Working pedigree · compiled 5 September 2026 · wiley-brickwall

Wiley of Cullentry

The line of Robert John Wiley Sr traced upward, in the order you would walk it: his father, the brick wall, and then the Meath farm the records point to. Ink is a record. Pencil is a reconstruction. Every fact carries its source.

Documented: a record names this person Hypothesis: reconstructed from Meath records that never name William I DNA: the bridge that led here
The standing hypothesis

William Wiley I, father of William II, was a son of the Wiely farming family of Cullentry, parish of Rathmolyon, Co. Meath, who baptised at Longwood chapel. His father was most likely William Weilly Jr (dead by 1854), his grandfather William Wiely Sr (dead by 1841), lessee of a £178-a-year farm from Robert Fowler on New Year's Day 1835 for "2 lives or 21 years". Both lives were dead by 1854, the farm leases fell in 1856, and the family reached America in 1857. Grace Weily, whose daughter died in Chicago, was William I's sister or aunt; her great-grandchildren match Chris's father and uncle at 3rd-cousin levels. Confidence that this is the family: Medium-High. Confidence in the exact link to William I: Medium, because no surviving record names him in Ireland.

Start · Chris's great-grandfatherdocumented · High

Robert John Wiley Sr

29 Aug 1888 – 22 Feb 1964
Fifth child of William Wiley II and Alice Aspinall
East St Louis ILChicago · Oak Park · Batavia ILSt Louis MO
  • Born East St Louis, Illinois, while his father worked the rolling mills there.
  • Married Ella Helen H Giese; the couple's children were born in the Chicago area 1919-1929, then the family settled in St Louis.
  • Died St Louis, 22 Feb 1964. His node in the tree carries a "7 children" count; four are named (Margaret Alice 1919, Robert John Jr 1922, William Joseph 1926, Patricia A 1929).

Ella Helen H Giese

1893 – 1977
Wife · daughter of Ferdinand Giese and Theresa Koehler
Iowa
  • German line. Her descendants are the 18-kit "Giese core" in the DNA work; any match that touches them is not evidence about the Wileys.
His fatherdocumented · High

William Wiley II

29 Jan 1855, 1856 or 1857, Ireland – 24 Jun 1913, St Louis
Roll-mill hand, later puddler · Latin form in US registers: "Gulilmus Weley"
IrelandSpringfield ILAlton ILRiverton ILEast St Louis ILSt Louis MO
  • Arrived in the United States in 1857 as an infant; "43 years in the US" (1900 census). Family emigrated together.
  • Birth year is three-way: 1900 census says Jan 1855, 1880 census age fits 1856, death-certificate arithmetic gives 29 Jan 1857.
  • Parishioner of St Joseph's, Springfield, by Jan 1878. Married Alice Aspinall 31 Jan 1878 at Sts Peter and Paul, Alton (witness Elizabeth Tobin). The marriage record is the only source that names his parents.
  • 1880: Springfield 5th Ward with Alice and infant William. 1888-94: East St Louis. By 1900 a widowed day labourer lodging on Sidney Street, St Louis Ward 9, with three sons.
  • Death notice asked "Springfield, Chicago and Pittsburg papers please copy". Chicago was unexplained until Grace Weily's daughter turned up there. Buried Sts Peter and Paul Cemetery, St Louis.

Alice Aspinall

1861, Pendleton, Lancashire – 14 Apr 1899, St Louis
Wife · daughter of James Aspinall and Elizabeth Hilton
Pendleton · Haigh · Ince, LancashireAlton ILSt Louis MO
  • English Catholic. Died of nephritis in her thirties.
  • Her sister Mary married Michael Costigan (Springfield). Every child of William II carries Aspinall as well as Wiley, which is why their descendants cannot be used as a pure Wiley filter.
Children of William II and Alice · Springfield, Riverton and East St Louis
  • 1879William JrSpringfield · d. 1934 · his daughter Grace Hoffert → Morrisey testers
  • 1881MargaretSpringfield · m. Schoppe · d. 1961 St Louis
  • 1883James AlvinasSpringfield · baptism sponsors John and Margaret Lynch · untraced
  • 1885Mary AnnRiverton IL · untraced
  • 1888Robert John SrEast St Louis · your line
  • 1894AliceEast St Louis · m. Robert M Broeg · d. 1989 · grandson tested (Knopke)
His grandfather · the brick wallexistence · Highdates · unsourced

William Wiley I

born Ireland, date unknown · died in America, date unknown
Known only as the father named on his son's 1878 marriage record
Irelandarrived US 1857 (inferred from his son)
  • The tree's "born about 1835, died about 1890" carry no source. He has no US census, death, burial or naturalisation record. His whole presence derives from William II's marriage record and the Springfield sacramental register.
  • His Latin name in those registers, Weley, matches the Cullentry family's own spelling, Wiely / Weily / Weilly, used by the estate office, the parish clerk and the civil registrar.
  • Not baptised at Longwood 1833-38, not married there 1833-78, and his son was not baptised there in 1855-57. Those events fall in the Rathmolyon register, which does not survive before 1878.

