Lewin or McDonough from Headford, Co. Galway

'Hi kiwigirl,

I live in Killursa parish so I have an idea of common surnames - McDonagh is fairly common in Killursa (which is now also comprised of Cargin - only a townland now). Lewin however is not a surname I've come across before.

Killursa parish is divided in 2 parts (2 churches - one in Headford and one in Claran/Clerhaun) and often it is called Headford parish or Claran parish. Unfortunately the church records for Killursa start only in 1880. There were earlier records but these were burnt in the presbytery beside Headford church in 1921. In 1921, the Parish Priest lived in the presbytery beside the Claran church. He kept the 'current' records and the older books were kept with the Curate in the presbytery in Headford. The 'Black and Tans' raided the Headford presbytery in 1921 and set fire to the house destroying the older records (probably dating from the 1830s).

I've scanned through the 1880+ church records and found none for Lewin but many for McDonagh.I'll collate what I can and get back to you with details in the next few days. There are many with the McDonagh surname in the locality - my aunt was married to one. If you have any more specific details about the McDonaghs or Lewins (e.g. townlands, no matter how strange the names may seem ) let me know - It will help narrow the information down. 

Tim.

Hi kiwigirl,

I did a bit more research on the Lewin surname (also spelled Lewen). It is an unusual and rare name (see https://www.johngrenham.com/surnamescode/grogeochart_full.php?surname=l…). There are ~24 people with the surname in the 1901 census, mostly in Dublin, but a family of 4 living in Foxhall (beside Kilconly), Co. Galway - They are registered as Irish Church (Church of Ireland). When I dig deeper and check Griffiths valuation, it looks like the Lewin family are landlords in Foxhall - See http://www.galway.ie/en/media/G01-11%20Tuam%20Rural%20District%20Counci… - find reference to F.T. Lewin. (you will also see some McDonagh's listed). There's also a marriage record of a Gwynneth Lewin to a Herbert Christopher Fergusson (Lieut - assume Lieutenant) in 1893 at Tuam Cathedral - https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_re…. Tuam is about 12 miles from Headford.

Not all Lewins in Co. Galway were landlords - see a birth record for a Rebecca Lewin (Daughter of Christopher, Vicar Street Tuam - Railway Porter) from 1867 - https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_retur… If you search the https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ website you'll find a few other records but images/details are not available online - the correct DED is 'Tuam' and search for both Lewin and Lewen.

Tim

Hello from New Zealand Tim. This is awesome! Thank you so much. I’m just off to the airport so will have a look at this info in more detail once I have my laptop in front of me. How exciting.  

Best wishes, Leonie 

Hi Leonie,

Getting back to you with some McDonagh details. Unlike Lewin, McDonagh is a very common surname, particularly in the west of Ireland and there are many variations and spellings - See https://www.johngrenham.com/findasurname.php?surname=mcdonagh.

Grenham lists the instances of the surname in the mid 1800s based on Griffith's valuations. Galway is the county that has by far the most McDonagh landholders at 200, followed by Mayo at 146 and Sligo at 141- See below for details on each county.

Household numbers by county in Griffith's (1847-64).

Armagh:1Carlow:1Clare:23Cork:3Derry:67Donegal:9Down:1Dublin:21Dublin_city:12Fermanagh:49Galway:200Kerry:6Kildare:4Kilkenny:1Laois:1Leitrim:13Limerick:19Limerick_city:2Longford:12Louth:5Mayo:146Meath:19Offaly:4Roscommon:58Sligo:141Tipperary:9Tyrone:14Waterford:2Westmeath:5

The most common spellings of the name were:

McDonagh: 848
McDonough: 369
McDonogh: 90
Donagh: 49
Donough: 6
McDonnagh: 5
McDona: 4

Griffith details for McDonagh's in Killursa and Cargin (combined to one parish of Killursa since):

CARGIN Civil Parish [Townland]:
MCDONAGH_PTK(white) [BALLYCONLOUGHT]
MCDONAGH_MARY(Jn) [BALLYCONLOUGHT]
MCDONAGH_PATRICK(Andrew) [BALLYCONLOUGHT]
MCDONAGH_MARY [BALLYCONLOUGHT]
MCDONAGH_PTK(Pat) [BALLYCONLOUGHT]
MCDONAGH_MICHAEL [BALLYHALE]
MCDONAGH_MATTHEW [BALLYHALE]
MCDONAGH_WILLIAM [BALLYHALE]
KILLURSA Civil Parish [Townland]:
MCDONAGH_PATRICK [CLOONONAGHAUN]
MCDONAGH_JOHN (Vacant House) [HEADFORD TOWN]

Ballyconlought and Ballyhale townlands almost border each other (~100yds apart). Cloononaghaun townland is close to Clerhaun/Claran townland - that you mention in your comments.

