RootsChat.Com
Some Special Interests => Travelling People => Topic started by: forthefamily on Friday 07 December 12 19:32 GMT (UK)
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I'm presently looking into two surnames...Jennett and Kean and variations of this name. I wondered if anyone knew if they were Traveller surnames.
Also the surnames Dooley or Dowland.
Thanks
mab
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Hi mab,
Dooley and Dowland are Traveller surnames.
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Celtic_Traveller
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Thank you Nettie :)
I've been googling but so far not a thing...I'll take a look at that website.
mab
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hi.
Dooley 1891-present (Sussex/Ireland) "Gypsies passing through"
there is a ref; Dowland 1618 on the Oxford Message Board (not sure if it is for this site)
if it is any help.
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Thank you I'll take a look :)
mab
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Downey and Dooley are traveller surnames, I was wondering if Mckevitt was an irish traveller name if anyone knew?
See also McKevitt post:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,631099.msg4789392.html#msg4789392
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I looked up an Irish ancestor and I saw one of my families surnames "Kelley" on that familytreedna.com website, it says "Gypsies passing through" next to the name. What does that mean?
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Hi,
It is a Reference to one instance where say in a church record there is a birth marriage or death recorded as a gypsy who is not local to a parish, some times you may find it recorded as a traveller and this you find sometimes recorded for a person who has died say in a hedge who is not of the parish and who's name is not known.
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Thanks for the info. that makes sense! So, if I understand it right, "gypsies passing through" meant just that....gypsies were passing through the area and someone with the last name of Kelley, not a local, had a recorded birth, death, or marriage and was documented as a traveller. So Does anyone know IF Kelley is a known Irish Traveller surname? Not a lot was known about this side of my family, I have been in contact with some of my older relatives to see what they know but no one knows too much :/ Its very intriguing!
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You have the variant's of the name Kelly - Scotland-Ireland an early date is 1697 given by Robert Dawson, the Scottish traveller were sometimes called Tinkler other than Tinker,
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Hi. Jlangley. I have Kelly travellers in my family on the Miller maternal side. And yes it was /is a travellers name. Lots still living in trailers. All over GB. Yours. Rob g
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Thank you for your response! How interesting!Perhaps we share a common ancestor? I could only get back to 1773, to a John Patrick Kelley born in County Down Ireland.
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Hello, recently my aunt died but before she died she started to tell me some things about the family name my surname is Kelly and we also spelt our name Kelley she also told me that there was some sort of argument between 2 bothers, one stayed in cork the other settled in cullyhanah co armargh, she told me that my family is from traveller stock from ireland but when i ask anyone of this i get the stare like Ive said something wrong and the end of days is coming.. my mothers father was a traveller so I'm lead to believe and his surname was rawson and he herald from newark amongst many other places.. any help would be good.
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Do you know the names of the 2 brothers?
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Hi,
Kelly in records as a traveller goes back to about 1697 found in Ireland, Scotland and England, remembering that Irish Travellers had been in England and Scotland long before the Gypsies arrived, also spelt as Kelley, Rawson slightly earlier but that is in England around 1596, there is a reference for 1891 England which may be the census for that year [not looked myself].
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http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=721045.0
Different spelling but could it be a variation? Ginnett Jennett
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Kelley was how its spelled with my ancestors from County Down Ireland, he married a lady from England with the maiden name Whalen
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Wallen and Welan and various other spellings are gypsy and traveller surnames in England also.
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Wow, that's so cool to know. How could I find out more about these surnames? I guess I should look more into my family tree and see what other names are there.
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you are on the right site to ask for more information, first names and dates if you have any will help, also look at the census returns, some information may be found on these, there are other community sites also which cater for your ethnic group that may be Traveller, Romany, you just have to dig and be patient and wait for a just reward these most times however come in dribs and drabs, I am still searching for family members nearly twenty years on anyhow I do hope you find what you seek. kushti bok.
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John Patrick Kelley was born in County Down Ireland in 1773 and his wife Mamie Whalen was born in 1775, Isle of Wright, Hampshire, England. How do you know if they were travellers? Is there a record? Is it just based on known traveler surnames?
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hi
there are many things that may come into play, you may be lucky and get info of a census but it may not state that they are gypsy or traveller it may just say ag lab, or hawker or pedlar but they are not always from a travelling family, so any family history you may have or are told may pin point their roots, certain names may indicate a traveller or gypsy, perhaps certain words or sayings as like the Romany travellers had and have their own words which are not understood by native Irish people, prior to the census you have to look at church records these may hold clues such as travelling tinker baptised, Irish travellers seem to have landed firstly in Scotland around 1100 then moved southwards into England but then you have Scottish travellers not to be confused with Irish Travellers, move forward to today and you may find English Travellers claiming to be Gypsies but in fact are just the ancestors of English peasants who took to the road and this happened in many countries of Europe but I do not believe it happened in Ireland though the very distant ancestors had been native black smiths I believe, it is rather a melting pot and for some it can be easy to identify their ancestors but for others it is one big puzzle, for me I had a bit of a head start as a cousin started doing family history in the early seventies by going to all the churches of a town that an ancestor was known to live and looked at the BMD records, I have also walked around many a church yard or cemetery to search and gather name, though the web is good it wont solve all your puzzles or answer all your questions and because travellers and gypsies did not stay in any one place for long periods it makes it a little harder to research, anyhow all the best and happy hunting.