KEARNS

The name Kearns:

Doug Kearns corresponded with a William Kearns of Liverpool, England, who advised that the Irish Gaelic Language does not contain a "K" and "C" takes the place of the "K", as in Carns, Currins, Currans. I have also seen the name Cairn(s). However, according to Ancestry.com, Kearns is the "Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Céirín 'descendant of Céirín' (supported by Gene Kearns, a personal name from a diminutive of ciar 'dark', 'black'. English patronymic -s has been added superfluously" and a variant of the Irish Carnes. The name is also seen as Keeran, Keerans and Kiernan (See Kernan Family Origins for more information on Kiernan). Refer also to The Kearns Heritage: Ireland to Randoloph County, NC by Douglas and Peggy Gaddy Kearns and The Book of Irish Families, p. 164 by Michael C. O'Laughlin.

Sue Keirns Mulero shared the name may be an anglicization of O'Kirwan, Kirwan, Kervan, Kervin, Kervon and Kirvin. She also determined via Y-DNA study that the Keeran-Kearns-Kerns folks (Pa to NC) are NOT related to Keirns-Kearns-Kerns folks (Pa to Ohio), not through their paternal line anyway; they all seem to have the occasional autosomal DNA match that is through some maternal lines.

↓ Read more below ↓ or ↓ View the Kearns tree below ↓

In December 2017, Gene Kearns, whose late aunt Luna Kearns Hames did extensive research, had this to say: "My aunt had spoken to a Swiss fellow many years ago and dismissed that side of the story. Clearly, there were Waldensian families in nearby counties, but they seemed to always stick to the Kerns spelling." DNA supports an Irish origin for my Kearns line depicted on this page. The Kearns per DNA research are somehow tied to the Brady and Lynch families of Cavan County, Ireland. Also refer to The Kearns Heritage: Ireland to Randoloph County, NC by Douglas and Peggy Gaddy Kearns.

↓ Read more below ↓ or ↓ View the Kearns tree below ↓

According to Ancestry.com in referring to the Dictionary of American Family Names (© 2013, Oxford University Press), the Kearns name meaning is Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Céirín 'descendant of Céirín', a personal name from a diminutive of ciar 'dark', 'black'. English patronymic -s has been added superfluously.

↓ Read more below ↓ or ↓ View the Kearns tree below ↓

Original Kearns Mystery

According to the book FARMER: Yesterday and Today (Zeb R. Denny, editor; published by Wooten Printing Co., Inc. in Welcome, NC), , the name was spelled variably from KEERANS to KEARNS (Gene Kearns also mentions Keirns and Keeranes). The FARMER book on p. 120 erroneously lists William T. Kearns, Sr., and Mary King (Mary King Kearns) as the parents of Thomas Kearns, husband of Rebecca Ivy. On p. 183, the book has the content of a Bible excerpt for the family of Ivy Kearns, which says that John Kearns is the father of Thomas Kearns (b. 1776) and this is confirmed by documentation, artifact and Y-DNA evidence.

↓ Read more below ↓ or ↓ View the Kearns tree below ↓

The memorial stone of Thomas Kearns states that John Kearns is the father of Thomas Kearns, husband of Rebecca Ivey. John is the father of Thomas and Isaac and Silas and Ann (and Issac and Ann are mentioned in John's 1794 will. Some sources erroneously indicate William T. Kearns is the progenitor. John was in Rowan (now Randolph Co., NC) in 1768 as a taxpayer. Some of this information came from Doug Kearns in 2005. The rest came through the Irish Kearns Keeran Kerns Keirns Research and DNA Project and its administrator Sue Keirns Mulero.

Thom Cameron has found a John Kearns in 1762 in Rowan County, NC (could be the area of now Davidson County).

In October 2019, Mike Kellis shared on the Irish Keeran Kearns Genealogy Research and DNA Group that he is descended from the Kearns through his mother. Her 4th great-grandfather was Isaac Kearns/Keerans. Her line goes to his daughter Hannah who married James Hall. They are from the Randolph/Montgomery County, NC, area. Maybe Hannah Kearns Hall is named for her grandmother Hannah Miller Kearns, pointing wife of progenitor John Kearns.