In Kilconla/Kilconly parish, there were 2 McDonoughs:

MCDONOUGH_ANTHONY [ARDOUR]
MCDONOUGH_THOMAS [CLOONMWEELAUN]

If you check the 1901 and 1911 census, for Co. Galway - Killursa DED and Foxhall DED (Kilconly) there are:

8 McDonagh Heads of family in Killursa (all in Ballyconlought or Ballyhale):

Surname F-name Townland/Street DED County Age Sex
McDonagh William Ballyconlought Killursa Galway 68 M
McDonagh Thomas Ballyconlought Killursa Galway 66 M
McDonagh Michael Ballyconlaught Killursa Galway 40 M
McDonagh Martin Ballyhole Killursa Galway 66 M
Mc Donagh Patrick Ballyconlought Killursa Galway 60 M
Mc Donagh Michael Ballyconlought Killursa Galway 69 M
Mc Donagh Michael Ballyconlought Killursa Galway 72 M
Mc Donagh Peter Ballyhole Killursa Galway 70 M

2 McDonagh Heads of family in Foxhall:
McDonagh Honor Clonmweelaun Foxhall Galway 65 F
McDonagh Patrick Clonmweelaun Foxhall Galway 70 M

I hope the information above is of some help.
Note: There are a number of neighbouring parishes/DEDs to Killursa with other McDonagh families.

Tim

Tim, I am very appreciative of the above data. I have limited information on my ancestors’ Irish heritage but who knows what gem might be waiting to be found in the near future?   I feel the names of both Patrick McDonough’s and Patrick Lewin’s offspring may be helpful in some way insofar as identifying the grandfathers which may, in turn, lead back to defining which town land they came from... Both were Catholic families. The only other information not included in my original post was that Patrick Lewin attested at Birr, King’s County at the age of 15. I haven’t been able to locate records for either of Patrick Lewin’s marriages or for Patrick McDonough’s one marriage which is frustrating. I’ve trawled through the Military Marriage Records for both Navy and Army but nothing shows up.  I’ll keep looking. Once again, thank you.

Leonie  

Tim,

I have received the death printout for Patrick Mcdonough's mother-in-law Winifred Lewin. She died in Liverpool in 1883 and was the widow of Carrick Lewin, a farmer, so that is one more piece of good info. I have spent a good portion of the day looking for any references to Carrick Lewin in relation to his daughter Catherine Lewin McDonough or wife Winifred hoping he might have spent some time in Liverpool in particular, or England in general. No luck so far. May I ask if there is an equivalent name for Carrick... might this be Charles? I was just wondering if it might have been written differently in English records... The name Carrick absolutely fits in with this family though. Patrick McDonough and Catherine Lewin had 2 sons and 2 daughters (although there were possibly 2 daughters who didn't survive chidhood...more on that later). The first son was John and the second son was Patrick Carrique. The daughters were Catherine and then Winifred. So Catherine after the mother, Winifred after the maternal grandmother. Patrick Carrique after father and maternal grandfather... so John named after the paternal grandfather??? I note in the information you sent me there is a vacant house in John Mcdonough's name situated in Headford town... this might just be wishful thinking on my part though :)

Whilst searching for information on Patrick McDonough who was a Naval Marine I came across a record in the British Royal Marines Marriage Register for the (apparently) only Patrick McDonough in the Marines who was married. This record was for Patrick McDonough and a wife called Catherine and their 2 daughters Mary and Margaret. Is stated the marriage had taken place in 1846 in Chatham, Kent (where there is a Naval Base. Son Patrick Carique and daughter Winifred were born there). This would have meant that Patrick was 18 and Catherine 17 when they married, if this is them. Neither of these daughters show in the 1861 census however. But given the parents liked to keep the names in the family possibly Patrick McDonough's mother was a Mary or a Margaret... I am sure most of this information isn't going to be much help at all but it is all I have. Who knows, someone reading this might find it all fits with their family history!

