The Derry website offers a free and unique service to family researchers and the entire Derry section of Griffiths Census has been exported into an Excel spreadsheet. This has been organized so as to identify how prevalent family names are in each townland, how distinctive names are to a parish and not found much elsewhere, and family names of neighbors. In many cases this will help to narrow a search and more so if the family name of the marriage partner is distinctive to the same townland or parish. It should be remembered that the details for County Derry were not entered until 1852, a full 7 years after the Great Famine, and they are therefore incomplete. By that time much emigration had already taken place to Scotland and places much further away. The use of asterisks in the specimen table below signifies the prevalence and uniqueness of the name to a parish. The complete Excel spreadsheet, together with a Ready Reckoner to narrow a search, is available at no cost from Dr. Don MacFarlane, coordinator of this website at donmac@doctors.org.uk.
| PARISH | NAME | NEIGHBOURS | TOWNLAND | ETHNICITY |
| Aghadowey | Bartley*** | Cunningham | Ballynacally | Scots-Irish |
| Agivey | Boyle | McElroy | Mullaghmore | Native Irish |
| Arboe | Donaghy | Browne | Drummullan | Scots-Irish |
| Artrea | Berryman*** | Allen | Ballyneill | Scots-Irish |
The prevalence of the commonest names in Derry makes it that more difficult for family researches to trace these ancestors unless they have to hand other information such as less common names of ancestors on the distaff side of the family tree. The principal parishes in the mid 1800s where these commoner families were to be found is given in brackets except where they were too dispersed to be associated with any particular locality, e.g., Doherty (Templemore – now known as Cityside of Derry), McLaughlin (Templemore), Gallagher (Templemore), McCloskey (Dungiven), Kane, Kelly, Coyle (Templemore), Moore (Tamlaght Finlagan), Bradley (Ballynascreen) and Campbell (Macosquin).
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Visitors to this site can also explore how strong their Irish roots have survived through generations from the early 1800s. An accurate assessment can be done from completion of an identity grid and with reference to the classic paper by Kaufmann on ethnicity. For further information and explanation of the grid, log in and post a reply for Dr. Don MacFarlane as it is his PhD thesis the method and analysis are based upon.
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To see a map of civil parishes see Civil Parishes of Derry. While looking at this map, it may be useful to keep the topography of the County in mind’s eye. Two diagonal lines, one from Cumber Lower to Drumachose, and another from Ballynascreen to Ballywillin, divide off the lowland parts of County Derry from the belt of upperlands that runs through the middle. For R.C. Diocesan parishes see Diocesan Parishes. Some parishes such as Lavey Parish have gone to the trouble to put their records on line but this would be the exception rather than the norm. How the introduction of family records at parish level came about and how this has changed over the centuries is detailed at History from Headstones.
A more extensive list of the commoner family surnames in each Parish as recorded in the Griffiths 1845 Census is set out below. Matheson’s Report also shows to what extent family names found in Ulster had emigrated from other parts of the island of Ireland. The researcher might also find it useful to have a basic knowledge of the origins of Irish Placenames. What may seem at first sight to be a bewildering name for a townland may give good clues as to Townland Locale. Given what we know about the rundale nature of the agricultural economy of Ulster in the early 1800s, the placename may also give good clues as to the social circumstances of a family at that time.
Links will be created on this website for most of the parishes listed below and these will show places of origin and clan connections of the inhabitants prior to arriving in Derry. It will be obvious from most of these links done so far how much there is of a Scots-Irish connection. The controversial if amusing Tim Pat Coogan would seek to deny Scots-Irish people their enduring and strong affinity with the Ireland of their ancestors. He likens them to the Anglo Irish Duke of Wellington who remarked about his Irish ancestry that being born in a stable did not make one a horse. Likewise, he quotes from the poem about the Scots-Irish
We’ll join in jubilation for the thing that we are not;
For we say we aren’t Irish and God knows we aren’t Scot!
Notwithstanding this cynical disparagement, the evidence from the heavy traffic on Ancestry.com noticeboards is that a goodly proportion of visitors who seek their Northern Irish roots are indeed Scots-Irish.
