A ride through Killarney
When I found out my paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Smith, I laughed and prepared for an uphill challenge in this ancestry detective work. A 3rd great-grandfather named John Smith, that threw me for a loop but only momentarily. I got on that genealogy “train” and headed straight for Michigan, in computer land that is. However, I never expected to find so many of my own surname living in close proximity.
Growing up, the only people I knew with the surname of Deeny were related to me. In all my schooling I never once met anyone else with the same last name. I felt unique and special in knowing that my name was different. Not that it was easy to spell or pronounce apparently. We frequently got “Denny” or “Deeney”, so I picked up the habit of spelling it out for the ease of both parties. Since starting along the family history path, I’ve since learned that the Deeny name has had many spelling origins. My great-great-grandfather, Thomas, spelled it “Deeney” – and he was the one who immigrated from Ireland sometime prior to 1886. However, turns out the Deeny/Deeney name traces much, much further back in Ireland. From research done by distant cousins a few generations older than me, I learned that Deeny is linked back to Dhuibhne. I am in the midst of learning more about that connection and added Northern Ireland to my list of must-visit places.
Turns out there were many Deenys and Deeneys living in Philadelphia around the same time that my 2nd great-grandparents called Philly home. However, connecting those Deenys with MY Deenys has proved unsuccessful. Whether they were cousins or of no relation, I just don’t know. In doing further research of present day Deenys, there are many of us not only in the States but a great number back across the ocean, in Ireland and England. Thanks to the wonders of social media, I’ve found some international Deeny relations and hope one day to return back to the land my ancestors emigrated from so many years ago.
In the meantime, I’m busy tracing the lines and connecting the dots of just which Deenys are branches or leaves on my family tree!
Happy searching,
Kelly
Branches and Leaves 