↓ Read more below ↓ or ↓ View the Kearns tree below ↓

As of September 2019, in correspondence with Sue Mulero and Gene Kearns, both indicate Gene Kearns has numerous DNA matches with people who descended from a Thomas Keeran/Kearns (1707-1796) born in Ireland and died in Chester PA. He has many lines descended from him and Gene has small matches on several branches. Mostly they migrated from PA to Va to WV to Ohio. There were a few who went elsewhere. Some say there was a "John" b. 1733 in PA and died in Randolph, NC. Sue found a will for a John in NC. In February 2020, Sue Keirns found that Gene's Y-DNA results do not match Isaiah and her. Gene is in the North Carolina Kearns group and Sue and Isaiah are in the Pennsylvania Kearns group. Like her uncle's matches, Gene has all different names. .

↓ Read more below ↓ or ↓ View the Kearns tree below ↓

In March 2020, Cristin Kearns mentioned her theory about William T. Kearns/Keerans and Mary King. She believes Mary King may actually be Silas Keerans' mother-in-law and therefore not related to Isaac at all. She believes Mary King married John Thompson. Their daughter Jane Thompson married Silas Keeran (brother of Isaac Sr.) Jane's brothers were William Thompson and Henry Thompson. After John Thompson died, Mary King Thompson then married Henry Lyndon, who considered Silas Keerans his step-son-in-law. She believes William Thompson has been made into William Thomas Keerans/Kearns in error by making some incorrect assumptions when reading old gravestones at the old "Kearns" cemetery. The main source informing her theory is Henry Lyndon's will (from Randolph Co., NC Will Book 2, p. 10) The biggest leap is in assuming that Mary (King?) Thompson/Lyndon is the sister of Thomas and James King, who were witnesses to Henry Lyndon's will (and James was living on Lyndon's land). Of interest: Old Keeran Peacock Lyndon Cemetery located in the woods behind 7639 State Hwy 49, Denton, NC 27239. And the Wood Cemetery is nearby (related Facebook post and GPS Coordinates near Salem Church, Asheboro, NC).

In May 2020, Cristin Kearns shared a document from Doug Kearns -- John & Hannah Miller Keeran (Kearns): Parents of Isaac, Silas and Thomas Keeran (Kearns) -- agreeing with the evidence that John and Hannah (Miller) Kearns are the progenitors of the North Carolina Kearns line. The standing hypotheis is that the Pennsylvania group of Keerans is related to the North Carolina group of Keerans/Kearns. That hypothesis was generated after noticing autosomal DNA matches with Sue Keirns Mulero's Keirns ancestors and Kearns ancestors of both the North Carolina and Pennsylvania Kearns/Keeran descendants. Gene Kearns also had DNA matches with the Pennsylvania group. The hope was that Y-DNA would prove it, but Sue determined via Y-DNA study that the Keeran-Kearns-Kerns folks (Pa to NC) are NOT related to Keirns-Kearns-Kerns folks (Pa to Ohio), not through their paternal line anyway. They all seem to have the occasional autosomal DNA match that is through some maternal lines. Doug Kearns' document is one of the records that supports a relation between the PA and NC Kearns groups. FARRELL: Sue shared Kearns Y-DNA tests of 5 descendants of Thomas Keeran "The Immigrant" all show the historic haplogroup for Farrell from Longford Ireland (updated June 2022). By August 2021, Sue indicated that Keerans/Kearns Y-DNA is originally Farrell Haplogroup Y-DNA, specifically that all descendants of Thomas Keeran will have the O'Farrell haplogroup. In a March 2022 Facbook post from Sue Keirns Mulero, she stated, "Remember, your Keeran surname likely occurred in the 1400-1600s and likely due to a Farrell group swearing allegiance to the clan in charge at the time, namely some version of Keeran/Kirwan, etc. (I am told this is the most common way a group of people might all switch their surname). ... Right now it seems Keeran was used by the Quakers in Moate and Kirvane was used by the courts. Kirvane was not as common as Kirwan and if you say 'Kirwan' with an lrish accent, it sounds like Keeran. So my thought was maybe it was Kirwan originally. Many of the Quakers were originally from England, so they may have chosen an anglicized spelling of Kirwan." More details on Farrell

Meanwhile in December 2020, Gene Kearns discounted his William Thomas Mosson Keirns document and proposed the following: "The Keerans are from Ballykeeran (Bealach Caorthainn) in County Westmeath, Ireland. There is ... no William Keerans paired with a Mary King. Silas, Thomas, William, Isaac, Susannah, Sarah, and possibly more were the children of John Keeran and Hannah Miller. Thomas' parents were John Keerans and Hannah Miller. ... The original Keerans most likely were Catholic, but as early as 1702 were marrying into the Quakers (Hadleys). So, how do we know all of this? We finally got our hands on at least part of 'The Keerans Story,' given to another relative by Edra [Keeran] herself, before her passing. 636 pages!"

