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Lowry - Needing General Surname Information

Hello, 

I am/have been researching my ancestors with the last name of Lowry from Ireland. The info passed down to me is that my ancestors came from County Clare. That is where my focus has primarily been but like most, there is only so much info available for Lowry's in County Clare and it makes me wonder where other then Clare my ancestors may have originated from (ie, is there a bunch of Lowry's somewhere else in Ireland...because I only found a handful in Clare and I have run down the research on all of them the best I can). I've seen a few message posts from others who are researching a "Lowry or Lowrey". To all of you, do you have any historical info on the surname - Lowry, Lowrey, Lowery, Lowrie (...so many variations). Looking for the next step in my research and wondering where else I could/should be looking as far as location. Blessing to all. 

MLowry

4 replies

You can use this site to see where the surname was common in Ireland in the mid 1800s:

https://www.johngrenham.com/surnames/

There were almost unknown in Clare so that seems a less likely origin.

Pay no attention to minor variations in spelling. The spelling of all surnames varied a lot in Ireland and families rarely stuck to one single spelling.

The next thing is what denomination were your family and when did they leave Ireland? If they left in the 1700s and were Presbyterian or another Protestant denomination, then they probably came from Ulster, but if they were Catholic and perhaps left in the 1800s then they are more likely to be from further south in the country.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi MLowry, there is a subscription site here which list surname locations but you can do some free searching,  https://www.johngrenham.com/surnames/ 

I looked at McLysaghts book Surnames of Ireland and he indicates it is a variant of Lavery, found in the Ulster counties where it is often from Scotland.

The Lavery name is from the Gaelic for "Spokesman" and the three septs found in Ulster thesebeing Baun - Lavery; Roe - Lavery and Trin - Lavery, meaning White; Red and Strong. the last one being often translated as Arrmstrong, it is mainly found in Antrim and Down.

All that said we have a well known independent member of the Dail (Parliament) from Tipperary known as Michael Lowry.

There is a Faebook page on Irish Surnames which also does some genealogy.

Good Luck

Pat

St Peters LouthIrelandXO Volunteer

Don't know if you check these out...these come from:

Here is the website that these names were pulled from:

http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths.php

The marriage indices and some actual records (at least since 1864, or for Protestants since 1845) are also available through the LDS, look in their catalog under Ireland, Vital Records. Assuming you don't have exact marriage dates, just guess based on the ages of their children, add a year or two leeway either way, and order the index films covering those years. For each name it will list the book and page reference for the marriage. To find the right records, just look under both bride and groom names, and find two with matching book and page reference. Then look in the LDS catalog for the marriage records for that year, and book #.:

 

Lowry   Henry       Mullaghfad        Aghalurcher     Fermanagh

Lowry   Hugh        Mullaghfad        Aghalurcher     Fermanagh

Lowry   John        Drumroo            Aghalurcher     Fermanagh

Lowry        Samuel               Mullaghfad                   Aghalurcher                 Fermanagh

From C Odio

odio

Hi MLowry,

It is difficult to pin down a surname in Ireland, due to the various migrations over the centuries.

I attach a copy of the " Order for Transplanting" signed in Dublin on the 12th of February 1655, known as Cromwells Transplantation.

It gives some information as to where many people from the North of Ireland ended up.  Before that there was the Battle of Kinsale, Battle of the Boyne and the Battle of Aughrim where many who survived remained in the general area.

Source: West or H-Iar Connaught by Roderic O'Flaherty - Edited by James Hardiman of Galway 1846

Regards,

 

McCoy

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