John Kelly from County Tyrone - emigrated to New Zealand (1807-1883)

Hello, we are coming to Ireland next year (very exciting !) and I'm trying to trace the roots of my partner's ancestor - John Kelly - who according to his death certificate was from County Tyrone. He arrived in Tasmania in 1836. And in New Zealand 1839. He was present at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi which was a very special privilege. He was a civil engineer and surveyor. When he left Ireland he belonged to the Corps of Royal Engineer's. 
His father was John Kelly and mother was Mary Stewart, according to his death certificate.
We would love to find out exactly where he was from and connect with family. Especially because we are both adopted so finding our ancestry is very important to us.
Would really appreciate any help as my research has come to a hard halt in Ireland.
Thankyou,
Cat and Ian

Hi Cat.

It certainly looks like you have made a super start on tracing your partner's family history!

As you probably already know, before 1864 records were kept in the form of church and parish records, and while some of these have regrettably been lost over the years, all the surviving records have been sorted into county-based genealogical centers. So for County Tyrone, this would be a good place to contact and also Roots Ireland.

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

Cathaoir 

I would recommend an examination of any surviving service/discharge/pension records for the Royal Engineers to see if they provide a more precise address in County Tyrone, such as parish or town, for John Kelly when he signed up. Many such military records can now be searched online on websites such as Ancestry and FindMyPast. 

I see also that the Royal Engineers Museum has produced a 2-page leaflet providing information on how to research ancestors who served for the Royal Engineers. It can be viewed at https://www.re-museum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/How-To-Research-Your-Family-History.pdf

Kelly is the second commonest family name in Ireland, after Murphy, and part of the reason is that, at least seven and possibly as many as ten distinct septs of the same name arose in different parts of the country. Kelly is the sixth most common name in Ulster, and the third most numerous in Counties Derry and Tyrone. 

The Kelly sept of Derry/Tyrone trace their lineage to Eogan, son of the 5th century High King of Ireland, Niall of the Nine Hostages, who ruled from the Hill of Tara, County Meath. By tradition, Eogan and his brother Conall Gulban conquered northwest Ireland,c.425 AD, capturing the great hill fort of Grianan of Ailech in County Donegal.

Hi Cat,

I hope you get a chance to look at some of the wonderful information and links Brian has provided, once again, a big thanks to him for his vast knowledge on this subject!

We would love to hear if this leads to some more details about your partners ancestor John Kelly, he sounds like a wonderful person.