Sue Keirns Mulero shared the following Quaker record in a February 20, 2021, Irish Kearns Keerans Reserch and DNA Facebook Post: "For the NC Kearns group. We know a John (?Thomas) Keeran (m. Hannah Miller) went to N.C. ... But this Quaker record from approx Jul 1766 shows that Thomas Keeran Jr (born 1742) went to N.C. to 'clear his name' because the girl he allegedly got pregnant went there. So I've never seen any proof of John Keeran's middle name being 'Thomas'. So I believe that both John Keeran and Thomas Keeran Jr, brothers, went to NC approx 1766." My thoughts are that given there was a Thomas, Jr., it implies there was a Thomas, Sr., which seems John Keerans and Thomas Keerans would be separate persons.

As of March 28, 2021, Gene Kearns agreees that John and Hannah are the progenitors, which is confirmed by evidence. He writes, "John's name appears frequently in the Randolph County Records. He died in 1794 and Isaac, Sr. and Ann (Isaac's sister[probably the oldest boy and girl]) were bonded to handle the estate." Also per August 2021 discussion, see the document RIP WILLIAM KEARNS AND MARY KING (local copy) compiled by Sue Keirns. Eventually, a book is coming. In April 2022, Sue made a post showing the conclusions regarding the Kearns progenitor: "John Keeran and Hannah Miller are the parents of Isaac, Silas, and Thomas, NOT William Kearns and Mary King. ALSO, the ONLY other sibling we have proof of is ANN (named in John's will). There is NO daughter Sarah. Only Doug Kearns claimed that and had no source. I cannot find any source. Can you? There is NO son William Jr as there is no William Sr, no proof of any William born in 1760s or 70s. The date of death and will is from Silas' son William. There is NO son Josiah Kearns b. 1798. That was Silas' son. There is NO daughter Susannah. She is a German Kerns. Her father is Simeon Kerns. And definitely Jonathan Keirns is not their son! We proved that with Y DNA."

UPDATE July 2022: Sue reminded researches that Y-DNA study has determined that the Keeran-Kearns-Kerns folks (Pa to NC) are NOT related to Keirns-Kearns-Kerns folks (Pa to Ohio), not through their paternal line anyway. They all seem to have the occasional autosomal DNA match that is through some maternal lines.

UPDATE August 2022, There are 4 forms of evidence showing John Kearns/Keerans as the progenitor: Bible excerpt, the Thomas Kearns memorial stone, John's will and Y-DNA.

↓ Read more below ↓
or
↓ View the Kearns tree below ↓

If you are a male Kearns and interested in taking a Y-DNA test to help with this research, contact Sue via email or via the Irish Kearns Keeran etc Research and DNA Project on Facebook.

↑ Read about the Kearns name and theories above ↑ or ↓ View the Kearns tree below ↓

IVEY

(details)
Source for Coat of Arms: The Ivey Family in the United States by George Franks Ivey

The Kearns Heritage: Ireland to Randolph County, NC, p. 13, mentions Thomas Ivey (b. 1604) who married Ann Argent and migrated to America in 1625 being the parents of Adam Ivey. However, on page 5 of The Line of Adam Ivey of Charles City County, Bob Baird shows this is another Adam Ivey line, not this one.

"These [deed/land] records are vital to differentiating this Henry Ivey from his cousin of the same name. First, they establish that it was Henry Ivey, the son of George Ivey, who lived in Southampton County and died there in 1774. Second, they tell us that this Henry Ivey, son of George, consistently signed his name to documents, in contrast to his first cousin who signed with a mark. That, and the Sledge connection, means he is virtually certain to be the same Henry Ivey who signed his name as a witness to the will of Samuel Clark on 12 June 1736 in what was then Brunswick County. This Samuel Clark was the brother of Mary Clark Sledge, wife of Charles Sledge, and therefore the uncle of Henry Ivey's wife. It seems clear that Henry Ivey was married to Rebecca Sledge, son of Charles and Mary Sledge. The long-accepted theory is that his uncle, also named Henry Ivey, was the husband of Rebecca Sledge. However, we know that Rebecca Sledge's brother John was not born until about 1700, thus she was likely much too young to have been the wife of a second-generation Ivey and mother of third-generation Iveys . Further, we know this Henry Ivey was married to a wife named Rebecca in 1737, when he lived quite close to Rebecca Sledge's parents, while the name of his uncle's wife appears in no records" (Baird, pp. 11-12).

EVIDENCE: The confirmation that John Kearns is the progenitor of the NC Kearns line is per the Bible excerpt in the "Farmer" book, p. 183, the Thomas Kearns memorial stone, Y-DNA support and the 1794 will of John Kearns/Keerans mentioning Ann and Isaac.

