Patrick is listed as a laborer. It says his cause of death is bronchitis and throwing up of blood, and indicates that he had been suffering from this condition for two years.

Annie Kilcullen was the last of the Kilcullen children, born in 1883. Her given name appears to have been Anne Maria. Like her sister Sarah, Annie's birth date varies wildly in records after her baptism. Immigration records indicate a birth anywhere from 1887-1889. It appears that Annie may have emigrated to America in her late teens, returned to Ireland, perhaps to care for her ailing mother, and then left for America permanently after that time. I'll provide more detail on this in an upcoming post about the Kilcullen children in America.

The Deaths of Dominic Kilcullen and Catherine Kerins

Dominic Kilcullen died on December 15, 1890, at the age of 66. The cause of death was Hemiplegia, which can mean many things, but likely refers to a stroke. His death record was signed by M. Kilcullen, his daughter, who resided on Circular Road. This road is adjacent to Old Pound Street. My great-grandmother Sarah would have been about 12 years old when her father died. Her sister Annie, the youngest Kilcullen sibling, would have been just 7 years of age.

Catherine Kerins Kilcullen died on March 30, 1907, at the age of 66. The cause of death was Influenza. Her death was registered by Annie Kilcullen, Sarah's younger sister. 

Lorraine believes that Dominic and Catherine would have been buried in Sligo Cemetery, just a 10 minute walk from Old Pound Street, but that their graves are likely unmarked.

Sligo Cemetery

The Kilcullen Children in America

A number of the Kilcullen children emigrated from Sligo to America. We know for certain that Sarah and Annie moved to San Francisco, married, had children, and died there. John and Dominic also went to America, and perhaps other Kilcullen siblings, as well. In my next post, I'll share the research I'm doing on what happened to the Kilcullens who left Ireland.

Again, a huge thank you to Lorraine and Theresa at the County Sligo Heritage & Genealogy Centre. I had not even hoped to receive this much information about the Kilcullens, who've been unknown to us for so long. I'm very grateful, and I know the cousins who read this will be, too.