Family Surnames of the Irish Settlement, Newport, New York - July 5, 2010

WARNING - Later Posts may have more updated information and discoveries but it is best to read them in order.

When you look up McLaughlin’s in Newport, New York’s Irish Settlement, you don’t get too far before you run into some Maxwell’s, Gartlan’s, and Fox’s. Those are my family surnames. Let me not forget to mention the Mahardy’s, Clifford’s, Drumm’s, Spain’s (Yes, they are Irish.), and a few others before I am done.

While the second batch of names is not my direct family line, they are cousins. I have about 30 Mahardy’s on my tree. I also have 6 Drumm’s, 7 Spain’s, and 17 Clifford’s. It gets even more interesting when you see multiple marriages between the families. After all they were all good Irish Catholics.

When I first embarked on researching my McLaughlin family line, I discovered that my great-great-grandfather, Thomas M. McLaughlin, was from New York. At first, that is all I knew of his origins. I initially assumed that he was from New York City. Can you see my eyes rolling back into my head? I had already run into so many problems researching my Hickey/McGuire/Romaine/Coughlin line in the Five Boroughs of New York City that I wanted to give up. I am not a quitter though. Thank goodness I kept going and found the Irish Settlement.

Based on what I've been able to find, the McLaughlin and Mahardy Families of Newport both came from Co. Longford, Ireland. It would appear that the families knew each other in that location. It also appears that the Gartlan's and Fox's knew each other in Co. Monaghan. It is not unusual for people from one community to follow each other to the next when we are talking about immigration in the the 1800s, especially from Ireland.

The more that I research my family tree in Newport, New York, the more family surnames cross my path. It is so interesting to see how people are connected.