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James McKenna (b. 1833?)

Probable Ballyduhig-born father of Philip Joseph McKenna I; husband of Margaret Sheahan; Mount Trenchard / South Cappa farmer. The Ballyduhig birth is a strong candidate, not yet a closed proof.

Best Evidence

1. Proven

   The 1911 Book of Chicagoans names Philip Joseph McKenna I as born at Mt. Trenchard, Foynes, son of James and Margaret (Sheahan) McKenna.

2. Proven

   Irish civil births at Ballynash, 1864-1875, name the same parents: James McKenna / M'Kenna, farmer, and Margaret McKenna / M'Kenna formerly Sheahan.

3. Likely

   Margaret M'Kenna died at South Cappa on 29 Sep 1886, age 54, wife of farmer, with James McKenna as informant.

4. Likely

   James M'Kenna died at South Cappa on 11 Jun 1888, widower, farmer, age 50, with Pat M'Kenna, son, as informant.

5. Likely

   The Ballyduhig baptism of James Gnaw, 25 May 1833, is the strongest current record-level candidate for James's origin. The age on the likely 1888 death implies birth about 1838, but civil death ages can be off by several years.

6. Open

   The bridge still needs James + Margaret's marriage, a Foynes / Loughill baptism, a valuation-revision trail, or an estate-paper entry tying Ballyduhig James to South Cappa / Mount Trenchard.

Mount Trenchard James McKenna Record Ledger

Record audit added 26 May 2026: the Mount Trenchard-area record set now gives more than five documentations for James McKenna senior, husband of Margaret Sheahan. The full ledger is in raw/james-mckenna-mounttrenchard-record-ledger-2026-05-26.md. It also separates him from James McKenna junior, born at South Cappa in 1894, so the two men do not get merged.

The same ledger also pins nine records for James McKenna junior: his 1894 South Cappa birth, the 1901/1911/1926 census appearances, his 1935 marriage to Anne Bridgeman, the 1967 death, and three family-informant records tying him to Thomas, Elizabeth/Bessie, and Edward/Edmond McKenna.

Original Documents

The source images below are the local copies of the original documents behind the current James page. The Ballyduhig James baptism image itself still needs to be saved locally; the parish-index finding is preserved in the north-Kerry sweep note linked at the bottom of this page.

Ballyduhig / Griffith's Valuation

South Cappa Parent Deaths

Ballynash Child-Birth Register Cluster

These civil registrations prove James McKenna / M'Kenna and Margaret formerly Sheahan as the Ballynash parents of Philip Joseph McKenna I's younger sibling cluster.

Mount Trenchard Follow-Through

These documents follow James and Margaret's proved South Cappa / Mount Trenchard line after James's death, especially through their son Thomas McKenna and his household.

The full townland-level census audit is logged at raw/mounttrenchard-census-exhaustive-search-2026-05-26.md: the surviving official online Mounttrenchard/Mountrenchard census trail is 1901, 1911, and 1926; no indexed pre-1901 fragment was found.

Candidate Ballyduhig Origin

The 26 May 2026 nearby-parish sweep found no direct baptism for James as a child of Thomas McKenna (1772-1835) and Jane Foulkes. Instead, it found a better next-generation candidate: James in the Ballyduhig household of Thomas McKenna / Gna / Gnaw and Elizabeth Dunn / Dunne.

Foynes / Mount Trenchard Household

James's Foynes identity is firmer than his Ballyduhig origin. Philip Joseph McKenna I's Chicago biography names James and Margaret Sheahan as parents, and official Irish civil records prove a James + Margaret formerly Sheahan household at Ballynash from 1864 through 1875.

How James Would Connect

1. James Gnaw, baptized Ballyduhig 25 May 1833, was the son of Thomas Gna + Elizabeth Dunne.
2. That father, Thomas Gna / McKenna of Ballyduhig, matches Thomas McKenna (d. 1870), the Ballyduhig Griffith's occupier and son named on the Kilshenane headstone.
3. The Kilshenane headstone explicitly calls Thomas d. 1870 their son after Thomas McKenna (1772-1835) and Jane Foulkes.
4. If the Ballyduhig James is the same man as James of South Cappa, the line becomes: Thomas McKenna (1772-1835) -> Thomas McKenna (d. 1870) -> James McKenna / Gnaw (b. 1833?) -> Philip Joseph McKenna I.

Next Targets

1. OpenFind James McKenna + Margaret Sheahan's church marriage, probably in late Glin, early Loughill / Ballyhahill, or Shanagolden / Foynes registers, about 1855-1860.
2. OpenFind Philip Joseph McKenna I's baptism and Thomas McKenna's about-1860 baptism to confirm sponsors and parish location.
3. OpenPull Valuation Office revision books for Ballyduhig plot 10 to see whether James disappears, transfers, or is replaced in a way consistent with moving to Limerick.
4. OpenSearch Monteagle estate papers for a James McKenna tenancy, hiring, rent, or correspondence entry at Mount Trenchard / South Cappa.

Primary local notes: raw/north-kerry-rc-thomas-jane-children-sweep-2026-05-26.md; raw/mounttrenchard-irish-records-philip-parents-siblings-2026-05-24.md; raw/james-margaret-sheahan-children-verification-2026-05-13.md; raw/ballyduhig-thomas-ginna-griffith-plot-10a-2026-05-25.md; raw/mounttrenchard-south-cappa-mckenna-records-2026-05-25.md. Related pages: Thomas McKenna (d. 1870); Philip Joseph McKenna I; Kerry & Foynes descendants; Listowel descendants & Kilshenane grave.