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 health. Unlike American men of the time, who fathered large families, William only had three children. He signed his name with an X, due to the lack of educational opportunities in famine-era Ireland.[3] We have no photographs of him either; he may never have had enough money to have his picture taken. This photograph is of part of a giant stone circle in Lough Gur, County Limerick, not far from where he lived.

Journey to America

In July 1863, at age 22, William departed Liverpool aboard the ship John Clark. The vessel arrived in New York City on July 17, with over three hundred passengers traveling in steerage. The passenger list recorded him as "Wm. Quinan"—the first of many spelling variations of his name in American records.

Also on the passenger list were Mary Quinan, 16, John Quinan, 18, and  Ellen Guinane, 24, possibly his siblings or cousins.[4]

Establishing Himself in New Jersey

Within a year of arrival, William had settled in Jersey City, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Just like today, it was cheaper to live outside of Manhattan. On April 12, 1864, he opened an account at the Emigrant Savings Bank in New York City, an institution created specifically to serve Irish immigrants settling in New York. These were the days before photo ID, so the bank recorded security questions. Its test book recorded valuable genealogical details: he was a laborer living at 266 Wayne Street in Jersey City, born in 1842 in County Limerick, arrived in 1863 on the John Clark, single, with a deceased father James Kinane and living mother Johanna Mulcahy.[5]

Marriage and Family

Between April 1864 and June 1866, William married Bridget Rourke or O’Rourke, also an Irish immigrant who arrived around 1864 or 1865. My aunt told me they had known each other in Ireland, though this has not been verified. Their first child, Mary (my great-grandmother), was born June 16, 1866, and baptized eight days later at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Jersey City.[6]

The young family lived in the heart of Jersey City's Irish immigrant community. William's mother-in-law, Catherine Rourke (widow of Patrick), lived with or near them for years.[7] The 1868 city directory shows William residing at 266 Wayne Street with Patrick Rourke, likely Bridget's father or brother.[8] Other neighbors bore Irish names: O'Brien, Welsh, Coyle, Ryan, McDonald.

William and Bridget had only three children; two survived the century’s high childhood mortality rate. After Mary, son John was born on 17 November 1867.[9] Their daughter Agnes, born October 31, 1869, died at just eight months old on May 18, 1870, and was buried in the pauper's section of Holy Name Cemetery.[10] They had no more children after that, despite being only in their mid to late twenties at a time of no birth control.

Working Life

For over fifty years, William worked physical labor jobs requiring little education. By 1880, he had advanced to "watchman," a security guard position.[11]

The 1900 census noted that although he was a day laborer, he had been employed all twelve months of the previous year—a mark of reliability in an era when seasonal unemployment was common for manual laborers.[12]

A Stable Household

Although, like most immigrants in the U. S.’ northeastern cities, William always rented an apartment, he moved less frequently than many. Unlike New York’s working poor, most of whom moved every year, he lived at the same address for years at a time. Jersey City directories, a precursor to phone books, show he stayed within Jersey City's Wayne Street neighborhood, a short distance from the docks.[13]

• 1863-1881: 200-300 blocks of Wayne Street
• 1880-1889: 297 Railroad Avenue (today it’s Christopher Columbus Dr., and one block north of Wayne Street)
• 1890-1893: 228 Wayne Street
• 1896: 241 Mercer Street (one block south of Wayne Street)
• 1897-1910: 43 Colgate Street (a few blocks further inland)
• 1914: 88 Brunswick Street

These addresses placed them consistently in Jersey City's working-class wards, surrounded by other Irish and German immigrant families.

Citizenship and Community

William became a naturalized U.S. citizen, though the naturalization papers have not been located.[14] He and Bridget attended St. Bridget's Church and served as godparents for relatives' children. In 1873, they sponsored the baptism of William Meany, son of Thomas Meany and Catherine Canaan—Catherine being William's sister who also lived in Jersey City.[15] William’s mother lived nearby, sometimes with Catherine, until Johanna’s death in 1881.[16]

By 1900, both William and Bridget could read, write, and speak English, suggesting they had gained literacy after immigration.

Final Years

In 1895, their daughter Mary married and moved out, but in the same neighborhood.[17] Their son John never married. He lived with them and worked as a plumber.

William's last year was spent at 88 Brunswick Street, a modest four-room apartment renting for $13 per month.[18]

 On or around June 16, 1914, he suffered a fractured femur (broken hip or thigh bone) that required hospitalization. After two months and eight days at Jersey City Hospital, prolonged immobility led to hypostatic pneumonia. William Kinane died on August 24, 1914, about 72 years old.[19] His death certificate identified his occupation as "Watchman, N.Y. Subway.”

His wife, listed simply as "Mrs. Kinnane of 88 Brunswick St.," provided information for his death certificate. She named his parents, James Kinnane and Johanna Mulcahy, the same as William stated on his bank record. She knew Johanna well. The death notice in the Jersey Journal announced his passing, with services at St. Bridget's Church.[20] Those notices often invited fellow members of fraternal organizations or labor unions, but there was no mention of them in William’s notice. He was buried at Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City, the same cemetery where his infant daughter Agnes had been laid to rest forty-four years earlier.[21]

Legacy

William Kinane's life embodied the experience of millions of Irish immigrants who rebuilt their lives in America following the Great Famine. Though he worked in manual labor his entire life and left no wealth or property, not even his own grave stone, he successfully established his family in their new country. His daughter Mary survived to become the compiler's great-grandmother, ensuring that William's journey from County Limerick to Jersey City would be remembered by future generations.