A
Aghadowey (Gilmore, Mullen, Miller)
Aghanloo (Mullen, Wilson)
Agivey (Hunter, Boyle)
Arboe, Artrea (Browne, Devlin)
B
Ballinderry (McCusker, McGuckin)
Ballyaghran (Martin)
Ballymoney
Ballynascreen (Bradley)
Ballyrashane (Stirling)
Ballyscullion (Cassidy, Davidson, Scullion)
Ballywillin (McNeill)
Balteagh (Kane, Loughrey, Oliver)
Banagher (Hassan, Kane, McCluskey)
Bovevagh (Brolly, Moore)
C
Carrick
Clondermot (Doherty, McLoughlin, Kelly)
Coleraine (Black, Clarke, Glenn)
Cumber Lower (Quigley)
Cumber Upper (Devine, Rosborough, McDonough)
D
Derryloran
Desertlyn (Devlin)
Desertmartin (Henry, McGovern, McCrystle)
Desertoghill (Dimond, Torrens)
Drumachose (Boyle, Smith)
Dunboe (Blair, Lees)
Dungiven (Irwin, Kane, McCluskey)
E
Errigal (Gilmore, McNicholl, O’Kane)
F
Faughanvale (Craig, McGuinness)
Formoyle
K
Kilcronaghan (Clarke, Lyle, Nelson)
Kildollagh
Killelagh (Bradley, Convery, McIldowney, McKenna)
Killowen
Kilrea (Bicknell, Hagarty, McKay)
L
Learmount (Keane, McDonagh)
Lissan (Conlon, Crookes)
M
Macosquin (Black, Campbell, Kennedy)
Maghera (Anderson, Connor, Convery)
Magherafelt (Graham, Johnstone , Stewart)
Magilligan (Doherty)
T
Tamlaght Finlagan (Connor)
Tamlaght O’Crilly (Cassidy, Henry, McCahy)
Tamlaghtard (McCoy, McErlane)
Templemore (Coyle, Crawford , Cunningham)
Termoneeny
Lots of assumptions and caveats have to be built in when using Griffiths. Nonetheless, a triangulated Griffiths search using more than one name should help to narrow a search.
The major, admittedly crude and somewhat general, assumptions to be kept in mind are a) if names are a generation out, you are probably looking at nephews, uncles, parents etc b) names are indigenous for at least several generations to certain parishes and townlands c) social mobility was less in the early nineteenth century d) people did not travel far to go to work. Once having put the toe in the water, a more exhaustive approach is as set out in the Ferguson link.
Other considerations are a) Derry Griffiths was less affected by the Great Famine as Derry was comparatively untouched, according to certain sources, than neighbouring counties such as Donegal b) Derry Griffiths is accepted as being an exemplar of how the rest of the Irish Counties should have been done, therefore there are few ommissions.
Despite the excellence of the Derry Griffiths Census it was not replicated elsewhere on the grounds of cost. Therefore the same reliability cannot be attached to Griffiths censuses in other counties in Ireland.
Reply to Glenda Sharry from Gold Coast, Australia
My hunch is that the following families did not come from Ardstraw but from the South-West corner or South side of Lough Neagh – notably the Hunters and Corners who came from the adjoining Killyman Parishes; Hunters from Killyman, County Tyrone; and Corners from Killyman, County Armagh. The others- viz. Laughlin, Simms, and Faulkener came from the same general area but a bit more dispersed.
The above hunch may be completely off the mark. To square the circle within your family tree will require an accommodation of these anomalies:
1. You say that the family understanding is that the roots are in Tyrone and Derry.
2. The places of origin are somewhat dispersed. The Simms name appears only in Tamlaght O’Crilly in East County Derry in the 1850s.
3. The Corner name appears only in North Armagh and East Antrim during that period.
4. There is a centre of Gravity for some of the other names, especially such as McHugh and McCrossan from around Ardstraw in North Tyrone.
