McCool/Gatins

[ww1614]

Hello! I am not sure that the Donegal board is where I should be, but I have reasons for starting here.

I am trying to find the records/birthplaces of my ancestors Michael McCool (born approximately 1835 according to his DC; immigrated to NYC around 1864 with his sons John age 5? and Michael age 2?) and Catherine Gatins/Gettins/Giddens. Her name is spelled differently on lots of different records. She was born approx. 1837 and immigrated with her husband and sons around 1864. They are on the 1865 census in NYC. They also had 3 more sons in the US.

Michael's DC has no useful info other than his age. Catherine's lists her father's name as Michael Gittens and her mother's name as Mary Gillespie. Of course, they both list Ireland as place of birth.

I have chosen to focus on Donegal for this reason: searches of a surname map from Irish Times show that the names McCool and Gillespie are far more common in Donegal than in other counties in Ireland. There is no Gatins, but there were two hits for Gettins in Donegal.

I have a birth record for a Michael McCool on 15 Jun 1834 (from rootsireland.ie) in Clonmany/Tullnabratilly. I think Michael and Catherine were Catholic; Michael's grandson was married in a RC church in Manhattan, though he did marry a Presbyterian woman, and his son (my grandfather, by the way was an active Presbyterian.

I'd like to do further searching. Furthermore, I will be in Ireland - yes, Donegal, too - next month, but I won't have much time because I'm on a family trip. Any thoughts on my next steps?

Thanks!
Wendy

[hallmark]

I'd try http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/

search box there for surnames

[ww1614]

Done that--alas, nothing really turned up. What I'd like is some sort of marriage record of Michael and Catherine.

[rathmore]

on the donegal site give if you come down the page and click on Clomany

lots of McCool mention I think they were Flax seed growers for the Linen Industy.

Griffiths valuation 1857

[tgatins]

If she is a Gatins then Donegal is our home county. Gethins and Gittens show up in Scotland quite a lot. Root name of family was McGettigan. Couple of notes to be aware of: First born male always seems to be named John and they all seemed to marry a Mary. My line came to US via emigration to Southern US around 1854 and came north to Pennsylvania during the Civil War, finally settling in Johnstown PA. Other Gatins came to NY post 1865 and again early 1900's. Southern Gatins settled in and around Atlanta and also had a branch move up to NY over time. They are the rich relatives. Gatins settled in NY PA Ohio Georgia and Canada, heading west after Civil War and again after WWI. In Donegal I found most around Donegal city and nearby townships but cannot prove relationships due to gaps in emigration and immigration records. Good Luck.
Tim Gatins
Elmont NY USA

[ww1614]

Tim, Thanks! (Btw, I am a native Long Islander, now living in SE Massachusetts.)
I have a bunch of different documents all with different spellings. Hard to know which is the right one.

My uncle just told me he has never heard Donegal mentioned in the family lore about the Irish origins of the family, though. He said he seemed to remember Armagh mentioned. I guess I'll try looking there, too.

[tgatins]

All of my family is from the north of Ireland, Donegal and Leitrim.The accents have led to many different spellings over time. Gatins/Gatkins/Gettins/Giddens/Gethins/Gatlins/ amd my favorite Gatino have all shown up on family records. McCool is a northern name as well. Never researched a Gillespie so no clue on them. Good Luck.

[sh123]

Hi Wendy,
 I suspect that your Michael McCool and his wife originated in Donegal Parish,Donegal County.This parish had three McCool families in 1825 - Michael,Edward and James all on adjoining farms.Also two McGettigan[Gatins] Patrick and Denis on adjoining farms.

[ww1614]

sh123, hello! I would love to hear the source of your info. 1825 doesn't sound like Griffith's.

As an FYI, Michael and Catherine had 6 sons:
John, Michael (both born in Ireland, though I can find no record), Peter, Patrick, James and Joseph. In terms of naming conventions, I always thought Michael's father might be named John.