The idea that William T. Kearns and Mary King Kearns are the progenitors of this line is erroneous. Full discussion. Conclusion.

Webb

Per Richard Webb, a distant cousin, some Webbs moved from Virginia to North Carolina in the 1700s, but it is uncertain whether these Webbs were part of that migration, though they could have been. In December 2017, Gene Kearns, fellow descendant of Rebecca (Webb) Kearns, shared his late aunt Luna Kearns Hames' research: "The Webbs originally came from Dorset, a shire on the southern coast of Wales. They came through Virginia and settled in Granville County, North Carolina. The history of the Webb family can be found in Tyler's Quarterly, Volumes 7-8, 1926-1927, State Library, Raleigh, NC. They came to America circa 1640-1650." "It is reported Rebecca's family moved from Virginia to Granville County, NC and were originally from Motcombe Co., Corset, England" (p. 11, The Kearns Heritage: Ireland to Randolph County, NC). Some of this is echoed in Nettie Pritchard Keerans notes, p. 12.

Benjamin and Sally (Reese) Ivey: "On 19 January 1790, barely a month after his father's will was proved, Benjamin and his wife Sally sold his interest in the inherited plantation to his brother Phillip Ivey. He must have left the area almost immediately, for Benjamin does not appear in the 1790 tax list, compiled mainly in March and April that year. He and his wife are, however, named in the will of his father in law, John Reese, dated 1 December 1792 and proved on 9 October 1794. The will distributed the estate equally among ten of the Reese children, and gave five shillings each to three other daughters: "my beloved daughter Sally Ivy, wife of Benjamin Ivy", Sucky Ivy wife of Philip (sic) Ivy, and Lucy Johnson. Since he was apparently gone from Virginia by early 1790, he seems likely to be the same Benjamin Ivey who appears in the 1790 census of Randolph County, North Carolina. The 1800 census shows him with a household of eight. This Benjamin Ivey left a will dated 17 October [1801] and proved in August 1802, naming his wife Sally, daughters Rebecca Kearns, Betsy Nance, "Prisey", Sally, and Sukey (under 18), and sons Kinchen, Isaac, and Benjamin (under 21). Kinchen was left 200 acres, and the home plantation of 190 acres was given to Sally until her death or remarriage, when it was to fall to Isaac. Further indication that he may have been the same Benjamin Ivey from Southampton is that his son Benjamin Ivey named his own eldest son John Reese Ivey."
Source: The Line of Adam Ivey of Charles City County by Robert W. Baird

Life in 18th Century North Carolina prior to the Revolutionary War

Picture of the couple
(Source: Ancestry)

Children: Charlotte (m. 1: Wm. Jackson; 2: John Hancock; moved to Missouri); Hannah (b. 26 Sept. 1790; m. Jas. Hall); John C. (b. 18 Feb. 1794); Allen (b. 16 April 1798-d. 22 Oct. 1849); Jesse (b. 6 Nov. 1801-d. 6 March 1863); Mary (Polly) (b. ca. 1803; m. Frederick R. Goss; d. Aug. 1849 in Green, IN) (The Kearns Heritage: Ireland to Randolph County, NC, p. 11) More about their children is also on p. 3 of Nettie Pritchard Keerans notes.

A. Harris Johnson was a Private in Co. D, 6th NC Senior Reserves during the Civil War (Source: Find A Grave Memorial).

Picture with Allen & Elizabeth ("Harris" and "Betsy")

I have DNA matches who share common ancestors Allen Harris Johnson and Betsy Kearns Johnson. Deane Belk and Jennifer Scott.

Allen "Harris" Johnson (1817-1905) married Elizabeth "Betsy" Kearns (1821-1899). Among their children were my ancestor Titus "Winbourne" Johnson and Jeremiah W. Johnson. Jeremiah W. Johnson (1846-1922) married Elbie Stokes and they had one daughter: Emma Johnson who married Charlie Thompson and they, in turn, had 9 children. Source: FARMER: Yesterday and Today, p. 118.

Children of Allen "Harris" Johnson and Elizabeth "Betsy" (Kearns) Johnson: Titus Winbourne Johnson (1837-1913), Thomas Clark Johnson (1840-1922), John Hansell Johnson (1842-1919), Jeremiah W. Johnson (1845-1922), Clarinda Ellen Johnson Riley (1851-1904), Milton H. Johnson (1853-1900) and Louise Johnson Diffee (1859-1942) (Source: FindAGrave).