To sum up, the debate is whether the family narrative is correct that there is a Derry connection other than the families being ‘blow-ins’, placing the family tree much further North. Griffiths Valuation suggests otherwise, that the family tree is based around East Tyrone/ West Armagh, not North Tyrone/Derry.
Input from readers of this Noticeboard to tease out this conundrum would be most welcome. Otherwise, watch this space!
MacGilleChainnich is a Celtic clan found both in Ulster and Argyll and the Isles. Saint Cainneach (translated Kenneth in Scots Gaelic, Kevin in Irish) was born in Derry and he was a close associate and friend of his compatriot, Saint Columcille, who came from just down the road in Kilmacrennan in County Donegal. Translated in English into Shaw, the Dalriadan branch of the clan has its own website. The clan motto is ‘Theid mi Thairis’ which is appropriate for a clan that went back and forward between Scotland and Ireland, being translated from Gaelic into ‘I’ll go over there’. Anyone who knows more about this clan, please join in.
From Angus MacMillan
The Shaws are a very ancient clan ( alternatively known as Sitheach, MacIlleChainnich and MacIlleRiabhach) and are associated with clans MacIntosh and MacDonald.
The Wars of Independence saw a bundle of clans split into two confederations. One based in Lochaber and Lorn was effectively absorbed into the Lordship of the Isles (MacDonald). The other, led by a Sythac MacMallon or Shaw MacMillan on record in 1228, based itself a bit further inland on the Perthshire borders and was left much more to its own devices.
Shaw had a son Ferquhar who had a son Angus, father of Uilleam mac Aonghais ‘ic Fhearchar ‘ic ‘Shaw’. William was Captain of Clan Chattan in 1346 and, in consequence of his status, his descendants were MacIntosh, sons of the Chief, captains of Clan Chattan in Badenoch.
Under the related names of Shaw and MacIntosh, a gradual spread from there over some hundreds of years to Skye and on to the Outer Isles should not be a surprise. I don’t know how the precise descent worked but men of the name were still vastly influential in the Uists in the 19th Century; Duncan Shaw was the factor who oversaw the sale of the Clanranald estates to Colonel Gordon and one or more of the name played the role of Sheriff Substitute in the Isles.
Family Searches, August 2008
Gilmore (Aghadowey)
Glenn (Coleraine)
Keane (Learmount)
Loughlin (Ballynascreen)
Loughran (Tamlaght Finlagan)
McCrossan (Drumragh)
McDonough (Clondermot)
Moore (Tamlaght Finlagan)
O’Crilly (Tamlaght O’Crilly)
Scott (Artrea)
Smyth (Clondermot)
Simms (Tamlaght O’Crilly)
Family Searches, September 2008
Allen (Aghanloo)
Bradley (Draperstown)
Clark (Templemore)
Convery (Maghera)
Ferguson (Drumachose)
Irwin (Kilrea)
McCloskey (Ballynascreen)
McErlane (Magherafelt)
McFarland (Drumragh)
McFarlane (Dungiven)
McLaughlin (Banagher)
Moore (Tamlaght Finlagan)
Scullion (Ballyscullion)
Stanley (Maghera)
Wilson (Aghanloo)
Family Searches, October 2008
Bartley (Aghadowey)
McDonald (Killyman)
Dougherty (Templemore)
Connor (Maghera)
Boyle (Termoneeny)
Sheeran (Killybegs)
Graham (Killyman)
Coyle (Templemore)
McCrossan (Ardstraw)
McKenna (Maghera)
Anderson (Maghera)
Convery (Maghera)
Moore (Kilrea)
Elder (Faughanvale)
Rosborough (Banagher)
Family Searches, November 2008
Hagarty (Kilrea)
Wade (Desertoghill)
Finnegan (Drumglass)
Wilson (Templemore)
Phillips (Maghera)
McNicholl (Drumachose)
McIldowney (Killelagh)
This search should prove to be very rewarding and intriguing. The name Arbuckle is common enough even in Derry today, prominent amongst those with the name is Roy Arbuckle who crossed the religious divide at the height of the Troubles. Unusually for someone with a Protestant name, he was a leading light and exponent of Irish traditional folk music.
