Igoe Family Research

My wife and I are seeking family history information on the linage of her grandmother Mary Helen Igoe, born 23 Nov 1890, Kansas City Mo., Married George R. White, born 18 Apr 1879, Smith County Kansas.
Mary Helen’s father was John E. “jack”Igoe, Born 25 Dec 1863, Ireland. He married Eva May Foust, Born 14 Mar 1868 Wisconsin.
John’s father was Bartholomew Phillip Igoe, Born about 1825 Ireland, married Bridget Donaugher, born about 1833 Ireland.
I am sorry, we do not know where in Ireland John, Bartholomew or Bridget were born. We have nothing past Bartholomew except we have been told the Igoe family came to the United States and settled in the Chicago area.
Several of the Igoe men became lawyers. We would love to be able to trace this Igoe family back two or three more generations, but we just don’t have and can’t find any information that will allow us to do so.
It seems like this Igoe family became a puff of smoke and just dissolved off the face of the earth.
We would greatly appreciate any assistance or help your group can provide in our search.

Hi Phillip, 

It's lovely that you are helping your wife find out more about her Igoe ancestors! During Griffith's Valuation (1847-1864) there were 44 households by that name, so it's not a very common name. 

Before 1864 records were kept in the form of church and parish records; while some of these have regrettably been lost over the years, all the surviving records have been sorted into county-based genealogical centres. This means it is important to know where the ancestors you're looking for were from because that way you can get in touch with the right centre. Do you happen to know where on the island they emigrated from? This might lead to a clue to where they were from. 

You can also browse through the church records to see if there are any relatives or clues. Do you happen to have any names of relatives of John, Bartholomew or Bridget? 

I hope this was helpful, and that some of the experts here can provide you with more resources. :)

Merlin, thank you so very much for the response and additional information. I just printed out a map of all the counties in Ireland. I will start searching each county for Igoe's. It's not a monumental task so I can do it in two or three days time. I'm retired so have the time to spend researching. Would you happen to have a list of the names of the county centers? If I had a list it would save some time.
Thanks and have a blessed day.
Phil Daniel
I have my linage documented back to the early 1600's from Wales. The first person was a Robert Daniell who came to Charleston South Carolina through Barbados. He was granted thousands of acres of land just north east of Charleston. It was an island and still carries the last name today (Daniel Island). He was governor of the Carolina's. The line migrated south to Georgia then West to Alabama (where I am from) and on west to California (where I now live). 

Thank you for your reply, Phillip! :) 

It's amazing that you were able to trace your ancestry this far back. When you scroll down on the National Library of Ireland page you can find an overview of the genealogy centres for each county. 

I'm glad you've got the time to research! I find it a wonderful way of keeping busy. :) Keep us posted on your findings, I'd love to hear more about what you're able to uncover about the Igoe family. 

Best of luck! 

Hi Phillip

If record sources in US and wider family circle hold no information as to the county of origin of your Igoe ancestors I would recommend that you examine the 2 major databases of historic Irish birth and marriage databases, i.e. www.irishgenealogy.ie and www.rootsireland.ie, to see if you can identify potential birth entries of John and siblings to  parents Bartholomew Phillip and Bridget Igoe.