The early spelling of the family name was CRANEY which the majority of our branches changed to CREANEY around 1910, though individual family lines have retained the old spelling to the present time. These are mainly the family descended from Abraham (see below), also certain branches that left Ireland before the general change of spelling. In addition some isolated variations and misspellings have been found in the records.
The family lived in an area to the East of Armagh city, in the parishes of Kildarton, Grange and thereabouts since the early 1800s. Prior to that is unknown. There were Creaney / Craney families in nearby Lurgan & Portadown, also in Aghalee, Ballinderry & Glenavy in Co Antrim but there is no evidence that we originated from these places.
The earliest known ancestors in our Creaney / Craney line are John Craney and Mary McConnell who probably married in the late 1830s. I have been unable to trace the marriage and suspect it took place in Richhill Parish Church whose records before the 1850s have been destroyed.
The birth dates of their children would indicate the date of their marriage as about 1839, both John and Mary are likely to have been born approximately 1815 to 1820.
There was a John Craney baptised at the Grange Parish Church on 8th Feb 1815, son of William & Jane W Craney, also a Mary McConnell baptised at Kilmore Parish Church on 19th Jul 1818, daughter of David & Mary McConnell. It is very possible that these are our John & Mary, however, as I don’t have definitive proof at this point it must be supposition only.
I am unable to trace a record of John’s death however there was a John Craney buried at The Grange Churchyard in 1890. I do not know if this is him and the search continues. Mary died in 1899 and is noted as a widow on her death certificate.
John and Mary had 9 known children as follows:
Jane Craney, born approx 1839.
John Craney, born approx 1840.
Sarah Craney, born 29 Aug 1842 in Turcarry, Co Armagh.
Thomas Craney, born 12 Aug 1844 in Mullinasilla, Co Armagh.
William Craney, born 28 Aug 1846 in Mullinasilla, Co Armagh.
Abraham Craney, born 14 Feb 1849 in Mullinasilla, Co Armagh.
Hiram Craney, born 27 Dec 1850 in Turcarry, Co Armagh.
Jacob Templeton Craney, born 15 Aug 1852 in Mullinasilla.
Mary Ann Craney, born 12 Jun 1854 in Mullinasilla, Co Armagh.
With the exception of their first two children Jane & John I found their baptism entries in the parish registers at Kildarton Parish Church. Kildarton Church opened in 1840 so I suspect Jane & John were baptised elsewhere before the opening of the church, possibly Richhill.
Their residence Turcarry & Mullinasilla are as written in the baptism registers, these are adjoining townlands and could indicate various house moves all within the same local area. In the Griffith’s Valuation in 1864 I found them in a small cottage in Mullinasilla, tenants of farmer William Running. I believe they continued to live in that cottage until at least the time of John Junior’s death in 1902.
From the baptism registers John Craney’s occupation is stated as Labourer / Domestic Servant / Servant at Castledillon. His son Abraham’s marriage certificate in 1887 states his father’s occupation as Coachman. It is known that John’s grandson William (born 1874) was a Coachman at Castledillon for many years in the late 1800s / early 1900s, and a number of other family members worked on the Castledillon estate.
The following is a brief narrative about each of the children of John & Mary, followed by a link to a full Genealogy Report for the family.
JANE CRANEY was born about 1839, no record of her birth has been found. I have found a record of an 1860 marriage between Jane Craney & William Higginson. Their location & Jane’s father’s details on their marriage certificate positively identify Jane as a daughter of John & Mary. Jane’s year of birth is estimated as 1839 making her probably the eldest.
I can find no children of the marriage or any other record of the couple in Ireland. It is possible they emigrated & I will be investigating this further.
JOHN CRANEY was born about 1840, no record of his birth has been found. He never married and had no known children, he remained living with his parents until their death. He died in 1902 aged about 62, though his death certificate says 56. The informant on his death certificate was his nephew Alfred, my grandfather.
He is shown on the 1901 census as aged 62 which gives him a birth year of 1839 which is probably closer to the fact.
His occupation was labourer, probably an agricultural labour and most likely working on local farms or on the Castledillon estate.
SARAH CRANEY was born on 29 Aug 1842. Apart from her birth record at Kildarton Parish Church I have found no other record of Sarah.
She may have died as an infant though no record of a burial can be located. Possibly she was married in another parish although I haven’t found any record, alternatively she may have moved completely away, even emigrated.
THOMAS CRANEY was born 12 Aug 1844. He married Elizabeth Hutchinson in 1865 & they went on to have 9 known children and many descendents. The Hutchinsons came from Staffordshire in England to farm land on the Castledillon Estate in the early 1600s. Thomas remained all his life in the Armagh area.
Thomas was a Railway Porter workimg at Armagh station & according to family memory he was involved in the rescue efforts at the Armagh Train Disaster in 1889 when 80 people lost their lives, mainly children on a Sunday School outing.
Sadly Thomas died in the Armagh Workhouse in 1919.
WILLIAM CRANEY was my Great Grandfather, he was born 27 Aug 1846. After much searching over several years I have established that he had 5 children to 4 different women, however I cannot find any evidence that he ever married.
He appears to have moved to Belfast in his late 20s or possibly earlier and spent some time at sea as a Cook / Steward on board ships. He was absent from the 1901 census, potentially being away at sea.
He died in 1910 back at the family home in Co Armagh, his occupation on his death certificate is shown as Butler.
The story of William’s life is much more complex than can be described here & I will gladly share the details with other descendents if wanted.
ABRAHAM CRANEY was born 14 Feb 1849. He married Mary McCluskey in Belfast in 1887 & they had 6 children. Abraham was a seaman though I have no further information on this. He remained in Belfast all his life.
Three of his children went to the USA & Canada with present day living descendents, while one son remained in Belfast & also served in the merchant navy. One branch of this family located to Carrickfergus where several descendents remain today.
HIRAM CRANEY was born 27 Dec 1850. As a young man Hiram moved to Scotland. He was identified in the 1871 census living in Ayrshire and working as a Pithead Labourer. He later located to Glasgow where he worked as an Iron Turner. He remained through his life in Glasgow.
Hiram married Clara Rae from England, they married in 1876 in Glasgow. Hiram & Clara had 9 children naming several of them in the Craney tradition, John, Abraham, Thomas etc...
So far my research has traced some of his family in the Glasgow area. One of his sons who fought in WW1 subsequently emigrated to New Jersey the USA where descendents remain today.
JACOB TEMPLETON CRANEY was born 15 Aug 1852. No further information on Jacob has been found. I must assume he died in infancy, and as this would have been prior to the onset of civil registration there will be no official record. I can find no burial.
MARY ANN CRANEY was born on 15 Jun 1854. I have discovered that Mary Ann went to Glasgow before 1881 and stayed with her brother Hiram. She married Joseph Hare in Glasgow in 1884. Joseph Hare originated from the same parish in Co Armagh as the Craneys, and his baptism & other family records have been identified in the parish registers at Kildarton Church.
So far I have not been able to trace any children of Joseph & Mary Ann and there is no sign of them on the 1891 or 1901 Scottish census. There is a Joseph & Mary Ann Hare in Lurgan in the Irish 1901 census who may be this couple although I can not be certain.
-oOo-
As can be seen in the following Genealogy Report I have traced the descendents of a number of the family branches, and would welcome contact from other possible descendents.
