Joe,

Sorry I just sent you an incomplete message by hitting the wrong button.

I went to Ireland in January and spent a couple hours at the priest house in Tournafulla going through the baptismal records (which start at 1867 because earlier books were lost).

I'm trying to find the names of my great-grandfather's parents. My great-grandfather, Denis Ward, was born around 1866 (and there is no civil record for his birth).

From 1867 to 1876 there were 7 Ward families in the Tournafulla & Knocknadiha area having children baptised at the Tournafulla church.

The 7 Ward families were:

Thomas Ward & Hannah Flanigan
Patrick P. Ward & Margaret Hourigan
Thomas Ward & Margaret Sullivan
Denis Ward & Margaret Harnett
Martin John Ward & Johanna Murphy
Richard Ward & Johanna Corbett
John P. Ward & Ellen Mulcahy

I know for sure that neither Martin John Ward nor Richard Ward were Denis Ward's father.

I know from the 1901 census records that the above listed Denis Ward and John P. Ward were brothers. For a number of reasons I won't go into here, I don't believe the above-listed Denis Ward was the father of my great-grandfather.

After 1867 I found two baptisms of a Cornelius Ward. The first was on May 10, 1868 and that Cornelius Ward was the son of Patrick P. Ward and Margaret Hourigan. The second baptism was on August 5, 1869 and that Cornelius was the son of John P. Ward and Ellen Mulcahy. The second Cornelius is listed on the 1901 census living with his father, John (who was then a widow) and his brother, Patrick.

Do you know the name of your ggf's parents?

I can send you a complete list of all the Ward baptisms, dates and sponsors if you would like it.

Hopefully we can compare our information to determine if we have a common connection.

Ray Lynch