Thanks again for your help.

best wishes,

Leonie

Photo is of Patrick McDonough

Hi Kiwigirl

Excited to read your thread as Patrick Lewin born  in Headford Galway is in my ancestry, he's my Great Great Grandfather.

He was a soldier. The 1871 census shows him at Sandhurst Military College with wife Catherine Ellen , who was born in Jersey in the Channel Islands. I don't know any more than that on Catherine.

​They were living at Sandhurst with Patrick their son and Emily (my Great grandmother) who was born there. 

My GGG father Patrick is also in the 1911 Census living in West Ham London with his daughter Emily Gertude Cornwell  and her children Stanley Cornwell (my Grandfather) and Winifred Cornwell . Catherine Ellen doesn't appear on any other censuses after 1871 I think she died in 1871 as theres an entry of a death of someone of that name in the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages in EastHampstead (which is near Sandhurst)

Thanks to your thread I now know where Winifred got her name , through Patricks Mother Winifred 

Hope this is helpful to you too.

thanks

best wishes

Nigel

Hello Nigel. Lovely to hear from you!  And phew! I am so pleased to hear from a Lewin descendant after despairing of ever doing so. The information you have added agreed with my recent research on this family so that is wonderful. At least I now know my gut instincts were correct! Yay!  Have you DNA tested at all? And have you a family tree anywhere? I have one on Ancestry with user name of LeonieFitzgerald if you would like to have a look...Reeve family tree. 

I’m not sure of the protocol with exchanging email addresses but i have a separate email set up for my mother specifically for her DNA matches (she’s a Lewin descendant) so perhaps we could talk in greater detail privately that way? eileenreeve1928@gmail.com

Thank you so much for replying. Best wishes, Leonie

Nigel - I have just had another look at my family tree now that I am back at my computer (previous message was via my phone) and have refreshed my memory. You are correct that Catherine died in 1871. Patrick married again to a woman called Mary O'Donohue in about 1873. They had 6 children together. Times were tough for your Cornell ancestors though. If you would like to know a bit more about this side of your history (you might already have an inking of what I am referring to) I can email you some documents. Please use the email address in the above reply. Look forward to hearing from you.

Leonie 

Lewin of Headford, Co. Galway

It's been a while since I posted anything! However I am feeling quite excited by a record I found on Find my Past. Just a quick recap... My 2xgreat grandparents were Patrick McDonough and Catherine Lewin. Patrick was a Naval Marine and according to the 1861 census for England and Wales he was living in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire (and working in the Naval Recruitment office) with his wife Catherine and his 2 children Catherine and John. It had his place of birth as Headford Co. Galway. Catherine's mother Winifred Lewin lived with Patrick and Catherine in Liverpool after she was widowed (not sure when that happened) and I have Winifred's death record - her late husband was Carrick Lewin, a farmer. I'm told that while McDonough is a common name in the Headford area Lewin is more rare and to be honest I am not sure where the Lewins were from originally! Anyway, the other day I was browsing through Find my Past records when I stumbled across the transcription for the will of a Carique/Carrick Lewin of Headford dated 1803. It had been filed under Lewis! The transcription is in someone's handwriting and uses the transcriber's shorthand so I am really struggling with reading parts of it which is what I need help with among other things.... What I have gathered from the bits I can decipher is that Carique was a gent. He wanted to be buried near his mother in 'Kilmain' churchyard or in Headford churchyard. He refers to the lease of the 'old mansion house at the Bridge (port?), Headford and (something) the stables outhouses yards garden and meadow with the house at the back of the malthouse..... He goes on to talk about land and gardens with these places... 'calf park and herds garden', 'paddock adjacent the Deer park of Headford...common name of Bohannons or Maloys park'. He then speaks of 'my dear Jane Lewin' and I am guessing this is his wife as at the end of the will is the name Jane Lewin wd (widow). He asks that Jane live with his son John after he dies and goes on to mention the following sons James and Thomas and his late brother Tom Lewin of Cloghans co Mayo esq. There is also mentioned the farm at Liskevey (Liskeevy) he 'accepted under his dead father's will' and would sell to Patt McHugh. Finally at the end the witnesses were Wlm Mills and Myles Burke jun and a date 25 March 1782; then beneath this are the names Jane Lewin wd, John Lewin (something) Carick Lewin and the date Sun 3 August 1803. I am attaching a section of the will which covers the beginning and the end. Can anyone decipher the word between Bridge and Headford (4th line down) and also reading the last 4 lines or so, would you think the will was written in 1782 and enacted in 1803? If it was written in 1782 should I assume Carique was dying then but the will wasn't sorted until 1803, or would he have maybe, written it in 1782 and died in 1803. If it's the former he would be born say, 1720 +-20 years. If it's the latter he'd be born say 1750 (maybe writes his will after his children are born). If this is an ancestor I suspect he could be the grandfather of the Carrick Lewin, farmer who married Winifred. She was born in 1811 so I'm imagining he'd be of a similar age. I am happy to share a pic of the whole will if anyone thinks they might be able to read the handwriting or are researching this family. I haven't found any marriage records for Carique and a Jane. Hopefully the photo of the will comes up okay. If not I'll try again. Thanks for persevering with this long post.

