Is the surname McDevitt interchangable with McDade or McDaid in Ireland and if so why? Is there a re
Am searching for the parents of a James and Edward McDevitt, b 1888 and 1897, respectfully in Termon.
Termon is Located in Co Donagal. Would the parish records still be in existence for that area?
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Hi Carol
I just barely saw this post from three years ago. I have been searching for McDaids of Donegal for a few years and have recently had some luck. The names McDaid,McDade,McDevitt and McDavid are all variations of the Surname McDavid. I have seen them interchanged. As Ali Pili explained, it was a different world. Most people did not read or write so the names were recorded on documents according to what the recorder heard or knew how to spell. https://www.geni.com/surnames/mcdaid I have come across a cemetery data base for the McDaids of Donegal that is a wealth of information. It is the Derry City Cemetery index and has over 400 McDaid entries with age, death date, locations and parents. You need to search it with the name of McDaid to get all the results. https://towermuseumcollections.com/cemetery-records/ Maybe you can get some answers there. Good Luck
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If you check John Grenham's website Irish Times: https://www.johngrenham.com/findasurname.php?surname=McDevitt you'll find the most common variations which do not happen to include McDade. Nevertheless, it is possible due to human error in the official recording that the names were confused. There are many more McDevitt's than McDade. Depending on the record source of the McDade I suppose the only way to verify it is to find another record of that person in question.
For the birth records of these two McDevitt brothers check irishgenealogy.ie since they have Protestant civil records from 1845 on and Catholic from the 1860's. If the McDevitts were Presbyterian, as hinted by their surname, their earlier records will be much more difficult to find since only 10% of the Presbyterian records are available. What religion were they?
James was born December 1887 in the Townland of Largnalarkan near Termon which is in the Civil Union of Glenties in Co. Donegal to Michael McDevitt and Margaret Houston https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/details-civil/0ee00a11299561?b=https%3A%2F%2Fcivilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie%2Fchurchrecords%2Fcivil-perform-search.jsp%3Fnamefm%3DJames%26namel%3DMcDevitt%26location%3DGlenties%26yyfrom%3D1885%26yyto%3D1890%26type%3DB%26submit%3DSearch. Be sure to click on 'image' to download the original. One of the most beautiful Irish records I have ever seen.
I will let you have the thrill of searching and finding Edward on irishgenealogy.ie. It's all free and easy. Just remember that Glenties is the civil union and Termon is the town in County Donegal.
Let me know if you need more help. This is a great time period for records in Ireland. Have fun!
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Thank you. Still learning.
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They were Catholic. So their records would be in the Catholic parishes, right?
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On the WW2 draft registration, James gave his birth date as Apr 20 1887, in Termon Ireland. This should help!!
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Did you see James' birth record that I found and I attached in link above? Please see link. It says his birthday is in December 1887. Birthdates were not very exact science in that era in Ireland or in most of the world. He may have been baptized in April 1888 and thus the confusion.
Please follow the steps I indicated above to find his brother as well. I am sure he must be there as well. The second record will collaborate what James's birth record states.
If they were Catholic you should find the baptismal records on FindMyPast.com. Just use the Catholic Parish of Termon and Gartan. (Inishkeel is the civil parish, not Catholic). They are on a British Film #1279237 in Family Search, but it is not yet digitized and not available until the Family History Library opens so see if FindMyPast.com has them. That's a great time period for records because you often have both civil and Catholic records to verify all.
Check out the links and FindMyPast and I think you'll be very productive.
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See answer I posted above.
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Even with the exact birth date for names, I am having no luck. Frustrating.
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Dear Carol,
Please help me understand where you are having "no luck". On Findmypast.com or on irishgenealogy.ie? It is not advisable to enter an exact birth date in your searches. The reason is that there are multiple possible birth dates:
- The day they were actually born.
- The day the birth was registered.
- The day they were baptized.
- The day they remembered or their family remembered.
- The birthday they went by to avoid or enter the military
- The birthday they used when they wanted to marry without parent consent.
The list goes on and on. I have ten Irish immigrant ancestors. None of them gave an accurate birth date and all of them gave different birth dates throughout their lives on various records! No one had to prove their birth date in the same way we do now with driver's licenses and social security cards. It was a different world!
I suggest you enter a 5 year birth year range only and their name and for civil records: use Glenties as the civil union. If Catholic use Termon and Gartan. If that does not work try their surname only. And then you could do a parent search on Findmypast.com since you now know the parents. (Did you see the post above where I identified the parents?)
Please reread all my replies to your questions above to clarify the search.
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I did not see the post identifying the parents. I have looked on Findmypast and Irishgenealogy.ie. I must be doing something wrong.
Please tell me the parents you found again and where. This was a Catholic family, not protestant.
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Now, I found James's birth and two siblings named Ann and Michael's births as well as the parents marriage with another generation of names! Still no Edward, but it's possible they moved or he went by a different name at birth or it has been mis-indexed.
By doing a parent search on Findmypast.com I found a sister Ann born in 1880--https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F4603580. Here's the original document. Same parents and townland as the brother James above. https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FMICROFILM04599-11%2F0144&parentid=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F4603580.
Another brother Michael was found on irishgenealogy.ie. He was born in 1882--https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/details-civil/5a962d11592146?b=https%3A%2F%2Fcivilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie%2Fchurchrecords%2Fcivil-perform-search.jsp%3Fnamefm%3DMichael%26namel%3DMcDevitt%26location%3DGlenties%26yyfrom%3D%26yyto%3D%26type%3DB%26type%3DM%26submit%3DSearch. Be sure to click on 'image' link to see the original.
And now the fun begins! There are many more siblings than just James and Edward.
Here's the parents' marriage in 1877. It gives both of their ages (groom is 32 and bride is 21); place of residence (groom from Lagnalarkan and bride from Stranabratick (sp?) in the Civil union of Stranolar; father's names (James McDevitt and William Huston) and occupations (farmers)in the bride's home parish, it appears very different location:
I suggest you look for Michael's McDevitt, the father's birth about 1843 in Lagnalarkan to his father James; Margaret Huston or Houston to her father William about 1856 in Stranabratick or something similar. Both towns of origin are in County Donegal.
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I imagine Margaret Huston/Houston is from the townland of Stranabratogge which is sometimes pronounced or interchanged with Stroanbrack in the civil parish of Kilteevoge in Cloghan district in County Donegal. You might be able to find her baptismal record on Find My Past.
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I am mistaken. It is not interchanged with Stroanbrack as that is in County Donegal.
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Carol, please be sure to click 'show more answers' or 'reply' or '12 answers'. I think you're missing many of the posts and the phenomenal info I have found to give you a great start. If you are reading this on a phone, it's a bit more challenging. It's much easier on a desktop or laptop. Always click "Expand Post" as well. If you still cannot see all the info please let me know.
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I think reading posts on this site is quite confusing. Be sure to always check the reply after every question and to read the entire post that may be hidden so you must hit "expand post".
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