Margaret Flynn

born Ireland, date unknown · died in America, date unknown
Wife · mother of William II · married c. 1854-56, no record found
Ireland
  • Most likely a Flynn of Longwood or Rathmolyon: Flynn is the commonest surname in that register, William Jr's second wife was a Flynn, and a Flynn stood witness at every Weily wedding on record.
  • retired The 1835 Kilfinane, Co. Limerick baptism ("Margarita filia illegitima Thomæ Flynn et Margaritæ Clonitch") was an Ancestry index hint matched on name and year only. It revives only if a US record names her parents.
Candidate fatherhypothesis · Medium

William Weilly Jr

died between Mar 1842 and May 1854
Farmer, Cullentry · Griffith's Valuation 1854 lot 3, lessor Robert Fowler
Cullentry, Rathmolyon, Co. MeathLongwood chapel
  • Baptised a daughter Ellen, 13 Jan 1839, with wife Bridget Belagh; then Mary, 25 Mar 1842, with wife Margaret Flynn, sponsor Elizabeth Flynn. Both at Longwood.
  • His widow Margaret Flynn "alias Weilly" remarried John Flynn on 22 May 1854, witness James Brady. Griffith's lists a Margaret Wiley holding lot 4 beside his lot 3 that same year.
  • Part of Cullentry was re-let to Henry Purdon in Mar 1855. Grace's 1881 marriage gives her father as "William Weily, farmer, deceased".
  • Why he is the candidate: the only William Weilly of the right generation; his wives' names explain both Margaret Flynns; the naming pattern runs William, William, William.

Bridget Belagh

first wife · died c. 1839-41
Mother of Ellen (1839) · if William I is William Jr's son, his likely mother
  • Surname possibly Bellew, an Old English Meath name. Marriage not at Longwood 1833-38.

Margaret Flynn

second wife · remarried 1854
Mother of Mary (1842) · William I's stepmother on this reading
  • Widowed by 1854, married John Flynn at Longwood, 22 May 1854. Possible later child Mary Anne, Dec 1856. The two Margaret Flynns in this family may be kin: a linked match between the Wielys and John Flynn's household is the working conjecture, not a record.
Children of the Cullentry Weilys in this generation · all Longwood register unless noted
  • c.1835William Iyour ancestor · placed here by inference, no record
  • ≤1839Grace Weilysponsor 1853 · m. John Brady 14 Feb 1876 · m. James Byrne 4 Jul 1881 · d. 30 Jan 1886 Clonard · daughter of William Jr or William Sr
  • 1839Ellenbapt. 13 Jan, mother Bridget Belagh
  • 1842Marybapt. 25 Mar, mother Margaret Flynn
  • c.1840sMichael Wileym. Anne Daly · children John 1871, Mary 1872, Elizabeth 1874, Hugh 1876 · candidate brother · carries the Y line
Candidate grandfatherhypothesis · Medium

William Wiely Sr

died between Jan 1835 and Apr 1841
Tenant farmer of Robert Fowler, Bishop of Ossory · Cullintre
Cullentry, RathmolyonLongwood chapel
  • 1 Jan 1835: lease of part of Cullintre for 2 lives or 21 years at £178 1s 1d a year — a large farm. NLI MS 43,577/1, two copies. The lease names its two "lives"; that clause is the single most valuable unread document in the case.
  • His wife Ellen took a lease of the same size (£172 9s 8d) on 28 Apr 1841, which is how we know he was dead by then. Griffith's 1854 still shows Ellen on lot 5.
  • The 21 years ran out on 1 Jan 1856. With both lives dead, the farm fell back to Fowler, and the family was in America the next year.

Ellen Wiely

widow · lessee 1841 · occupier 1854
Wife of William Sr · maiden name unknown
  • Lease of part of Cullentre for 2 lives or 15 years at £172 9s 8d, 28 Apr 1841. Term ends Apr 1856. Griffith's 1854: lot 5, beside William's lot 3 and Margaret's lot 4.
The wider Wiely family on the Fowler estate, 1835-1861 · relationships to William Sr unknown
  • 1835John Wielytwo leases at Cullintre (£44, £37) · Griffith's lots 7, 9, 10, 11 with sub-tenants · new lease 1861 at £105 · the line that stayed
  • 1854Joseph WileyCullentry lot 24 with three sub-tenants
  • 1854George WileyIsaacstown, Rathmolyon
  • 1854Samuel and John WileyBallynaskea, Rathcore · landlords to ten sub-tenants
  • before 1835OriginRathmolyon was a Rawdon (Earls of Moira, Co. Down) estate before the Fowlers. Ulster tenants brought south is a hypothesis, Low-Medium, testable in the pre-1835 papers.
How the DNA reached this family

Grace Weily's descendants match Chris's father and uncle

Grace Weily · Cullentry Catherine Marie Byrne · b. 13 Apr 1884 Clonard · d. 1973 Chicago · m. Charles Edward Kenny Kenny · Newman · catimf testers shared DNA with Chris's father (and more with his brother)
Tester (Ancestry display name)cM to Chris's fatherNotes
Christopher Kenny55close kin of newjoeman (592)
samantha kenny5049 to a son of Chris's father
Thomas Kenny (tree owner)39104 to Chris's uncle; grandson of Catherine Byrne Kenny; male line Bruckless, Donegal
Kevin Newman38son of newjoeman (2,556)
newjoeman31the "Joe Newman" cited as source on WikiTree Wiley-3016
catimf28lynchpin, kin to both Kennys and Newmans

