Hi, I am Scotland based, but with a family tree that is as far as I have found out, close to 100 % of irish origin, though my ancestors have been here for anything from close to 200 - 145 years. So the most recent arrival was a great grandmother who arrived on her own, from Clifden, County Galway in the early 1870's.
Most of my other ancesters were incomers from further north in Ireland, however! Because they came here so long ago, like many I have been able, quickly, to trace most lines back to the parents of babies born after 1855 civil registration began (here in Scotland), or using deaths from that date, to their parents ( as both birth and death certificates, as well as marriage certificates ask, for parental details in Scotland, that is also both parents, not just the paternal side).
So, within 3-6 months of hard work, back in 2009- 2010, I managed to find good record evidence for the direct line, on most branches, back to in and around 1800, and in a couple of cases, slightly further back. However, beyond that, in Ireland, I have found very little record evidence, for people who left Ireland significantly before civil registration began there for the catholic majority, and because, for the church records from before then, you really needed to have definite information about exactly where they came from ( ie parish and townlands), to have any chance of success!
I have spent the last 8-9 years, filling out my tree, thickening up those branches, with 'other family' for which census records have been invaluable. I have delved into genetic genealogy too, and found new cousins , near and far, but who like me, know not very much about life back in Ireland, and where in Ireland that was! Any way, after that pre-amble, to my point, finally!
One particular curiosity,was my Convoy branch, a pretty unusual name, for which there are few entries at Scotlands People, either now or in the past. My furthest back Convoy, John, who married his wife Sarah-Jane ( at a very young age!) in 1857 in Monklands Lanarkshire, said on the 1861 census he was born in Louth, which was great really, as the normal requirement for the census for someone born in Ireland , was, well, Ireland. However I have recently discovered the village of Convoy in Co. Donegal, and wonder if that name has given us people, with that name as a surname, in that area?
I found a very large group of 'unknown' but linked matches, through both my, and my fathers dna results, that I finally linked to my Convoy branch, recently. If the Convoy village has people with the Convoy surname, then that might be a route to investigating where the link began.
So can anyone help me, are there Convoys, living near, or originating from Convoy, County Donegal??
My Ancestry ethnicity results highlights Donegal and specifically the Innishowan peninsula (ie not covering Convoy village), though that is not unusual for scots of irish origin, as most incomers to Scotland, came from Ulster, across the north channel from Scotland.
So, any help on Convoys, from Convoy, Co. Donegal, would be great!
This query is based on the knowledge that when surnames began being used, local place names were one of the sources used, along with jobs (eg Baker), & descriptors (Longbottom - sorry, cant think of a better one at the moment!).
Thanks Jane
