My paternal GGF - John Kierce came from Ireland to NJ presumably through NYC (although this is uncertain - it could have been Boston, or through Canada) in the1880's. Am having trouble tracing him across the water, or finding when/where he died. I can find birth records of someone by this name, but the dates are significantly different. There are numerous immigration records in the right time frame, but I have yet to find a naturalization record to guide me to the right one.

Records I have thus far found (name spelling is all over the place, but that appears to be the norm):

"New Jersey, Marriages, 1678-1985,"
Name: John Kierce
Spouse's Name: Catherine Coane
Event Date: 16 Feb 1892
Event Place: Saint Patrick-Catholic,Jersey City,Hudson,New Jersey
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M59551-2
System Origin: New_Jersey-ODM
GS Film number: 1403370

1895 NY census for John; Kate, Tom, and Kate are also here (along with John Coan - presumed to be Kate Coan's brother)
Name: John Kierce
Race: White
Gender: Male
State: New Jersey
County: Hudson
Locality: Jersey City Ward 6
Family Number: 980
Roll: V227_79
Page: 113
LINE: 2

1900 Federal census:
Name: John Kurie
[John Kierce]
Age: 32
Birth Date: Aug 1867
Birthplace: Ireland
Home in 1900: Jersey City Ward 6, Hudson, New Jersey
Race: White
Gender: Male
Immigration Year: 1883
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Kate Kurie
Marriage Year: 1892
Years Married: 8
Father's Birthplace: Ireland
Mother's Birthplace: Ireland
Occupation: View on Image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
John Kurie 32
Kate Kurie 30
Thomas Kurie 7
Kate Kurie 5
James Kurie 4
(last name is mis-transcribed)

1910 Federal census:
Name: John Kearse
Age in 1910: 45
Birth Year: abt 1865
Birthplace: Ireland
Home in 1910: Jersey City Ward 8, Hudson, New Jersey
Race: White
Gender: Male
Immigration Year: 1887
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Catherine Kearse
Father's Birthplace: Ireland
Mother's Birthplace: Ireland
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
John Kearse 45
Catherine Kearse 40
Thomas Kearse 17
Catherine Kearse 15
James Kearse 13
Mary Kearse 9
Florence Kearse 7
Joseph Kearse 3
Thomas Lyndon 25
(note: John, but not Kate, is naturalized by this time)

1920 Federal census:
Name: John Kierce
[John Kierse]
[John Kearse]
Age: 54
Birth Year: abt 1866
Birthplace: New Jersey
Home in 1920: Jersey City Ward 8, Hudson, New Jersey
Street: Grant Ave
House Number: 162
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Catherine Kierce
Father's Birthplace: Ireland
Mother's Birthplace: Ireland
Occupation: Stationary Engineer
Industry: Standard Oil Co
Employment Field: Wage or Salary
Home Owned or Rented: Own
Home Free or Mortgaged: Mortgaged
Able to Read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
John Kierce 54
Catherine Kierce 48
Thomas Kierce 28
James Kierce 23
Marian Kierce 19
Florence Kierce 16
Veronica Kierce 7
Joseph Kierce 13
John Kierce 5
(Note: John is stated to have been born in Jersey City, but I believe that to be an error. Also Kate is now naturalized).

1930 Federal census:
Name: John Kierce
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1865
Birthplace: Irish Free State
[Ireland]
Race: White
Home in 1930: Jersey City, Hudson, New Jersey
Map of Home: View Map
Marital Status: Married
Immigration Year: 1886
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Katherine Kierce
Father's Birthplace: Irish Free State
Mother's Birthplace: Irish Free State
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
John Kierce 65
Katherine Kierce 60
Joseph Kierce 23
Vera Kierce 19
(The family continues into the 1940 census, but John has died sometime after 1930 presumably in NJ).

There are also 2 other families living in proximity in Jersey City in the early 1900's - that of Peter Kierce (b 1868)/Mary O'Neill (b 1870); married 16 February 1890, and that of Thomas Kierce (b 1868)/ Bridget Gavin (b 1862); married 23 June 1885 - who I believe to be either brothers or cousins of John, but I have been unable to make any connection. All but (possibly) Peter are also immigrants at about the same time; Peter is variously listed as being born in NJ or Ireland. (If anyone is interested, I have similar data to the above on both of these two families).

Any help with connections or hints back to Ireland would be most appreciated.