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Hi Greg,
Good to hear from you.  I am also really interested in Irish origins but no luck so far.  Were your Gillans also spelt Gillon as well as Gillan?  it would be great if there was a connection as you have got further than me.  I know my Peter Gillon seems to be the first in Glasgow (around 1840s) but can't be sure.  His father Thomas was a cattle dealer in Ireland and married to a Gill I think.  Peter was married twice and had 2 families in Glasgow but both he and 2nd wife Euphemia died orphaning 3 children.
Kind regards
Fiona

Thanks, that's great to hear from you and have more information.  My mother told me a little but Hugh and Mary died when she was very young.  She remembered they had a big dog or dogs and that Mary was short and very wide! I visited Glasgow a few years ago and saw where they lived.

Frank Gillan's children were  Kathleen my mother b1918, Frances b1926(son Norman) and Hugh b1916 (no children).  Hugh went to sea, then lived in Middlesborough and he was not in contact with his family for many years up to his death in 1980s - I only found out where he ended up ifrom the internet in 2004.  My mother and Frances both lived in England.  Frances died last year and my mother in 2003.

Was Anne the sister that married Tommy-Joe Feeney and lived in Sligo? - If so I met their children Mary and Anne and Anne's children in Sligo, plus when I was a child we visited Marie who was brought up by Nicholas Gillan (and once met her children) in Ropley, Hampshire.

Anne Keenan was Hugh's mother. I think she married Peter in 1843 in Old Kilpatrick.  After she died in 1867 (?approx) , Peter Gillan remarried but it's not clear what happened to Hugh as he doesn't appear in census records along with Peter's new family. In Hugh and Mary's marriage record it doesn't say Anne but maybe it's a mistake.

I was interested in the Irish connection.  Nicholas Browne our GGGF was a waiter in Dublin, and Mary's mother was there too, but I have no idea where the Gillans came from. Thomas Gillan GGGGF was a cattle dealer.  Until 'Who do you think you are' fund the research (ha ha) that's all I know and maybe it will remain a mystery!

Best wishes
Fiona

Hi David,

I'm also a relative. My mother was your cousin Kathleen Gillan, daughter of Frank Gillan.  My cousin Norman is also interested in our family history.  Do you have any family photos or family stories to share? 


Best Wishes
Fiona

Hi

I am related to a Peter Gillan (or Gillon) and Anne Keenan married in Duntocher in about 1843.  They lived there (or Old Kilpatrick) till the 1860s when Anne died I think - later Clydebank.  They had several children: Thomas, John, Peter/Hugh twins, possibly another boy.  He later remarried and has 3 more children: Peter, Isabella plus another boy who were orphaned when he died in 1880s I think.

Where in Ireland are your Gillans from?

I'm interested in chatting with any Gillans from Glasgow or Ireland or anyone who is researching Irish/Scottish links.

Best Wishes
Finne