Census Sunday - Keefe Family in Clinton County, Ohio

I posted yesterday about a possible connection between my Creeden family and the Keefe family in Clinton County, Ohio and Clondrohid, County Cork, Ireland. From the 1915 History of Clinton County, the Keefe family came to America in 1858 with a destination of Ohio. I expected to find the parents John and Johanna in the 1860 census, but didn't find an obvious match.

Hannah Keeff in 1860 Clinton County census

In the 1860 census for Wilmington in Clinton County, Hannah Keeff is a weekly laborer from Ireland. Hannah is the right age for the daughter of John and Johanna, so this could be a match.

Keeffs in the 1860 Clinton County census

I didn't find an exact match for John and Johanna, so it's possible this is another Keefe family. The ages for John, Tim, and James look close, but there is a Catharine in this family instead of Johanna.

Keefes in the 1870 Clinton County census

I had a little better luck with the 1870 census. Timothy Keefe is living with John and Johanna and the ages look close. They were indexed in Ancestry.com as Knife! I had thought this would be an easy name to search for, but I'm finding that the spellings vary a lot. I wasn't able to find a birth or baptism record for Timothy on the RootsIreland.ie site, but this Timothy would have been born about 1840. I found records for Julia and Peter Keefe, both born to John and Johanna in March 1840, but haven't found any further trace of Peter. Could Peter and Timothy be the same person?

James Keefe in the 1870 Clinton County census

James Keefe is living with his wife Ann Shea in the 1870 census and they have a 3 year old daughter Julia and a newborn son John. According to the History of Clinton County, James served in the Civil War, so that's another area to investigate. Also of interest is that Daniel and Catherine Creden are on the same census page as James in Liberty Township.

Keefes in the 1880 Clinton County census

In the 1880 census, Timothy is living with his wife Bridget, his mother Joanna, a nephew Dennis Casey and a niece Mary Casey. I don't know yet if the Casey family was related to Timothy or his wife Bridget. According to his death record, John died on March 16, 1873 and was born in 1803, but I didn't find a will for John in the Ohio Probate Records for Clinton County. James and his family are now living near Timothy in Wayne Township and he has two more daughters, Mary and Hannah. Also on that page are several members of the Matson family that are related to Timothy Creeden's wife, Mary Ann Matson.

Timothy Keefe in the 1900 Clinton County census

In the 1900 census, Timothy is living alone. He is widowed and his age is given as 65 with a year of birth of 1835. The year of immigration is unknown.

James Keefe in the 1900 Clinton County census

James and his family are living in the Union Township in 1900. James and Ann have been married 34 years and have 5 living children. James' year of immigration is given as 1858.

James Keefe in the 1910 Clinton County census

In 1910, James and Ann are living with their children Honora and James Jr. in Wilmington. Honora owns a milliner shop and James Jr. is working as a telegraph operator for the railroad office. James' year of immigration is given as 1856 and he is a naturalized citizen. James died on January 3, 1916. I didn't find a death record for Timothy, but didn't find him in the 1910 census. James Jr. and Honora didn't marry and were living together in the 1930 and 1940 census records. James Jr. continued to work for the railroad, while Honora ran her millinery shop.

Sources:

• Ancestry.com. 1860-1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]
• History of Clinton County, Ohio by Albert J. Brown, published in 1915 by B.F. Bowen & Co.
• "Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997," index, FamilySearch
• Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-2007 [database on-line]

Surname Saturday - Keefe

I first got interested in the Keefe family from Clinton County, Ohio while looking at the Creedon references in the 1915 History of Clinton County. I found an article that mentioned a Johanna Creedon married to John Keefe with children Timothy, Mary, James, Hannah, Patrick, and Julia. All of these names also appear in my 2x great-grandfather Timothy Creeden's family in Clinton County.

Excerpt from 1915 History of Clinton County, Ohio

The article in the history was about Joseph Kuebler and Julia Keefe. Julia was the daughter of James and Ann (Shea) Keefe, both natives of Ireland. Julia's grandparents were John Keefe and Johanna Creedon who came to America in April, 1858. James and Ann Keefe were both born in 1844.

Constantine passenger list, May 1858

The passenger list shown above is from the Constantine arriving in New York in May 1858. It shows a John and Johanna Keefe with a younger Pat, Honora, and James. They were all listed as being from Ireland with a destination of Ohio. That looks like a possible match, but where are Timothy, Mary, and Julia?

An 1876 atlas of Clinton County, Ohio shows that T. Keefe's property is very close to my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's land. I figured the families at least knew each other even if they weren't related.

When I found my 3x great-grandfather Patrick Creedan's will, there was a definite connection to the Keefe family. The executor of his will was Timothy Keefe and one of the witnesses was Bridget Keefe. Now I was really interested! I wondered if Johanna (Creedon) Keefe could be a sister or other relation of Patrick since they would be in the same age range.

I did a search on the RootsIreland.ie site for John Keefe and Johanna Creedon and found one possible match. John O'Keeffe was married to Johanna Creedan on February 23, 1830. Witnesses were William, Denis, and John Creedon and the marriage was performed in Clondrohid parish, County Cork. This is the third Creedon family in Clinton County with ties to Clondrohid! The first is my Patrick Creedan and the second is a note from another researcher that a Hannah and Timothy Creeden were married in Clondrohid in 1854. This Timothy died at sea on the passage to America in 1865.

I searched for children born to John and Johanna Keefe to see if they were a match for the Clinton County couple. I found the following baptisms listed: Patrick (1836), twins Julia and Peter (1840), Honora (1842) , and James (1844). I still didn't find anything for Timothy or Mary, but there was a Peter baptized on the same day as Julia. Patrick was baptized in Macroom and the O'Keeffe spelling was used. The other children were baptized in Kilnamartyra which borders the Clondrohid parish. Macroom is also a few miles away from Clondrohid. With those records, I can fill in a little more information on the family.

With the Creedan and probable Clondrohid ties, this family definitely needs more investigation. I'll follow up with posts on what I've found in the Ohio census and vital records for the Keefe families. Johanna and John are living with Timothy Keefe in some of the census records, so I have found a link to their son Timothy. This is a new family for me, so I'd love to hear from anyone else researching the Keefe families.

Wordless Wednesday - Pulskamp Group Shot

This photo was just labeled "Mrs. George Pulskamp". My great-grandfather George Pulskamp is on the right, but I'm not sure who the older gentleman is on the left. I think my great-grandmother Mary Gast Pulskamp is the 3rd from the right in the back row. My grandmother Anna Lee and her twin sister Emma Lee are the 2nd and 3rd girls in the middle row.

I recognize the woman standing next to George from one of my mystery photos!  I still don't know who she is, but at least I know now that she's connected to the Pulskamps. My grandmother was born in 1910, so I would guess this was taken sometime in the 1920s in Ohio.

Friday's Faces From the Past - Woman and Bicycle

This is another one of my unlabeled mystery photos. It may be my step-grandmother Hilda Kleinhenz Creeden and was probably taken in Mercer County, Ohio. If it is Hilda, it was probably in the mid 1930s.

Tombstone Tuesday - Robert Creeden and Hilda Kleinhenz Creeden

My grandfather Robert F. Creeden (1911-1995) and step-grandmother Hilda B. Kleinhenz Creeden (1903-1990) are buried in Calvary Cemetery in Kettering, Ohio. I hadn't known this before the picture was posted on FindAGrave, but Hilda's year of death is incorrect on the grave marker. It should be 1990 instead of 1989. Thanks much to Linda for posting the picture.