The name Valley is not one that is historically associated with Ireland. The only person of that name recorded in Griffiths 1848 was Sarah Valley from Kyle’s Brae in Derry. On the other hand, Valley might be an abbreviated form of Vallely, a name that is to be found mainly in Armagh.
As far as searching, the directions to be found on this website in the page Intermediate Genealogy should assist. If the search is only for as far back as the early twentieth century, GRONI should certainly be able to find the information. For further back, Brian Mitchell in the Genealogy Centre in Craft Village in Derry will post a template from which he or the family searcher can work.
For those who wish to embark upon Family History as a hobby and are prepared to puit the time and effort in, buy a copy of ‘Tracing Your Irish Ancestors’ by John Grenham which is available from all good bookshops ISBN 978 07171 3976 7.
Family Searches, December 2008
Scott (Ardstraw)
Smith (Banagher)
Campbell (Maghera)
Hunter (Termoneeny)
Campbell (Macosquin)
Strain (Kilmacrennan)
McGuckin (Desertmartin)
Scott (Ardstraw)
Anderson (Maghera)
Black (Macosquin)
McKean (Templemore)
Loughrey (Balteagh)
If anyone could let me know the history of the McCormick/McCormack family in Ardmore and Waterside, I would be very grateful. My Great-grandfather came from there as did my grandfather after him. They were Jack and Michael respectively.
Response to Family Search Query
Depends how far you are going back. In the mid-1880s, there were no recorded householders of that name in Ardmore. Waterside during that era went by the name of Clondermot and there were three by the name of McCormick in what is now known as Maydown (Enagh/Coolkeeragh/Lisahalley) and one by the name of McCormack in Fountain Hill. Fountain Hill connects Irish Street and Spencer Road and is more like what is commonly known as Waterside today.
Don, thank you for the information on the McCormicks. I have since been back to Ardmore and raised a stone over my grandfather’s grave. His mother, a Coleman from Lettermuck is interred with him. I have also found that the family had a connection to the townland of Binn in the early 1800s.There were Irish speakers in Sallgowilly in the 1930s.
Well done Padraig on your persistence and it just goes to show the limitations of Griffiths Evaluation. I have become very familiar with the Claudy hinterland over this past month as I was tracking down Dunn connections in Ardground, just up the road from Sallygowilly that you mentioned. Much of that part of Derry was ‘owned’ by the Ogilby family of Pellipar, subrented out by them or otherwise administered by them on behalf of the Skinners Company from London.
Response to Family Search Query
The only pocket of people of the same name as your ancestors was in Ballyness, outside Dungiven. That is where you should be looking (see householder names from Griffiths 1848). The marriage would have taken place in the bride’s church in Dungiven, unless they were runaways? Your male ancestor would have come from Fincairn townland in Banagher Parish but there was no Banagher RC parish in those days as Banagher would have been included under Feeny RC Parish from 1851. Alternatively, it would have been included under Dungiven and Dungiven marriage records have been kept from 1864, birth from 1847 i.e. just on the cusp of your dates so you might be lucky.
Family Searches, January 2009
Noble (Raphoe)
Bell (Magherafelt)
Owens (Cumber Lower)
Dimond (Dungiven)
Stevenson (Banagher)
McConnell (Conwal)
Mullen (Killowen)
Gilmore (Aghadowey)
McGinley (Fahan)
Glenn (Coleraine)
Loughrey (Balteagh)
McGlashan (Clondavaddog)
McKean (Donaghedy)
Smyth (Clondermot)
Brolly (Bovevagh)
Stewart (Dungiven)
Hunter (Macosquin)
Strain (Kilmacrennan)
Elder (Faughanvale)
Are you sure about your spellings? If so, it is a very narrow search you have here.
Only one family with your spelling was in Derry around that period.
It may also be a misinterpretation of a very common name in Derry.
Likewise, it may be a less usual spelling for a surname that is otherwise very common in Derry.
On the other hand, it was quite common to deliberately ‘mispell’ a surname if the family religion were being changed. This was to make clear that the family were not RC. For example, Docherty would become Dogherty.
