Another Irish Kilner Newman

Someone has been working on an enormous Newman one name study, which has over 16,000 people with the last name of Newman. The site lists only one Kilner -- Kilner Peacock Newman, born in Dec. 1848, in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland. His parents are Thomas Newman, 1807-1855, and Mary Anne Peacocke, 1819 - 1870, both of the same town.

No new revelations to be gotten from this, I think. But hey, if you're collecting Kilner Newmans, you want to be sure you catch them all.

A Century Old Question: Who are these Kilners?

I turned this up in the Ulster journal of archaeology of 1909, by Ulster Archaeological Society, while using a certain popular search engine:

I would be glad to know, as well.


That is all for today.

Celebrity Genealogy: Kilner as Surname

Here in the U.S., perhaps as part of a media blitz in the run-up to the national census, there's suddenly a lot of shows about genealogy on the tube. One of them, Who Do You Think You Are, is a poor spinoff of its long-running British cousin of the same name. The U.S. version is prone to sappy musical montages and weepy-eyed revelations, where the U.K. version tends toward ironic self-mocking and witty asides -- much more to my tastes, anyway.

So while I was delving around, speculating about what hero among men might have borne the last name of Kilner who might have been so awe-inspiring as to cause generations of Newmans to name their sons after him, I was delighted to find an episode on the BBC edition of WDYTYA featuring Jeremy Clarkson, a host on the automobile enthusiasts programme, "Top Gear," as he explores the Kilner heritage on his mother's side.

Kilner N. Black: Liverpudlian Nephew?

In February 1919, the H.M.T. (His Majesty's Transport) Olympic arrived at New York, from Liverpool, carrying U.S. soldiers home from World War I. Among its crew was a steward named Kilner N. Black, 44 years old. His "race" is given as Irish, while his nationality is given as English. He shipped at Liverpool, on 12 Feb 1919, and was to remain aboard as crew on the return trip. As long as we're being thorough, he was literate, 5'6", 140 lbs., with no distinguishing marks.

(Click "Read More" for the exciting conclusion, and brilliant tidbits of maritime trivia...)

Other people named Kilner Newman

I said in an earlier post that if you find two Kilner Newmans, it's a good bet they're related. We can put that to the test. In addition to Kilner Newman of Ireland and the Bronx, New York, and the Kilner Newman born 1882 in Rathsaran, Co. Laois, Ireland, here are some others for whom I have not yet been able to establish a relationship.

Can anyone find more info on any of these people?

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Name: John Thomas Kilner Newman

Born: August 12, 1892, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Died: October 11, 1916 , died in war, cause unknown, age 23

Buried: Vimy Memorial, France

Military Service: Private, Canadian Infantry,

Battalion: 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles

Company: C Company

Enlisted at Toronto, July, 1915.

Source: Canadian Great War Project 

Photo and Newspaper Clippings: Veteran Affairs Canada 

Father: Robert William Newman

     Born: 1862 in Ireland, immigrated to Canada in 1880

     Occupation: Carpenter

Mother: Elizabeth Anne Newman

     born 1859 in England, immigrated to Canada in 1861

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                                                            (Click "Read More" to, well, read more...)

Did Kilner name one of his sons after Cardinal Newman?

All right, this is interesting: I think Kilner's 7th son, John Henry Newman, was very likely named after John Henry Newman, who caused a sensation by leaving the Episcopal priesthood and joining the Catholic Church, in 1845.

(Click "Read More" to, well, read more...)

First Project: Linking the Kilners

We start with two Kilner Newmans, one who came to America from Ireland, about 1848-49, and another who was born in 1882 in Rathsaran, Laois, Ireland, nearly 50 years later. It's a delightfully unusual name that is very useful in genealogy because it doesn't return a thousand false leads when you enter it into a search box. If you find two of them, it's a good guess that they were related.

Here is what we know about the "American" Kilner. Beyond the name, can we link any of this information to the later Kilner of Rathsaran?

Name: Kilner Newman

Birthdate: 28 Feb 1829

(Click "Read More" to, well, read more...)