9: Sinnott y Comerford and Kelly y Comerford of Wexford and Argentina

Willie Sinnott y Comerford, who died in Buenos Aires in 1940: the Comerford name continued in his family in Argentina

Patrick Comerford

The Comerford family name continued to be used in Argentina by two families whose direct male line of descent was derived from a Kelly and a Sinnott family in Co Wexford.

The sisters Margaret and Bridget Comerford, who moved to Argentina, married into the Kelly and Sinnot families. Evidence indicates that Bridget was the same Bridget Comerford, who was born in Dublin in 1847, daughter of Robert Comerford of Wexford Town and Bunclody and his wife Rose French [see Chapter 8: Comerford of Bunclody and Dublin].

Margaret Comerford married James Kelly in the 1850s and Bridget Comerford married James Sinnott in the 1860s. The Comerford name continued to be used with these two family names in various combinations by their descendants in Buenos Aires and other parts of Argentina until late in the 20th century.[1]

MARGARET COMERFORD (1836-1921) was born in Ireland in 1836 and died on 18 July 1921. She married James Kelly (1815-post 1895). He was born in Ireland, and they both emigrated to Argentina. They had six children, three sons and three daughters:

1, Isabel ‘Lizzie’ Kelly y Comerford (1859-1923), who married Edward ‘Eduardo’ Kehoe y Robins (1859-1911), and of whom next (see below).
2, Catalina Kelly y Comerford (1864-1947). She married Nicolás ‘Nicholas’ Kavanagh y Brure, and of whom after her sister Lizzie (see below).
3, Eduard Kelly y Comerford (1877- ), born in 1877.
4, Elena Kelly y Comerford (1880- ), born in 1880.
5, Santiago Kelly y Comerford.
6, Juan Kelly y Comerford ( -1949). He died on 18 August 1949. He married on 26 October 1912 in Chascomús Enriqueta Wilson y Gardiner, daughter of Enrique Wilson O’Connor and Anna Gardiner y MacDonnell. They have living descendants.

The eldest daughter of Margaret Comerford and James Kelly was:

ISABEL ‘LIZZIE’ KELLY y COMERFORD (1859-1923). She was born in 1859, died on 25 November 1923, and is buried in San Isidore. She married Edward ‘Eduardo’ Kehoe y Robbins (1859-1911), son of John Kehoe y Redmond (1821-1890) from Co Wexford and his wife Julia Robbins y Egan (1832-1877) from Co Offaly. John and Julia had settled as sheep-farmers in San Pedro, 157 km north-west of Buenos Aires; another son, José Kehoe y Robbins, married Lizzie’s niece, Anna Margarita Kavanagh (Cabana) y Kelly (see below). Edward Kehoe y Robbins was born on 23 August 1859 in San Pedro and died on 15 August 1911.

Lizzie and Eduardo were the parents of:

1, Juan José ‘Johnnie’ Kehoe y Kelly (1880-1950). He married Catalina Brennan (d. 1954). They had a son and a daughter and have living descendants.
2, Catalina María ‘Bunty’ or ‘Kathleen’ Kehoe y Kelly (d. 1954). She married on 14 November 1911 Pedro José ‘Peter’ Dolan y Murray (1890-1947), brother of Juan José ‘Jack’ Dolan y Murray (1887-1970), who married Kathleen’s sister Mary (see below). Kathleen and Peter have living descendants.
3, Margarita Josefina ‘Maggie’ Kehoe y Kelly (1883-1951). She married on 12 December 1914 her cousin Juan Ricardo ‘Jack’ Sinnott y Comerford (1871-1939), son of James Sinnott and his wife Bridget Comerford (see below). She died on 29 November 1951. They have living descendants.

Luly Kehoe y Kelly and her husband Jack Richards y Doyle in 1939

4, Julia Maria ‘Luly’ Kehoe y Kelly (1884-1968). She married on 28 June 1905 Juan Carlos ‘Jack’ Richards y Doyle. She died on 19 May 1968. They have living descendants.

Jack Dolan y Murray (1887-1969), his wife Mary Kehoe y Kelly (1888-1969) with their family in 1929

5, Maria Julia ‘Mary’ Kehoe y Kelly (1888-1969). She married on 6 November 1915 Juan José ‘Jack’ Dolan y Murray (1887-1970) of Capilla del Señor. His brother, Pedro José ‘Peter’ Dolan y Murray (1890-1947) married Mary’s sister Kathleen (see above). Mary and Peter have living descendants. Three of their sons – Luis (1921-2000), Guillermo (1927-1974) and Heriberto (born 1923) – were Catholic priests, while another son, Dr Mario Alberto Dolan (1918-2002), studied medicine with Ernesto Che Guevara and was the founder of the Irish-Argentine Society of New York. Their eldest son, the Revd Luis Dolan, CP (1921-2000), graduated from Fordham University, New York, and worked as missionary in villages and estancias in Argentina. He died on 15 October 2000 in New York.
6, Santiago ‘James’ Kehoe y Kelly. He died on 19 October 1888, aged 10 months, of diphtheria.
7, Eduardo Kehoe y Kelly (1895-1911). He was born in 1895 in San Pedro. He lived for many years in Asunción and Concordia in Paraguay, where he was the manager of a meat-packing company in Paraguay. He died in Concordia, Paraguay, on 7 December 1941. He married Maria Wilson y Gardiner, whose sister Enriqueta married his uncle, Juan Kelly y Comerford (see above). They have living descendants, and their grandchildren include: the folk musician Gustavo Kehoe (b. 1958); and Gloria Kehoe (1954-1977), a prize-winning short-story writer and partner of Adolfo Infante Allende (1940-1977). Gloria and Adolfo were abducted by a navy death squad in 1977 and were murdered.