All six touch the William II descendants and none of the 18 Giese-core kits, so the link runs through William II and Alice, and the Irish geography puts it on the Wiley or Flynn side. Expected sharing for a 3rd cousin once removed is about 48 cM. Ancestry gives no segments, so this is shared-match structure, not triangulation. Grace's line: WikiTree Wiley-3016 · Meath verdict 2026-08-30 · 1881 civil marriage transcription.

183518401845185018551860 1856 · both leases end 1857 · in America William Sr · lease of Cullintre, 1 Jan 1835 · 2 lives or 21 years · £178 Ellen · lease, 28 Apr 1841 · 2 lives or 15 years · £172 Jan 1839 · Ellen bapt. Mar 1842 · Mary bapt. May 1854 · widow remarries William Sr dies (1835–41) William Jr dies (1842–54) Griffith's survey 1854 · Purdon re-let Mar 1855
The two Wiely farm leases at Cullentry were written for "lives or years", whichever ran longer. With both Williams dead by 1854, nothing could carry them past their terms, and both fell in 1856. William II arrived in America in 1857.
Places

Where each thing happened

Ireland

  • CullentryTownland, Rathmolyon civil parish, barony of Moyfenrath Lower, Co. Meath. The Wiely farm; written "Cullentra" by the Longwood clerk and "Cullintre" by the estate. logainm.ie
  • Longwood (Killine)The RC chapel and register, NLI parish 0947, 158 images, 1829-1878, now fully read. Grace married here twice. NLI parish page
  • Rathmolyon / RathcoreCullentry's own RC parish. Its registers do not survive before 1878, which is where William I's baptism, his marriage and William II's baptism would have been.
  • ClonardHome of James Byrne, Grace's second husband; her children born here 1882-86.
  • TrimCivil registration district for all of the above from 1864.
  • Ballynaskea · Isaacstown · BallinOther Wiley holdings on the Fowler estate in 1854.

America

  • Springfield ILSt Joseph's parish by 1878; William Jr, Margaret and James born here; Cathedral baptism of James 1883 sponsored by John and Margaret Lynch.
  • Alton ILSts Peter and Paul, the 1878 marriage of William II and Alice Aspinall.
  • Riverton ILMary Ann born 1885.
  • East St Louis ILRobert John Sr born 1888; Alice 1894.
  • St Louis MOWard 9 by 1900; Alice died 1899, William II 1913; Sts Peter and Paul Cemetery. Robert John Sr died here 1964.
  • Chicago ILCatherine Byrne Kenny, Grace's daughter, lived and died here (1973). The city William II's death notice asked to copy.
Open questions

What would turn pencil into ink

1 · the leaseNLI MS 43,577/1

A lease for lives names its lives, usually with relationship and age. If the two are "William the younger, son of the said William" or an infant grandson, the generations are stated on one page. Ordering guide in notes/NLI_ORDER.

2 · the rentalsFowler estate rentals, years ending May 1854-57

A yearly tenant list for Cullentree: when William Jr's name drops, whether Margaret's lot passes to John Flynn, and whether a William Wiely is gone by 1857.

3 · the Y chromosomeA male-line descendant of Michael Wiley and Anne Daly

Sons John (1871) and Hugh (1876) carry the Cullentry Wiley Y line. One test against Chris's R-FTA44479 proves or kills the Meath origin with no paper at all. Routes: 1901 and 1911 census for Cullentry and Longwood; civil births, Trim, 1871-76; Roots Ireland index from 1878.

the alternative still standingThe DNA could run through the Flynns

Chris's father has one Irish couple, Wiley and Flynn, and Grace's mother was a Flynn. A William Wiley from elsewhere marrying into the Longwood Flynns would give the same matches. Unlikely, since it needs a second William Wiley in one Flynn family, but only a document naming William I removes it.

Source index

Every record behind this page

Longwood RC register (NLI 0947, vtls000635226)

  • img 51 · 13 Jan 1839, Ellen, Wm Wiley & Bid Belagh
  • img 60 · 25 Mar 1842, Mary, William Weilly & Margaret Flynn
  • img 85 · 18 Sep 1853, Grace Weilly sponsor
  • img 90 · Jan-Mar 1857, no William baptised
  • img 106, 108, 110, 113 · Michael Wiley & Anne Daly, 1871-76
  • img 133 · 22 May 1854, John Flynn & Margaret Flynn alias Weilly
  • img 139 · 14 Feb 1876, John Brady & Grace Wiely
  • Verified crops with letterform controls: repo · crops/

Estate and valuation

Civil registration (Ireland)

United States

Analysis

Living people are named by role or public tester name only. Repository links open on GitHub and require access to the wiley-brickwall repository. NLI register links open the page viewer at the cited image.