My 3 X great grandmother was apparently called Jane Chanchey, she lived in Bangor, Co Down. The surname was written on her daughter's death certificate. I haven't found any reference to the name anywhere in Ireland, so assume it must be a speling mistake.
Has anyone come across this surname before?
Thanks
Helen
retrieving this information is hard work! wuxiaworld
I looked in the 1901 Irish census and there’s no-one with that name Chancey anywhere in Ireland, let alone around Bangor. So I agree it’s likely to be inaccurate. There’s a few Clancy households around Bangor. That’s about the nearest I can think of. There were a couple of Janes and a couple of Jennys (which is often the same name). All the families were Presbyterian, save for 1 Church of Ireland, if that makes any difference.
Thanks Elwyn.
The death certificate was issued in Australia in 1890 - many migrants, many accents.
Saying the name Chanchey out loud it sound a little like Chance, Chancie or Shannessy.
Chance is again very rare. Just 30 in Ireland in 1901, none in Co Down. Nil Chancie or Chancey anywhere in Ireland. 2 families of Shanessy (In Dublin & Limerick). Nil in Co. Down. Shanessy will be a rare variant of Shaughnessy. 1600 Shaughnessy (many variant spellings) but none in Co. Down.
Clancy is the only soundalike I can find that is found in Down, and even then it wasn’t very common.