Ireland
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The McGinnis Family in Sligo, Ireland
On 28 March 2017, my husband Monte and I met in person with a genealogist who conducted research on the McGinnis and Munns families. This meeting took place at the Sligo Genealogy Center in Sligo, Ireland. I covered a bit of the Munns/Monds side in another blog; however, this account covers findings on the McGinnis side. How I’m Tied to the McGinnises Growing up in Rock Rapids, IA, I was close to my maternal grandma, Isabelle Antoinette Kellihan Munns. I got to know her mother and my great-grandmother, Frances Mae Sample Kellihan, when I was in my early elementary years. She was a competitive little lady who didn’t like to…
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The Life of Bridget Ryan Kelly & Relatives: Transcript
This blog documents a written history about Bridget Ryan Kelly (my 3GGM). The narrative was passed down to me via my great-grandmother Irene Crelly Munns (Bridget Ryan Kelly’s granddaughter). Irene was an avid sharer and note taker on family history (the old-fashioned way before the internet). The memories were written down sometime after 1961 and before 1976, because 1961 is the latest year of reference for someone passing away. Also, there is no death date for George Kelly, who died in 1976. Content is transcribed exactly as written other than my notes for additional context as shown in italics. Note: I set aside my grammar-geek self and did not copy…
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Looking for Monds/Munns Cousins in Ireland
This summer, I’ll have the good fortune to travel to Ireland again! After visiting in 2017 with my husband, we’re going back and bringing our three kids on their first international trip. We were in Sligo when my husband told me this place was so magical, we must bring the kids someday. Also joining the adventure this year will be my mom, my aunt and my aunt’s husband. It’ll be my third trip, as I also visited during university in the late 1990s. My mom has been to Ireland once for a few days and only briefly visited Cork, Blarney Castle and Dublin. My aunt (mom’s sister) and uncle have…
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Munns Family Research with a Sligo Genealogist
In spring 2017, my husband and I visited various parts of the UK, Ireland and Germany – where we specifically chose some of our destinations to do family research for our own family trees. I did a lot of prework especially in Co. Sligo, Ireland, because my research had shown that both my maternal grandparents had ties there. I was especially interested in their background, since I had grown up very close to them. In Co. Sligo, I met with a genealogist in person for several hours. I had sent the local office in advance what background I had on both the Munns and McGinnis families – in hopes they…
- Galway, Germany, Iowa, Ireland, Jesse James, Kellihan, Munns/Monds, Payne, Robert Burns, Rock Rapids, Scotland
How the Genealogy Bug Bit Me
At more than 40 years old, I’ve been blessed to grow up around extended family, at least for one side of my family. (Unfortunately, my dad’s side lived at least a five-hours drive away in southern Iowa and northern Missouri.) When I was in second grade, we moved to my mom’s hometown of Rock Rapids, IA, where at first we lived a mile from my maternal grandparents, Gerald and Isabelle (Kellihan) Munns. Getting to Know My Grandparents For about five years, it took us just a few minutes to drive to grandma and grandpa’s house. There were also many summer days when we rode our bikes to their farmhouse. When…