Gloria Kehoe (1954-1977), a prize-winning writer and direct descendant of Margaret Comerford from Co Wexford, she was abducted and murdered under the military regime in Argentina in 1977

Lizzie Kelly y Comerford’s next sister, the second daughter of Margaret Comerford and James Kelly, was:

CATALINA KELLY y COMERFORD (1864-1947). She married Nicolás ‘Nicholas’ Kavanagh y Brure (1858-1919), son of Nicholas Kavanagh (1818-1878) from Co Wexford, who emigrated to Argentina in 1844, and his wife Mary Brure (1834-1895), from Co Westmeath. They had seven children, five daughters and two sons:

1, Maria Francisca Cabana y Kelly (1884- ).
2, Nicolás Alberto Cabana y Kelly (1886-1938). He married Isabel Roteta and they have living descendants.
3, Anna Margarita Kavanagh (Cabana) y Kelly (1888-1943). She married José Kehoe y Robbins, whose brother Eduardo Kehoe y Robbins married her aunt Lizzie Kelly y Comerford (see above). They have no descendants.
4, Catalina Ana ‘Bebisa’ Kavanagh (Cabana) y Kelly (1890-1963). She married Benjamin Bockett Pugh, who was born in England. They have living descendants.
5, Luisa Mercedes Cabana y Kelly (born in 1891).
6, Pedro Diego Cabana y Kelly (born 1894).
7, Pilar Elena Cabana y Kelly (1892-1978), a Professor of English. She married Andrés Barcos and they have living descendants.

Margaret Comerford (1836-1921), who married James Kelly was an elder sister of:

BRIDGET COMERFORD (1847-1913), who is said to have been born in Co Wexford in 1847, appears to be the same as Bridget Comerford, born in Dublin in 1847, daughter of Robert Comerford of Wexford Town and Bunclody and his wife Rose French. She was baptised in Saint Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, Dublin (sponsors: James Comerford and Jane Tracy), and her parents subsequently returned to live in Bunclody, Co Wexford. [see Chapter 8: Comerford of Bunclody and Dublin].

Bridget Comerford (1847-1913) married James ‘Santiago’ Sinnott (1821-1898), and they settled in San Vicente, Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they have descendants.

James Sinnott died on 14 February 1898; Bridget (Comerford) Sinnott died on 24 May 1913. They had seven children:

1, Santiago Patricio Sinnott y Comerford (1867-1922), of whom next.
2, Juan Ricardo ‘Jack’ Sinnott y Comerford (1871-1939), of whom after Santiago.
3, Eduardo Mateo Sinnott y Comerford (1880-1928), of whom after Jack.
4, Carlos ‘Charlie’ Sinnott y Comerford (1887-1906). Born in 1887, Charlie died in military service on 24 September 1906.
5, Catalina Sinnott y Comerford (1889- ). Born in 1889, she married Pablo Verasain, and has descendants.
6, Isabella Sinnott y Comerford (1877-1970). On 17 October 1903, she married in Las Flores, Buenos Aires, Juan Patricio ‘Johnny’ Feehan y McKay, son of John Feehan and Ellen MacKay. Isabella died in 1970 in Hogar San Patricio (Saint Patrick’s Home), Villa Elisa, Buenos Aires. Isabella and Johnny were the parents of:
● 1a, Juan Diego Feehan y Sinnott, who has no descendants.
● 2a, Ricardo ‘Richie’ Feehan y Sinnott. He married Esther Harris. They were the parents of:
●● 1b, Ruth Feehan y Harris, who is without descendants.
● 3a, Eduardo ‘Eddie’ Feehan y Sinnott. He was married twice, and has descendants through his second wife.
7, Guillermo ‘Willie’ Sinnott y Comerford (18??-1940). He married Dolores Uranga. Willie died on 11 October 1940 in Nueve de Julio, Buenos Aires, and Dolores died there on 1 April 1950. They left no descendants.

The eldest son of Bridget Comerford and her husband James ‘Santiago’ Sinnott was:

SANTIAGO PATRICIO SINNOTT y COMERFORD (1867-1922). He was born in 1867 in San Vicente, Buenos Aires. He died on 20 March 1922.