Gee... nearly 4 years since I last posted... how time flies! 
I have been steering clear of my Irish ancestors for the past few years but recently have been fortunate enough to find more information on my Lewins. So, in case someone else in the future happens to be looking at this family here's an update of what I have found.  
 

There were at least three Lewin siblings.... Catherine, Patrick Joseph, and John Lewin.  Patrick and Joseph Lewin joined the British Army a year apart and both enlisted in the 73rd Regt of Foot. Their army records show they were from Claran, Headford and both served at the Cape of Good Hope. John Lewin married Harriet White in 1863 and their marriage record has his father as "Kerrick Lewin".  This is close enough in spelling to "Carrick Lewin" which was also my ancestor Catherine Lewin's father's name.

Patrick Joseph Lewin was married 3 times but I haven't found the original records, just the names of his spouses... Catherine Ellen St John, Ellen Matilda Hinchey, and Mary Ann Doran.

Both John and Patrick Lewin appear as godfathers on 2 of Patrick McDonough and Catherine Lewin's children's baptism records, and John Lewin was godfather to one of Patrick's children. 
 

So the Lewins were definitely from Claran nr Headford. The parents were Carrick and Winifred Lewin. Winifred was widowed by 1871 and living with the McDonoughs in Liverpool. Carrick and Winifred's children include John, Catherine, and Patrick. (I think there should have been a son called Carrick somewhere if naming patterns are in play). John appears to be the eldest of these three and born 1828. He joined the army from 'Tylam near Tuam' in 1847 aged 19. Catherine is born in 1829 and married Patrick McDonough a Royal Naval marine in 1846 at Chatham Kent. He enlisted at Chatham in 1848 and a record held at National Archives (England) has transcribed his place of birth as 'Clone, Hardford, Galway' (from the abstract). I know he came from Headford from the 1861 census so perhaps Clone is Claran(?). Patrick Joseph Lewin was born in 1833. He joins the Army from 'Birr, King's County' in 1848 aged 15. Place of birth Claran, Headford. 
 

There is a contemporary and notable family of Lewin in Headford and Cloghans and they had a couple of males called Carrick/Carrique however this family was Protestant not Catholic. My gut feeling is they are related somehow but for the life of me cannot find any evidence. Perhaps one of their family married a Catholic?

If anyone has any thoughts as to how I can progress backwards from Carrick and Winifred I'd love to hear from you. No marriage record for Carrick and Winifred, baptism records for the three children, or a burial record for Carrick  in Ireland have been found. However I have 2 confirmed DNA matches to descendants of the above John Lewin. 

Thank you,

Leonie (Kiwigirl)

Hello from Australia!  Happy end of 2025!

I thought I would comment to say thank you for providing so much information - I am a far off descendant of Patrick and Catherine and this has been incredibly helpful.  There were many dead ends and mixing up the information for the people with the same names across different generations when I was attempting to look at the usual family tree websites.  This thread is extraordinarily helpful, and now I can finally look at my mother's side of the family well beyond when they moved to New Zealand in the early 1900s.

Cheers! :) will be doing a DNA test soon as well!