Before I post a McGuire Family Tree here in my blog, I need to take some time to fill in more of the blanks. I have a long road ahead of me and welcome any other McGuire researcher's input. I'm not sure if there are very many of us working on our family tree.
McGuire is a rather common Irish surname. It is, in fact, Irish in origins and not Scottish. This is not to say that you wouldn't find that name in Scotland or in other places of the world. I am certain that you would.
Even with my other family lines, I find recurring first names on my tree. On some of my family lines, there is little deviation from the male names that are used in every generation. I seem to have hit upon this with my McGuire's too. I must admit to this lending itself to putting one on the right path to finding source documents and proof of family connections.
My McGuire's seem to have used the following male names in the 19th and early 20th centuries: Charles, Francis, Joseph, Robert, and John. There is little deviation from these names until the 20th century when I find Brian, William, and Thomas. As we move further into the 20th century, I begin to realize that all bets are off on the reuse of first names. People started being more creative with naming their children in the 20th Century. However, sometimes middle names still give a clue.
Female names sometimes tell little. The use of the first name "Mary" is so common. Do you know how many Mary McGuire's that I know? I personally know at least two, and have spotted at least 5 on my family tree. So far, I have fewer than 80 people on that family tree line. That female first name is probably not the best way to go about locating my McGuire females. But what about Cecilia or Veronica? When I spotted those two names on a branch of my McGuire cousin's family tree, I looked back at another portion and have found those two names used too. In fact, Cecilia comes up 3 times.
So is the naming game a good way to find your correct family in a sea of people with the same surname. It can help. It certainly can't be the only thing you use but let's just say, it can lead you to success in conjunction with other clues and sources.
Stumbled upon your blog while doing "mcguire research" - duh?? Love the way you write. I kinda think your branch and mine are probably not related "recently" (ie: w/i 200-300yrs?) but that is a wild @$$ guess.
ReplyDeleteI too have been scrubbing the tree and beating the net finding bits and pieces along the way. Parents and Grandparents are long gone, do have one spry Uncle left that keeps me hopping when I ask him questions. I have done a bit of Y DNA research and began a Project at FTDNA called Airghialla Mag Uidhir. We have 82 members with 53 of them showing strong Maguire Y DNA that traces back to Donn Carrach Maguire (d-1302). If you have any male (Y DNA is only on the guy side...sorry) relatives that have tested, I'd be happy to share data.
Great blog! Keep charging,
Brad McGuire
brad.kat.mcguire@gmail.com
Thanks for posting. Getting a male to offer up DNA might be tough on my McGuire side. I do have two living male McGuire cousins though and a living McGuire uncle. I might just need to do more research with source documents before I head towards DNA testing for my McGuire/Maguire heritage because I am both. I'm a McGuire on my father's side and a Maguire on my mother's side. You know that McGuire's just don't make it easy. LOL! I keep on searching.
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