Maxwell - Heraldry Information

Maxwell is a rather common surname.  It is known to be Irish, Jewish, and Scottish.  As a Scottish name it is based in a location near Melrose, in Roxburghshire, Scotland.  It was first recorded there as Mackeswell (Mack's spring or stream).  In Ireland, it is based in Ulster where it may have originated as Miskell.  As a Jewish name it was probably adopted from names that sounded similar or individuals preferred to Americanize their surname.  I know that my Maxwell's aren't Jewish.  As a Scottish Gaelic name, the name is written as MacSaul.

When researching the name Maxwell in Scotland, there are some very specific places where the name is found.  Going back to the 12th century Roxburgh Castle, information has been maintained about the Maxwell's or "Max"/Macs as he was referred to.  My plan right now is not to research these Maxwell's in Scotland because I don't know for sure if there is a connection to my family.  It might be convenient if that was the case since it would appear that there is sufficient information online to do some research.

What if James Maxwell was born in Scotland but his parents were from Ireland?  Then, he moved back to Ireland to have his family.  I have no idea if that is the case.  The name Maxwell does have a different origin if the family is truly based in Ireland.  

Maybe someone knows if our Maxwell's are Scottish, Irish, or both.  A few people have responded to my message board posts on Ancestry.com indicating that the name is Scotch-Irish.  That is great but when I look up Scotch-Irish, I find Irish Presbyterian and other Protestants from the Province of Ulster.  I also find the term Scots-Irish.  These terms are so confusing.  The term appears to be the invention of some Americans.  I think I will stay away from that term.  Besides, as best I can tell, my Maxwell's were all Roman Catholic.

Joseph Patrick Maxwell and Family - Part 7

Is this a wrap on my Maxwell's?  I hope that there is more.  It is interesting to really dig in and put the information that I've gathered in my blog/diary.  I try to do the explaining necessary to inform people of who I am speaking of.

I've re-read Alice V. Maxwell Knutty's notes.  She is funny because at one point she said that every generation from Ireland to the U.S. has a Dennis and a James Maxwell.  This can cause confusion, especially since so many of them lived in close vicinity to one another.

My Maxwell's who came west to Austin, Nevada and then onto Napa, California, did work at keeping certain names "alive".  I notice that predominately they worked at keeping the Maxwell name alive.  Ellen Maxwell Flanagan and John Maxwell Flanagan were my grandfather's siblings given names.  Their grandparents were Thomas Michael McLaughlin and Ellen Maxwell.  I've seen the Maxwell name crop up elsewhere as a middle name.  It is wonderful that they kept the name going.  It gives a clue to the family line.

So how far back am I with the Maxwell's?  I have information that James Maxwell was Joseph Patrick's father.  He was born in Scotland in 1786 and probably immigrated to County Meath, Ireland.  I don't know the Maxwell origins back further than this.  I can speculate but that's about it.

Attached to my Maxwell tree, I see a strong connection to the McLaughlin's of Newport, New York and the Irish Settlement.  I also find other families connected to the Maxwell's in this location.  As I move west, I find my great-great grandmother, Ellen Maxwell, and her sister, Catherine Maxwell.  There are more McLaughlin's but there are also Flanagan's, Duffy's, Malloy's, and more.  Napa, California was a small place around 1900.  While it still is not very big now, many of the old time residents aren't around any longer.  I do have more research to do in that location for sure.