488
AN GAODHAL.
MEN of IRISH BLOOD and DESCENT
in the States of Georgia and S. Carolina.
(Second Letter)
Sir. — Here comes my second Letter, as I told
you I shall commence now with Georgia and
take a survey of that great "Empire State of the
Sunny South.“ I will commence with N. Georgia
and pass on by Cash Co. to Savannah. In Rome,
Ga. are numerous families of the Murphys, Mac¬
Gubbins, McDevitts, Logans Neils and McNeils,
Shanahans, Sheehans, MacBride, MacWilliams,
Burks and Harts, Chanseys, and MacChanes. In
Northern Georgia joining the State of Alabama
there are numerous families of Irish descent.
Now, the ancestors of these people formerly came
from the West and South of Ireland and most of
them retain their Irish names to the present day.
The Harveys * of Bryan Co. and Thomasville Co.
and of Rome Ga. are of Irish blood and descent.
The Kennedys of both Richmond, Bryan and Bo¬
lough Counties Ga. are, of course, of Irish paren¬
tage. Mr. William Kennedy of Bryan Co. had been
a member of the Georgia Legislature in '81 and '82
Then the Neils and MacNeils of Emanuel and
Bryan Counties, and the Moores of Emanuel, Je¬
fferson and Balloch Counties are also of pure Irish
extraction. The Logans and MacLogans of Aug¬
usta Tellfaire Counties are pure old Melisian Irish.
Then the Murphys of Northern Georgia, as well as
the Connors of South and West Georgia, are pure
Irish blood and descent. In both Bryan and Bal¬
loch Counties Ga. is another numerous family na¬
med Lenneirs. I met with many of the Lenneirs
in Northeast Georgia, and in Edgefield and Abbe¬
ville Counties South Carolina; but the Gael will
have to make out whether the family of Lenneirs
are of Irish descent or not. Unfortunately, I lost
several great works on Irish family names and bi¬
ographies when the greatest part of my father's li¬
brary got burned with our house at the time of the
great fire of July '73 in Baltimore City. In this
destructive fire over 1300 volumes got burned, in¬
cluding the complete works of Donald MacFirbis,
his entire Irish biographies, the seven volumes of
the Four Masters, with a large 4to volume on the
Anglo-Irish families. With some of the million
Irish families also in this work was a completed
history of the Harvey family, treated of from fath¬
er to son from Hon Bagnal Harvey who was execu¬
ted at Wexford in 1798, up to now. The work was
in our family for fully five generations. So by the
loss of these invaluable works I am unable to trace
up all the families of Irish descent I met with in
my tours through Georgia and South Carolina, so
that the Brooklyn Gael must take upon itself the
task of doing so. Now whether the family of Lin¬
neirs is of Irish origin or descent I cannot well
prove. I think they were formerly Lenahins or
Lenahans. If so they are of Irish descent.
Another great and numerous family in South-
east Georgia is the Parish family, and a few I am
acquainted with here in Florida. The family of
Sherdons are numerous in nearly every county in
south and west Savannah, Georgia, and in all parts
of East and Middle Florida, as in southern So.
Carolina. Then the MacKennys of Brunswick, and
of East and S. Florida are of pure Irish blood and
parentage. Then in Northwest and middle Geor¬
gia, as well as in Southeast Georgia, (Bryan, Boloch
and Effenham counties Ga.) is the family of New¬
mans. These undoubtedly were or are descended
from the great Melisian Irish family of O’Nonans.
There too, in South Georgia and in all parts of So.
Carolina are to be found the family of Lees; the
O'Lees of ancient Munster (S. of Ireland, so called)
were the ancesters of these people.
In my tours through Chesterfield Co., S. Carolina
I met with another family quite numerous in that
section of the name of Horppys which I know to
be a corruption of the family name of Harvey,
who are no doubt the lineal descendants of the
ancient noble family of O'Hart.
(To be continued.)
* In the last Gael this name was by mistake
spelled Harrey. — Ed.)
I g-Coláiste Naomh Shéarlais, an 4mhadh
lá deug de mhí-mheádhain an Fhóghmhair '85
Do M. J Úi Lócháin, Ceannfairt an
Ghaodhail.
A Dhuine Chóir:
Ghabhfaidh tú anns an
leitir seo bille aon dolair amháin le íoc
a dheunadh air son an Ghaodhail os cómh¬
air an mhéid a tá fágtha de'n m-bliadhain
seo. agus os cómhair iomlán na bliadhna
seo chugainn. Thaimic an seo páipeur na
míosa seo a chuaidh thart, ach ní fhuair me
go fóill an cean roimhe, 'se sin an t-ocht¬
mhadh nuimhir. Tá faitchíos orm gur caill¬
eadh air a m-bealach shé, agus béid buidh¬
each dhuit má chuirfidh tú chugam shé, má's
féidir leat sin a dheunadh anois.
Is mian liom gach uile pháipeur de'n
Ghaodhal a chuirfeas tú chugam a chosaint.
Go g-cuidigh Dia leat an teanga Ghaodh¬
alach buan-sheasmhach a dheunadh a measg
dream a tá ro-sannta le gach uile thean¬
ga eile fhóghluim agus mall, spadánta i
d-taobh a d-teanga féin.
Dhuitse go measamhuil,
Domhnall O'Murchadh.
Send Sixty Cents for the Gael.
