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McConnell and Amo— Antrim

Antrim

Seeking the Irish origins of McConnell and Amo families who emigrated from Ireland to Ontario, Canada

MY DIRECT LINE:

1. William McConnell (1801, County Antrim, Ireland — died 5 Jun 1887, Winchester, Ontario) married Janet "Jenney" Amo (1801, County Antrim — died 1882, Winchester, Ontario). Married approximately 1825 in Ireland. Both buried at Ormond Cemetery, Winchester Township, Dundas County, Ontario.

2. James McConnell (born ~1839, Canada — died 1913, Utica, New York) married Ellen Jordan

3. Catherine "Katie" McConnell (1865–1954) married Ellsworth Elmer

4. Gertrude Elmer

5. Mary (my grandmother)

6. Lisa (my mother)

7. Anthony (me)

WHAT I KNOW:

• William and Jenney's eldest son Samuel McConnell was born ~1826 in Ireland, confirming the family was still in Ireland after their marriage. Samuel's 1871 Ontario marriage record names his parents as William and Jennie McConnell and lists his birthplace as Ireland.

• The family emigrated to Canada between 1826 and 1838.

• William was listed as Baptist in Canadian census records.

• Jenney's gravestone reads: "JENNEY AMO His Wife Born 1801 Died 1882"

THE AMO SURNAME:

This surname is extremely rare in Ireland. I found a civil marriage record on IrishGenealogy.ie: Blanche Amo married Charles Byrne on 23 January 1858 at Parish Church, Belfast. Her father was listed as Thomas Amo.

I AM LOOKING FOR:

• The parents of William McConnell

• The parents of Janet "Jenney" Amo

• The specific parish or townland where these families lived in County Antrim

• Any records of the rare Amo surname in Ulster

— and any and all information related to these families that may help!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Anthonymichael777

3 replies

With the surname Amo being so rare it strikes me that it is not very likely to be an established surname in its own right. Probably a corruption of something similar. I looked in Griffiths Valuation (1862) and found just 1 Amo in the whole of Ireland. He was a Christopher Amo in Aghyoule townland, Kinawley parish, Co. Fermanagh. By the 1901 census his surname was spelled EMO:

National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911

In 1901 there were 19 EMO folk. No AMO. All but one of the EMO folk were Church of Ireland which is indicative of them being descended from settlers who arrived in Ireland in the 1600s, from Britain. So probably not a native Irish name. Not a common one in England or Scotland I would have thought either, which makes me think it might have been corrupted over the years. No EMO households in Co. Antrim in 1901 nor anywhere near it.

DNA testing might be a way of finding others with the same roots.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

This might be your Wm, but further research wouId be needed to confirm:

Name: William McConnell

Date of Birth: 0-Jan-0

Date of Baptism: 26-Jan-1800

Address: Lisnastrean

Parish/District: Blaris

County Co. Antrim

Denomination: Church Of Ireland

Father: William McConnell Mother:

glanvil3@aol.com

MacLysaght’s “The Surnames of Ireland” says, of Emo:

“This name is quite numerous in Co.Fermanagh & Cavan, where it is on record as a synonym of Seymour. Emor is an intermediate form. It has no connection with the place name Emo in Co Leix.”

Of Seymour he says: “Several families of this name came to Ireland from England in the mid seventeenth century. It is now quite numerous in Cos Cork and Tipperary as well as Dublin and Belfast. It is usually a French toponymic (St. Maur) but in some cases may be from Seamer in Yorkshire. See Emo.”

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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