Careful comparison of sources of both names, using Interactive Map2 on the Derry GenWeb site,
http://ireland.kiwicelts.com/irishMap/ireMap.html
might suggest one of these two places:
Coleraine/ Ballyrashane
Lackagh (Cumber Lower)/ Faughanvale
Would you happen to know where McGees were concentrated in Derry? My great great grandfather was born in “Londonderry” in 1840, but I don’t know if that refers to the county or the city.
Thanks for any help you might be able to offer.
Excerpts on McGee name from http://discuss.glasgowguide.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=6320&st=165
Mag Aoidh or MagAoidh is the Irish Gaelic spelling for Magee in east Ulster. Mac Aoidh or MacAoidh is the Scottish Gaelic spelling of McKay, McKee/McKie and McGhee.
The McGee/Magee surname is common in both east and west Ulster. The Magees of east Ulster (Antrim and Down) are mainly descendants of 17th century Scottish Protestant McGhee Planters from Ayrshire and Galloway.
Some of the McGees in West Ulster are probably connected to the native Irish Mhaoil Ghaoithe sept of Donegal but most are probably connected to the native Irish MacAodha families of west Ulster (Donegal, Tyrone and Fermanagh) and north Connacht (Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo).
The Donegal version of the McGee/Magee surname, MacMhaoilGhaoithe in Gaelic, normally refers to baldness but has a particular significance as the distinctive tonsure worn by followers of St. Columba. Hence, the name MacMillan in the Highlands of Scotland appears as MacMhaolain. Doubly interesting is that the Magees of Donegal are thought to have come from around Kilmacrennan, also thought to be the birthplace of St. Columba. All of this might be quite fanciful as Maol sometimes, though less commonly, simply refers to a feature of landscape. This might fit in better with Ghaoithe which in Gaelic means of the wind. Therefore Muintear Mhaoil Ghaoithe, the full Gaelic form of Magee, might simply mean those ones from the exposed windy place!
As far as the specific query about Derry McGees, the following are the McGees mentioned in Griffiths circa 1848:
Mc Gee William Main Street,Garvagh Errigal Derry
Mc Gee Irwin Teenaght Learmount Derry
Mc Gee John Mayboy Errigal Derry
Mc Gee Elizabeth Mettican Glebe Errigal Derry
Mc Gee Mary Rathbrady Beg,Newtownlimavady Drumachose Derry
Mc Gee William Teenaght Learmount Derry
Mc Gee Anthony, Jr. Gulladuff Maghera Derry
Mc Gee John Sesnagh Tamlaght Finlagan Derry
Mc Gee John Sesnagh Tamlaght Finlagan Derry
Mc Gee Sarah Moyagall Maghera Derry
Mc Gee John Moyagall Maghera Derry
Mc Gee Patrick Tirkeeran Desertoghill Derry
Mc Gee John Killylane Faughanvale Derry
Mc Gee Joseph Alla Upper Cumber Upper Derry
Mc Gee Edward Coleraine and Suburbs Coleraine Derry
Mc Gee John East Crossreagh Ballyaghran Derry
Mc Gee Patrick Belagherty Ballinderry Derry
Mc Gee Simon Gilky Hill Cumber Upper Derry
Mc Gee John Sallowilly Cumber Upper Derry
It is obvious from the above that none of the recorded McGees were from Derry City. They were mainly from North County Derry (Maghera, Tamlaght Finlagan, Coleraine, Errigal) – perhaps Scottish in origin, perhaps not; and West County Derry (Cumber, Learmount, Faughanvale) – most likely native Irish and perhaps drifted in from Donegal. As the name is sufficiently uncommon and not an indigenous Derry name, a BDM search could be fruitful.
