Carney, Diocese of Elphin, Roscommon, 1850's & earlier

[Bob Carney]

Hi-
This is my first post here so pardon the rookie. My g-g-grandfather, James Carney, was a soldier in the American Civil War (43d NYSVI). In his pension records is correspondence with "the bishop of Elphin" [/quote](Fr. McDonald) regarding his birth records, which Fr. McD. was unable to find. This is the sole connection we have to Elphin- the diocese, not necessarily the town.
James was married in 1859 in Thompsonville CT, a town in Enfield CT, to Elizabeth O'Leary who believed him to be 22 at that date so b. about 1837.
His sister Bridget Carney Harris lived in T-ville also. Two sisters lived just north in Springfield MA, where I live. He had a brother who lived in Fall River MA who died after the Civil War (1861-1865) with no known decendants. He had another brother who died in Cleveland OH before the Civil War.
He had an uncle, Thomas (Carney, we believe) and cousins in Albany NY. He was visiting with them when he enlisted and moved his family there after the war. His family later (1880) moved back to Thompsonville and James, after 1905, was in the Army Hospital system.

Any information or suggestions will be welcome. I visited Roscommon this past April including Elphin, Boyle, Strokestown and Roscommon town. The only lead worth pursuing is contact information for St. Patrick's Church in Elphin, the repository of baptismal records. This is in hope that someone can improve on Fr. McDonald's efforts.
I attempted to reach Diana Nugent via what, per Ed Finn, is a disused link regarding Carney, Elphin, Roscommon.
Thanks for providing this opportunity, Ed.
All the best-
Bob Carney