The Manning's and the Cahill's
The Manning's of County Kerry
We can trace our Manning ancestry to Eugene Manning and Julia Brenan, of County Kerry. Eugene, who came from the townland of Lacka, parish of Kenmare, County Kerry, married Julia Brenan on October 8, 1852. The witnesses that October day were Peter Sullivan and Dermot Carey. The Rev. P. O'Connor officiated.
Julia (Brennan) Manning, gave birth to the oldest of her seven children Daniel Manning, our ancestor, on May 15, 1853. The Maning family were residing in the townland of Templenoe, town of Kenmare, County Kerry at the time. The Kenmare Parish church records list Daniel's six siblings as follows: Jane, was born in 1855; Mary, was born in 1857; Eugene, was born in 1860; Bridget, was born in 1862; Patrick, was born in 1865; and, Julia, was born in 1868.
County Kerry, the land of the Manning's, is also the land of the Keliher's. James Keliher, then only 17 years of age, arrived in New York Harbor on March 14, 1851. He was renamed by immigration officials as James Kaylor. The Keliher's came from Killorglin, County Kerry, not far from where the Manning's resided in Kenmare, County Kerry.
County Kerry, is a maritime county of the province of Munster, bounded on the East by the counties of Limerick and Cork; on the North by the estuary of the Shannon (which separates it from Clare); on the West by the Atlantic; and, on the South by the Atlantic and the county of Cork.
Ptolemy, the Hellenistic geographer from Alexandria (A.D.127-151), opined that the inhabitants of County Kerry, were descended from the Iberi of Spain, which country lies opposite of Kerry. Even today, in the 21st century, the Irish will point to the dark hair of the Kerryites as evidence of that ancestry.
One has only to look at the black hair of Travis Manning Kaylor (born 1979), Travis' father, Brian Kaylor (born 1947); Travis' sister, Ashley Kaylor (born 1984); and, Travis' own daughter, Vivian Kaylor (born 2017), to know how prescient were Ptolemy's second century observations.
Daniel Manning and his family arrived at Castle Garden, located in New York Harbor around 1867. The family settled in Worcester, Massachusetts.
On August 9, 1884, in Worcester, Massachusetts, 31 year old Daniel Manning married, 31 year old Honora Cahill. The Catholic priest, Rev. J.L. Tarpey, married the young Irish couple.
The Cahill's of County Clare
Honora Cahill, had emigrated to the United States from County Clare, Ireland. Honora's parents, our ancestors, were Peter Cahill and Ann Barry. County Clare, the land of the Cahill's, is a maritime county of the province of Munster, bounded on the south by the river Shannon. (A circa 1910 photo of Honora (Cahill) Manning and three of her sons, appears in the accompanying 'Family Photo History' album)
Peter Cahill and Anne Barry, married in the ecclesiastical parish of Kilmaley, County Clare, on February 10, 1847. Their witnesses at the wedding ceremony were Thomas Barry and John Cahill.
Peter and Anne (Barry) Cahill, were rather prolific. They had nine children between the years 1849 and 1873. They were: Patrick Cahill (born 1849); Mary Cahill (born 1852); *our ancestor Honora Cahill (born 1853); Catherine Cahill (born 1858); John Cahill* (born 1861);
Margaret Cahill (born 1863); Michael Cahill (born 1868); Peter Cahill (born 1869; and, Thomas Cahill (born 1973).
Kilmaley Parish, County Clare
Kilmaley Parish is the largest parish in County Clare. Every hill in the parish still holds the ancient remains of a fort or rath -- about 30 forts in all. The nine Cahill children were all born in the townland of Letteragh, Kilmaley Parish. A townland is the smallest rural division of a parish. Letteragh is approximately 2,072 acres, about 2 miles southwest of the village of Kilmaley. The village is 8 kilometers (5 mi) west of Ennis.
The name "Kilmaley" came from the Irish language "Cill Mhaile" which translates to Church of (Saint) Maley. The Kilmaley River runs through the ancient village. It is certain that the Cahill children, including our ancestor, Honora Cahill, were well acquainted with the river.
Daniel Manning and Honora (Cahill) Manning, had four sons: Eugene Joseph Manning (1885 -- 1959), Daniel Francis Manning (1887 -- 1972), William Peter Manning (1890 -- 1965) and Vincent DePaul Manning (1892 -- 1962), our ancestor.
Vincent DePaul Manning, married Irene Frances Hall, of New York. The Manning's had three daughters: Aileen (Manning) Kehoe, our ancestor, who was born on December 9, 1924; Cathryn Manning, who died at the age of three in 1930; and, Anne Marie Manning, who was born on August 18, 1931.
Vincent DePaul Manning, would become the father of Aileen (Manning) Kehoe, the grandmother of Aileen (Kehoe) Kaylor, the great grandfather of Travis Manning Kaylor, Brooke (Kaylor) Niederpruem, Ashley Kaylor and Brendan Kaylor.
Anne Marie Manning, married John William LaValley in 1953. The LaValley's had three sons: John, Eugene and Joseph. John LaValley, attended medical school and became a renowned cancer researcher.
Anne Marie (Manning) LaValley, passed away in Athens, Georgia, in December of 2021, at 90 years of age. She was one of the last to still carry the Manning name. Travis Manning Kaylor (born 1979), is the last.
Laborer Daniel Manning, who was born in County Kerry, Ireland, succumbed at the age of 37 years. His youngest son, Vincent DePaul Manning, wouldn't be born until after his father's death.