I suspect McCahon is a variation on a more common name. As regards derivation, I suspect it is of Scottish planter origin, possibly from ‘MacEachann’, son of Hector, 2nd son of Ruairidh who was 3rd Chieftain of MacDonalds of Clanranald. If so, MacEachan is from the Highlands & Islands, mostly Clanranald, though a few from Islay & Kintyre. By way of further explanation, Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic differed in a way that would explain a change. In Irish, the guttural ‘gh’ becomes ‘h’ and ‘ea’ becomes ‘a’. Also in Irish, Mac becomes Mc. All told, it could be your ancestors came over from Islay or Kintyre in Scotland with the MacDonalds who became Earls of Antrim.
The Morells were, amongst other places in mid-Derry, mainly to be found in Desertoghill in County Derry. Check the interactive map in http://www.kiwicelts.com/ to see the proximity of Desertoghill (where McCahons are also to be found) to Kilrea/Errigal.
Also check http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/bannvalley/oldagepension.html
Something tells me the Morells may have been of Huguenot origin and that they were big into the flax industry. If your Morells were connected, they would have been well to do. This implies the McCahons were ‘respectable’ enough to marry into the Morells and should appear in Griffiths.
Culnaman was exactly halfway between Garvagh and Kilrea, incidentally-therefore include Kilrea, Errigal and Desertoghill in your search. Marriage certificates should be easily available for such uncommon surnames for all three parishes from Brian Mitchell in the Genealogy centre – see http://www.irish-roots.ie/derry.asp
Awesome, thank you! Thanks for the surname info as well, it was really interesting, and much appreciated. Griffiths Valuation only covers land owners, and not tenants, right? Would you have any idea roughly what percent of people Derry County were land owners in the mid 1800s?
From Failteromhat
The Griffiths Evaluation was a national survey used to determine the amount of tax each person should pay towards the support of the poor within their poor law union. This involved determining the value of all privately held lands and buildings in rural as well as urban areas to figure the rate at which each unit of property could be rented year after year. Amendments were passed to the 1826 Act, the first in 1831, which excluded those houses under the annual valuation of £3, another in 1836 excluded houses under £5. As far as what £5 could get you in those times, suffice to say that £5 could keep an impoverished widow in dole money for a year, could pay a labourer for a month’s work or could buy two cows. From that, one could extrapolate that with hard graft, purchase of a property that would attract a valuation of £5 should have been within reach of most people.
I have an 1920 US census for my GG Grandfather’s children. It says that their father’s “mother tongue” was Irish. Is this of any significance in guessing whether he was native Irish or descended from plantation settlers?
If I can assume that the man in question had ‘Irish’ as his native tongue around 1870 (?), I think this would most likely place him in Donegal and as Native Irish. While it is true the McGee name could be found in East Ulster and of Scottish stock, those Scots would most likely be Lowlanders and English-speaking, not Highlanders. Gallowglasses, who were Highland and Gaelic-speaking Scots in Ireland, dated back to the 1600s but they were extinct in their original form and intermarried with the Irish by the time of your GGgrandfather. Scottish Gaelic was for long enough referred to as ‘Irish’ also but the clue is more about the period in question. Gaelic would not have been spoken in Derry or any other part of Northern Ireland, as we know it today, in the latter half of the 1800s as far as I know. Therefore, back to Donegal for this particular ancestor?
Yes I think Donegal is the place to look. I spoke to the distant relative whom I got the Derry information from, and he said he actually only knows that my GGgrandfather immigrated from Derry in 1860, and has no information about where he was born in abt 1840. So Donegal it may be!
If the McGees were from Donegal, their biggest concentration is in Tullaghobegley which is strongly Gaelic-speaking country even to this day. This parish includes Inishbofin in the Tory Islands. There was a stream of emigrants from that parish post-Famine from 1847-1871.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bhilchey/MTullaghobegley.html
For available census records held by LDS, visit
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/ldsrec.htm
For other records including Ships Lists, visit
http://www.donegallibrary.ie/memory/famhistory.htm
Does anyone have information about a family Drips from ‘the hill’ near Klirea in County Derry? The family left for America about 1796 but was reportedly from the area mentioned and had lived in that area for about 350 years. It appears they changed their name from Seldon to Drips, probably when they left Scotland for N Ireland to escape religious persecution. Any information would be greatly appreciated.