McCaughey, McCaughley and McAuley of Derriaghy Area in early 1800s

[Sporran55]

A number of years ago I was presented with a list of my great grandfathers’ siblings and their dates of birth. My great grandfather was Thomas McAuley (1845-1929) of Magheragall or Derriaghy and he was the youngest of the siblings. The list of names, and associated dates of birth, had been given to my late father in official documents from a firm of solicitors in Lisburn.

A couple of years ago I found the exact same list, on a famous genealogy website, but the original name was given as McCaughey, which changed into McCaughley and then McAuley at the end! I managed to make contact with the author of the family tree and she informed me that the list had come from a family bible! I fully understand that due to a combination of illiteracy, and a strong regional accent, the various spellings on documents were down to the interpretation of either a minister or a priest – which is why we have such variations.

The list I was given (and which is also visible on that genealogy website) was as follows:
Nancy McCaughey - 15 Mar 1821
Jane McCaughey – 20 May 1823  (She may have died about 1899 and may have married John Parkinson on 7 Feb 1851)
James McCaughey – 9 Oct 1825  (James married Sarah Browne in 1848 and died in 1916. I have found out quite a lot about his family)
John McCaughey - 21 Feb 1828
Margaret McCaughley – 11 May 1830  (Margaret may have married John McKeown on 1 Jun 1855)
William McCaughey – 25 Jul 1832  (William may have married Eliza Thompson on 15 Sep 1856)
Henry McCaughey – 2 Apr 1835
Susan McCaughley – 19 Jul 1837  (Susan married Richard Belshaw in 1863 and died in 1919. I have managed to find out quite a bit of information about her family.)
George McAulay – 10 Mar 1840
Eliza Anne Macaulay - 17 May 1843  (I think Eliza Anne may have married a James Moffet in 1868)
Thomas McAuley – 30 Jun 1845 – 4 Feb 1929

Thomas McAuley married Elizabeth McCurry (1842 – 26 Dec 1901) on 28 Sep 1866. I have managed to trace the vast majority of my family between Thomas and myself – and even made contact with some of them. It has been a real joy to find connections and then become friends. One of the exciting things about tracing your family tree is when they become ‘real’, not just names on a list!

If any of you genealogy sleuths can offer additional info I would be thrilled!

[cwatterson]

Pretty interesting, I’ve an ancestor Joseph McCarthy who was recorded as Joseph McCaghley for his first marriage in 1853 to Eliza Larmour.

Civil marriage record

In this case the marriage was at the registry office.

It’s the earliest record I’ve got, I haven’t been able to link it to other records, maybe his father Thomas wasn’t recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books but maybe I’ve been looking for the wrong surname McCarthy when it could be some McAuley variant.

[Sporran55]

I had not even thought of McCarthy as an option!

Alas, I have absolutely no information about my great great grandmother. I know my great great grandfather was John, with the surname written as McAuley on my great grandfathers marriage certificate, but sadly I know nothing at all about his wife!

This genealogy searching can be so very frustrating when you come up against a brick wall!!!!

[Sporran55]

cwatterson,

Mt great-grandfather's oldest brother was a James McCaughey, or McCaughley, (1825 -1916) from Lurgan, Armagh. One of his daughters Margaret married a James Larmour English (1887), who had an older brother Howard 1881.

Since Larmour was only on the fringe of my interest I did not look any further! I have no further details about a Larmour connection, but it appears that we both have a link between McCaughey and Larmour, although your dates would indicate the generation above mine.