Santiago Sinnott y Comerford married … and had four children:

1, Juan Diego Sinnott, who lived his last years in San Miguel del Monte, Buenos Aires, where he is buried. He was unmarried and without descendants.
2, Margarita Sinnott, lived in Las Flores, Buenos Aires, and died unmarried without descendants.
3, Angela Sinnott, died on 7 May 1965, in Las Flores, Buenos Aires, where she is buried. She was unmarried and has no descendants.
4, José Eduardo ‘Pepe’ Sinnott (1908-1978). Born on 13 December 1906, he died on 2 October 1978 in Adolfo Gonzalzes Chavez, Buenos Aires, and was buried in San Miguel del Monte. In 1933, he married in Cachari, Buenos Aires, Lidia Paula Barbieri. They were the parents of three sons:
● 1a, Eduardo Sinnott y Barbieri (1934- ), who married Ester Joaquin López. They had three daughters and a son.
● 2a, Delfor Sinnott y Barbieri (1939- ), who married Carmen Leonor Gallo, and had three daughters.
3a, Santiago Sinnott y Barbieri (1950-1995), who married Elena Barragorry and had one daughter.

The second son of Bridget Comerford and her husband James ‘Santiago’ Sinnott was:

Juan Ricardo ‘Jack’ Sinnott y Comerford (1871-1939), second son of Bridget Comerford and her husband James ‘Santiago’ Sinnott

JUAN RICARDO ‘JACK’ SINNOTT y COMERFORD (1871-1939). He was born in 1871 in Canuelas, Buenos Aires. He married his cousin Margarita Josefina ‘Maggie’ Kehoe y Kelly (1883-1951), born in 1883 in San Pedro, Buenos Aires, the daughter of Eduardo Kehoe y Robbins and his wife Isabel ‘Lizzie’ Kelly y Comerford. Lizzie Kelly y Comerford was the eldest daughter of James Kelly (born 1815) and his wife Margaret Comerford (1836-1921). Jack died on 11 August 1939, and Maggie died on 29 November 1951. They were the parents of two sons:

1, Haroldo Zacarias ‘Roldy’ Sinnott y Kehoe (1924-1997), who married Georgina ‘Georgie’ Acevedo and had six children, three daughters and three sons.
2, Ricardo José ‘Dicky’ Sinnott y Kehoe (died 1976), who married Maria Lydia Teresa ‘Marily’ Mangudo Escalada y Lascano and had six children, three sons and three daughters.

The third son of Bridget Comerford and her husband James ‘Santiago’ Sinnott was:

EDUARDO MATEO SINNOTT y COMERFORD (1880-1928). He was born on 16 October 1880. He married on 12 March 1907 Catalina Luisa Pardo y Guillén (1887- ), daughter of Luis Pardo and Mercedes Guillén. They had nine children, four sons and five daughters:

1, Carlos Eduardo ‘Charles’ Sinnott y Pardo (1909-1988), of San Vicente, Buenos Aires. He married Angela ‘Chola’ Gasbaro and they had five children, four sons and a daughter.
2, Próspero Sinnott y Pardo (died 1970), of Morón, Buenos Aires. He married María Pardo (died 1998) and they had six children, two daughters and four sons.
3, Mercedes Brígida Sinnott y Pardo (1913- ). She was married twice (1) José Di Napoli and had three children, a son and two daughters; and (2) N... Fraga, and had two children, a son and a daughter.
4, Patricio Sinnott y Pardo (1916), born on 21 March 1916, of Raunch, Buenos Aires. He was married twice: (1) Gracina Albelo and (2) Emilse ... He has no descendants.
5, Maria Haidée ‘Polola’ Sinnott y Pardo (1919-1974), died unmarried and without descendants.
6, Lucia Sinnott y Pardo (1921- ), of Las Flores, Buenos Aires. She married Antonio Saizar, and had one daughter.
7, Catalina Luisa Sinnott y Pardo, married Gabriel Leopoldo Sesti and had five children, four daughters and a son.
8, Héctor Abel Sinnott y Pardo (1925- ). He married in 1955 Sara Sofia Saavedra, and had a son and a daughter.
9, Hetel Elisa Sinnott y Pardo (1927- ). She married in 1947 Alberto Gabriel Vega. They had two sons.

© Patrick Comerford 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2018

Footnotes and references:

[1] The sources for this Chapter include:

http://www.irishgenealogy.com/ar/genealogia/K/Kavanagh/Nicholas.php#Nicholas_Kavanagh_y_Brure;
http://www.irishgenealogy.com.ar/genealogia/K/Kehoe/john.htm#Eduardo_Kehoe_y_Robbins;
http://www.irishgenealogy.com.ar/genealogia/K/Kehoe/Thomas2.php#Eduardo_Kehoe_y_Robbins;
http://www.irishgenealogy.com.ar/genealogia/K/Kelly/james2.htm.
http://www.irishgenealogy.com.ar/genealogia/S/Sinnott/james.htm.

Last updated: 25 May 2008; 15 and 16 August 2009; 19 November 2010; 27 and 28 June 2011; 11 April 2012; 16 November 2018.

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