McGaughey, McGoy, McCaughey, McCoy?

Little Bill | 3/10/14 | Me

[Little Bill]

I have been doing this Ancestor stuff, because I am getting old and I have verified that my dads family were exactly what the claimed to be, Limeys.

My Old Ma's family were Harps from Northern Ireland and possibly Scotland, Gaelic is not a language a civilized person would speak and tracing these Names is driving me to drink.

Old Ma was black Irish on The J2c2e scale of MTDNA which means her family were Polocks, this thing has me confused.

[Little Bill]

All your American Harps out there, Help!

[2ndDivisionVet]

Austrian here, so I only speak Austrian, can’t help you.

[sauropod]

I haven’t done the DNA thing yet, but my ancestors on my father’s side were Scotch-Irish.

[freedumb2003]

Scottish Gentile — Mac Goyim...

[Little Bill]

Still have your Kilt? Macmillan if I remember correctly.

[Little Bill]

12th Tribe?

[posterchild]

I haven’t done the tests but I am at least 4/1461 irish.

[dblshot]

I highly recommend James Webb's The Fighting Scots Irish. I was able to find stories that linked to my wife's family. My mother was a McGee, grandpa however didn't hang around much and they immigrated to Canada. My wife's middle name is Boone, a descendant of Daniel through one of his indian wives. Family moved from Kentucky to Ohio. Another good book in this area is Riding With The Devil which brings the Scots down the whisky trail from Philadelphia into the hollers of Appalacia where they could grow corn and make whisky. Washingotn had the Whisky Rebellion to deal with. Eventually these people transporting shine hopped up their 39 Fords and such to out run the revenuers, got into showing off their fast cars and spawned NASCAR. They are the reason the cross of St' Andrew is on the Confederate flag which as you know is well displayed at NASCAR events.

[dblshot]

On some nights I’m a fifth Irish.

[Darren McCarty]

McCoy is USUALLY Scottish, although it could be Irish. (Mac Aodha is the old Irish - roughly translates to fire). McGaughey is usually Irish (Horseman). McCaughey is definitely Irish. Mac hEochaidh. (Son of Eochaidh.) It's pronounced Owey.

[Little Bill]

Jamison or Murphy's, South vs Ulster

[Little Bill]

I was on a web site and did a search on McGaughey and ended up in Ulster. There a Black Protestant McGaughey was hurling Sulpher and Brim Stone on Quivering Papest Mcgaughey’s.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

Wherever four Irishmen are gathered, there’s a fifth.

[Montanabound]

I first thought this was a thread about country singer Neal McCoy. His real name is McGaughey, pronounced “McGoy”, but everyone was mispronouncing it as “McCoy” when he was starting his career, so he just went ahead and changed it. (His father was of Irish descent, and his mother is from the Philippines.)

[Eric Roelfsema]

I am pure blooded Dutch. I have been working on my family trees for over a dozen years already. It is not the easiest to get info on the Dutch in some provinces, as well as here in the USA after the US Census of 1940.

[sauropod]

Forbes.

[Cyber Liberty]

Not to worry: You’ll be 100% Irish a week from today!

[Darren McCarty]

Ulster is tougher to trace since it could be either Scots-Irish (Scottish roots) or Irish there. There's similarities as both have Gaelic roots, but there are some differences with the surnames. The Mc and Mac names (son of) are used in both surnames.

If that side is historically Catholic, it's more likely (not always) to be "Green" Irish. If it's historically Presbyterian (not always), it's more likely to be Scottish.

Many names have been Anglicized both in the US, and in Ireland and Britain. McCarthy/MacCarthy/McCarty/MacCarthy is obvious, but one of my good friends has over 20 variations of his surname in Ireland alone. The four you mention could all come from the same name, or they could be different just due to pronunciations. Picture Paddy, Mick, or Jock arriving in the US or talking to George the Brit with the various Celtic accents. McCoy, McCay, McGoy, McKay, McGaha.

[Darren McCarty]

And it goes quick! Tullamore Dew.

[Little Bill]

My Grandmothers Mother was a McCaughey, my Grandmother married a McGaughey, gets confusing, she had a sister who Married a McCaughey, different branch.

I was down in the Delta in Mississippi and the McGaughey’s there pronounce it McGoy.