The very difficulty of tracing his life—with his name spelled variously as Quinan, Kinnan, Kennan, Keenan, Canaan, Canann, and Kinnane across different records—reflects the challenges faced by immigrants whose names were unfamiliar to American record-keepers. Yet through patient genealogical work, the outline of one ordinary immigrant's extraordinary journey emerges from the scattered documents he left behind.

 

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[1] “New York, Emigrant Savings Bank Records, 1850-1883,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8760/: accessed 22 Jan. 2026), Test Books > 1864 > image 114 of 355, entry for William Kinane, account no. 40,054; citing NYPL microfilm *R-USLHG*Z1-815, Roll 7, New York Public Library, New York City.

[2] St. Mary’s (Croom, County Limerick, Ireland), “Croom parish register Marr. May 6, 1806 – Mar. 3, 1829,” unpaginated, Jacobus Kinnane & Johannam Mulcahy, Feb. 1828; “Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61039/: accessed 23 Dec. 2026) > Limerick > Croom > 1806-1829 > image 130 of 137.

[3] Ibid, “New York, Emigrant Savings Bank Records, 1850-1883.”

[4] “New York, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1957,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 21 Jan. 2026) > Date > 1863 > Jul > 17 > John Clarke, Image 3 of 7, departed Liverpool, citing NARA Series M237, List 740.

[5] Ibid, “New York, Emigrant Savings Bank Records, 1850-1883.”

[6] St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Jersey City, N.J., Baptismal Register, unpaginated, 24 June 1866, Mary Canaan; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZZS-P72 : accessed 19 Dec. 2017) > IGN 7433480 >  image 673.

[7] For example, “U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/: accessed 25 Jan. 2026); 271 Wayne, Jersey City, N.J., 1871. Searches for William’s addresses in different years showed Catherine Rourke, widow of Patrick Rourke, and William Kinnear [sic] shared the same address. The 1868 directory showed Patrick Rourke and William Kinnan [sic] both living at 266 Wayne. Also, in 1875, both shared the same address at 308 Wayne, spelled William Keenan that time.

[8] State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 1725 (1929), Bridget Kinane, Jersey City, Hudson County, 29 April 1929; New Jersey State Dept. of Health and Senior Services.

[9] “New Jersey, Births and Christenings Index, 1660-1931,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2539/: accessed 31 Jan. 2026), John Kenagh [sic], Jersey City,. Note: parents William Kenagh and Bridget Rourke show John was the child of William Kinane.

[10] “New Jersey Births and Christenings, 1660-1980,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZWL-5L6: accessed 25 Jan. 2026), Agnes Canaan, 1869. "New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720-1988,” database and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZCH-RZQ: accessed 25 Jan. 2026) > IGN 004210798 > image 398, Agnes Canaan, 1870. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 31 Jan. 2026), memorial page for Agnes Canaan (31 Oct 1869–18 May 1870), Find a Grave Memorial no. 196997442, citing Saint Peter's Catholic Cemetery, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by DeerfieldmomNJ (contributor 47662213).

[11] “1880 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 2 Feb. 2026); entry for William Canann, 8th Precinct, 2nd District, ED 15, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, p. 6 (penned), sheet 411B (stamped), line 14, 297 Railroad Avenue, dwelling 22, family 54, image 6 of 57; from NARA roll 782.

[12] “1900 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 2 Feb. 2026); entry for William Kinane, 5th Ward, 6th Precinct, ED 113, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, p. 16 (penned), line 62, 43 Colgate, dwelling 112, family 317, image 32 of 38; from NARA series T623, FHL film 1240977.

[13] “U. S., City Directories, 1822-1995,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/: accessed 2 Feb. 2026); searches in Jersey City from 1863-1914, variants of the name William Kinane.

[14] Ibid, 1900 Census.

[15] St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, Jersey City, N.J., Baptismal Register, unpaginated, 12 Mar. 1873, William  Meany; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Dec. 2017) > IGN 7433474.

[16] 1870 United States Federal Census, Hudson County, New Jersey, population schedule, Sixth Ward, Jersey City, p. 154 sheet 77B, dwelling 449, family 1341, Johannah Kannan in household of Thomas Many; “1870 United States Federal Census,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7163/: accessed 29 Dec. 2024) > New Jersey > Hudson > Jersey City Ward 06 > image 154 of 210; from NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 867. For death, Office of the County Physician, Hudson County, New Jersey, Death Certificate, Johanna Kinnian [sic], 17 Mar. 1881; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, N.J. Note: the address given was the corner of Colgate St. and Mercer St.

[17] St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, Jersey City, N.J., Marriage Register no. 3, marriage no. 52, 28 November 1895, John Fennessy and Mary Kinane; “Church records, 1870-1942,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 19 Dec. 2017) > IGN 7433474 > image 848.

[18] “Flats,” The Jersey Journal, 29 Mar. 1912, p. 14, col. 3; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/1190410376/: accessed 19 Jan. 2026).

[19] State of New Jersey, death certificate, 24 August 1914, William Kinnane; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, N.J.

[20] “Died: Kinane,” The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), 25 August 2014, p. 11, col. 8; image, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com: accessed 4 Feb. 2026).

[21] “Find a Loved One,” database, Catholic Cemeteries (https://www.rcancem.org/find-a-loved-one-search/: accessed 4 Feb. 2026), Holy Name Cemetery, Section E, Section 16, Grave C, William Kinnane. Note: Bridget and John are buried there as Kinane, with one N. Their daughter Mary and her family are also buried in this plot.