We started our genealogical journey locating the gravesites of our first United States immigrants, John Horan and Catherine O'Neill in Fall River, MA. We have verified another generation of parents as the research continues for the ancestral home in Ireland. They are John Horan and his wife, Ann(e) Madden of County Galway.
We now have 8 generations officially listed in our family tree.
With all US documentation records exhausted, I put a pause on the US efforts and focused time studying Ireland tribes and regional history. The O'Horans (Ó hOdhráin 'descendant of Ódhrán) sept ( a branch of a family; especially : CLAN) originate in County Galway, Ireland. Both father and son, John Horan are from Galway. Ann Madden descends from the chieftain landowners, O'Maddens of Galway as well.
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| The son, John Horan's US Naturalization Certificate 1874 |
In the US, you may hear a number of Ireland counties the Horans originated. There is one -- Galway is where the sept was established, then migration to County Mayo, Roscommon and more followed. The O'Horan tribe were one of four families supporting the chieftan O'Maddens by the 16th century. This is the Connacht region, still historically recognized today as one of four Irish Gaelic provinces, although it is not a legal government state. Today we have record of Horan DNA descendants residing in County Galway and Roscommon, very close to the original location(s) of our branch of the family. This is significant because John Horan the son, emigrated out of Ireland to the US in 1851 and lists County Galway as his birthplace. This family remained in the original sept and did not migrate away, even after much social and political upheaval in Ireland, particularly after the English government dispossessed the O'Horan rightful land ownership and redistributed title to their loyalists (Cromwellian Confiscations) in the mid 1600s, as well as the devastating plight and human suffering of the Great Famine in the mid 1800s. Despite the life-altering disruptions, the Horan surname is still very concentrated in this area.
A sidenote about our recent DNA tracings. Connacht was ruled by Irish kings up until they were displaced by Anglo-Normans. English King Henry III granted the region to a Norman baron in the 13th century. Connacht was also invaded at points in time by ancient Ciarrage and Milesian tribes of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain). The Western side of Ireland was a trading destination, and close in proximity to Spain and Portugal. Speculation where the dark hair comes from some in our Horan family. Perhaps another Horan blog post in the future will discuss our DNA test results. We recently identified 4th cousins in Galway and Roscommon through DNA networking.
This map shows the ancient kingdoms of Connacht 750 AD. Clan O'Horan and their tribal families lived in the Ui Maine kingdom in the Southeast corridor:
source: Ancient Connacht; sites.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/conkings.htm
Overlaying a modern map, you can see this is the same area our more recent ancestors resided.
source: ireland-map.co.uk/map-of-connaught.htm
This is still a work in progress. Breakthroughs occur, but obviously at a much slower pace. Records search in Ireland pre-1800s is largely handwritten (or non-existent), undigitized, or maybe only an index list reference only. The Galway towns I am leaning toward through ancestral record research are connected to Ballinsloe, Meelick, Fahy, Loughrea, Portumna. Most of this area is still rural and developed around the River Shannon. John Horan, the son, listed a previous occupation on one of his US documents as fisherman, so it would appear this Horan family around the fishing and river/water locations of East Galway are consistent with some of John Horan's US statements of his pre-immigration skillsets. However, the entire County Galway is known for exceptional sea and river fishing, with evidence of the Galway Fishery on River Corrib recorded as far back as the 13th century.
The sea and shore preference where the Horans eventually landed on the southern coast of New England and primarily remain today perhaps is not as much a coincidence or result of forced migration out of need. The similarities between the Massachusetts and Rhode Island settlements to Galway are indeed striking.
(He who travels has stories to tell)
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