McCoole (McColl) (McCool) from Lifford, Clonleigh Parish, Donegal

Thanks for your reply, Roger.   I have tested through Ancestry.com and 23andMe.   The results related to Northeast Donegal  (vic. Lifford), although my paternal line (Shevlin/Shovlin) centers on Inishkeel and Killybegs Lower parishes around Ardara.   I've been to Lifford many years ago and to Ardara and vicinity several times.    I will probably have to concentrate on finding McCool/McColl famiy descendents and work back from there.   Although my GGrandmother's records only indicate Lifford, I suspect the family resided in one of the townlands outside Lifford Town.   Another possibility is name varients such as McCuill, McCahil, Cole, etc.  Some variants include anglicised versions such as Wood of Woods.   My GGrndmother, Sarah McCzoll married Patrick Shovlin/Shovelin in Glasgow in 1857 where all records pertaining to her list her maiden name as McColl.  However, Irish immigrants in Scotland in the 19th century with the surname McCool were illiterate, so record keepers and census enumerators were likely to spell the name as McColl.  Further, those who were literate sometimes preferred the usual Scottish spelling and pronunciation of McColl to avoid discrimination.   I also discovered that the birth records of two of her children where she was the informant listed the family name as "Shivlen" a phonetic variant of Shevlin/Shovlin in parts of Donegal, further indicating that she was illiterate.   Isn't genealogy fascinating?    Ed Shevlin

Roger:   I've scrounged every source I can find for Shovlin/Shevlin in that area and the rest Donegal.   The listings in GV are anglicised and appear as Shevlin.   You may hear local variations in pronounciation (e.g. Shivlen) not far from Ardara Town and older records pre-GV often show Shovelin (Orig. O'Seibhleain or Ui Sheibhlin).  Finally located the right townland, Barkillew (Barr Coilleadh) for my Great Grandfather and his parents, but in the process have rearched Shovlins and Breslins and other interrelated families in Southwest Donegal tracing family ties to localities in USA, Scotland and England.   I was fortunate to find a local historian who provided a well researched volume on the history of the  Leaconnell National School that was a godsend.  .   My next project is back to Roscommon (McLoughlin) vic Aughrim (Belragh) because I misplaced my old on-site notes from several years back which were my only back-up for a computer crash.

Ed

Roger:   I've scrounged every source I can find for Shovlin/Shevlin in that area and the rest Donegal.   The listings in GV are anglicised and appear as Shevlin.   You may hear local variations in pronounciation (e.g. Shivlen) not far from Ardara Town and older records pre-GV often show Shovelin (Orig. O'Seibhleain or Ui Sheibhlin).  Finally located the right townland, Barkillew (Barr Coilleadh) for my Great Grandfather and his parents, but in the process have rearched Shovlins and Breslins and other interrelated families in Southwest Donegal tracing family ties to localities in USA, Scotland and England.   I was fortunate to find a local historian who provided a well researched volume on the history of the  Leaconnell National School that was a godsend.  .   My next project is back to Roscommon (McLoughlin) vic Aughrim (Belragh) because I misplaced my old on-site notes from several years back which were my only back-up for a computer crash.

Ed