Are You Connected to the Kenny-Connors Line?
If your family research overlaps with the Two Families, One Story documentary biography series, this page is for you.
The Kenny-Connors research traces two County Wexford families through the fishing communities of Newfoundland, the tenant farms of Prince Edward Island, and on to Chicago — four generations across two continents, 1776–1985. Family research like this is better as shared work: documented trees, DNA matches, family papers, and family stories from cousin researchers can all move it forward, and contributions are acknowledged in published research according to each contributor’s preference.
Research collaboration is informal, peer-to-peer, and reciprocal. There is no fee, no client engagement, no formal arrangement — just shared work on shared ancestry. (Prospective genealogy clients are welcome to use the main contact page instead.)
Two Families of Lot 34
The series centers on two Irish families who settled as neighbors on Lot 34, Prince Edward Island — the 1863 Lake Map shows “L. Kenny” and “H. Connors” with their properties separated only by the road their children walked to court each other.
The Kenny Family — Lot 34, Covehead Road
Lawrence Kenny & Catherine Corcoran. Children include James (1832–1872, m. Margaret Connors), Alice (b. 1835, m. Connors), and Bridget (b. 1838, m. Edward Connors). Lawrence remarried Bridget Connors in 1868.
Descendants: PEI and Chicago linesThe Connors Family — Lot 34, Friston Road
Hugh Connors & Mary Henesy. Children include Margaret (1840–1925, m. James Kenny), Edward (~1842–~1881, m. Bridget Kenny), and Bridget (b. 1832, m. Lawrence Kenny) — plus six more: Moses, John, David, Hugh Jr., Ann, and Mary.
Descendants: PEI line and beyondThree weddings, 1866–1868: James Kenny m. Margaret Connors (November 26, 1866) · Bridget Kenny m. Edward Connors (February 26, 1867) · the widowed Lawrence Kenny m. Bridget Connors (November 16, 1868). Two families, intermarried three times over — and possibly intermarrying since a 1776 Kenny-Connors marriage in New Ross, County Wexford.
For the full documented story, see the series landing page: Two Families, One Story: The Kenny-Connors Line.
The Kenny-Connors Surname Signature
Core Family Lines
Kenny · Connors
Allied by Marriage
Corcoran · Henesy, Hennessy · O’Connor (Castleisland, County Kerry) · Casey
Geographic path: County Wexford (including New Ross) → St. John’s, Newfoundland → the timber camps of New Brunswick → Lot 34, Prince Edward Island (Covehead and Friston Road, the Montgomery Estate) → Chicago, Illinois from the late 1870s onward. The O’Connor line enters in Chicago from Castleisland, County Kerry. If your family record places ancestors along any stretch of this path in the 1770s through the 1900s, your research may overlap with this series.
What You Might Bring to This Research
Forms of contribution that move research like this forward:
- Documented family trees — pedigrees with source citations for Wexford, Kerry, Newfoundland, PEI, or the Chicago Irish community
- DNA test results — from Ancestry, 23andMe, MyHeritage, or FamilyTreeDNA, especially kits uploaded to GEDmatch where chromosome comparison is possible
- Record access in Ireland or Atlantic Canada — Wexford and Kerry parish registers, or PEI and Newfoundland records that are difficult to retrieve from a distance
- Family oral history — the stories your elders carried, even when they conflict with documented records
- Photographs, letters, and family papers — emigration letters, naturalization documents, family Bibles, and similar materials from the relevant timeframe
Open Research Questions
The Wexford Question
What were the families’ origins in County Wexford? A 1776 marriage record — John Kenny to Catherine Connors in New Ross — suggests these families may have been intermarrying for generations before they reached Canada. Researchers with documented Kenny or Connors ancestry in Wexford, or with access to Wexford parish registers, would meaningfully advance this question.
The Other Connors Children
Hugh Connors and Mary Henesy raised nine children on Friston Road. The series documents Margaret, Edward, and Bridget in depth — but descendants of the other six (Moses, John, David, Hugh Jr., Ann, and Mary) carry lines this research would welcome. If you descend from any of them, your branch helps complete the family picture.
The Chicago Generations and the O’Connor Line
Captain Thomas Patrick Kenny married twice — to sisters Mary and Ellen O’Connor, whose family came from Castleisland, County Kerry. Researchers with documented O’Connor ancestry from the Castleisland area, or with ties to the Chicago Irish community where the Kenny descendants settled, may hold pieces of this part of the story.
How to Reach Out
The form below is the most effective way to begin. The fields are designed to give us both the right starting context — what you have, what you’re looking for, and how our research might intersect.
I read every inquiry personally and respond as I am able — typically within a week, sometimes longer for inquiries that require research before a substantive reply.
Privacy and Use of Submitted Information
Information shared through this form is used only for research collaboration purposes. Names, DNA kit identifiers, family details, and other personal information are not shared with third parties, are not added to public-facing pages without explicit permission, and are anonymized (initials only) in any subsequent publication unless you indicate a preference for full attribution.
Living individuals are not named in published research. Deceased ancestors documented in primary sources are named in full as part of standard genealogical practice. If you have specific privacy preferences for your contribution, please indicate them in your inquiry and they will be respected.
If you’d prefer to reach out directly rather than through the form, email mary@storylinegenealogy.com.
Genealogy Is Better as Shared Work
Every documented connection in this series began with a record someone preserved — a parish register, a probate file, a family story written down. Your family records, your DNA matches, and your family stories may be the next piece that moves this research forward. Thank you for considering the work.