ANCESTOR NO. 20: WILLIAM KINANE
My Great Great Grandfather William Kinane: An Irish Immigrant's Life in Jersey City William Kinane (pronounced Kin-ANN, according to my aunt, his great-granddaughter), lived the archetypal Irish immigrant story of nineteenth-century America—crossing the Atlantic to escape extreme poverty, settling in the industrial neighborhoods of New Jersey, and working manual labor jobs for five decades to provide for his small family. Origins in County Limerick William was born in County Limerick, Ireland, though the exact year and place remains uncertain. Various records suggest birth years ranging from 1841 to 1847. His parents were James Kinane and Johanna Mulcahy. [1] His parents married in Croom parish in Limerick, and they lived in Dunaman when several of their children were baptized in Croom parish, so William was probably also born there. [2] The parish is about a half hour drive from Shannon Airport. William grew up during the Great Famine. It probably affected his hea...