Hi, I have been informed my Gt Grandfather was born in Aghagower late 19th Century. His name was Austin O'Heraghty the surname was changed to Harrity when the family relocated to Glasgow Scotland.
Some other branches of the family settled in Philadelphia USA.
I wondered if anybody had any information on the family and indeed the name change story.
Do you have an approximate date of birth and parents names?
I found a 9 year old Austin Heraty in Dooncastle town land Aghagower parish.
Roger McDonnell
I found this record of an Austin Hegarthy
| Name: | Austin Heraghty |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Birth Date: | 30 Jan 1872 |
| Birth Place: | Islandeady, Mayo, Ireland |
| Baptism Place: | Islandeady, Mayo, Ireland |
| Father's Name: | Michael Heraghty |
| Mother's name: | Mary Sweeny |
And another one with the name spelt Heraty
| Name: | Austin Heraty |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Birth Date: | 4 Aug 1871 |
| Birth Place: | Westport, Mayo, Ireland |
| Baptism Place: | Westport, Mayo, Ireland |
| Father's Name: | Austin Heraty |
| Mother's name: | Catherine Hestin |
| FHL Film Number: | 255830 |
(O means "Son of" or "from", and this was used with the Irish version)
The only Austin Heraghty I see arriving in Pa, is in 1868 but that might be too early.
| Name: | Austin Heraghty |
| Arrival: |
1868 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
There is an Austin Heraty aged 22 who arrives in NY in 1902. from Westport but going to his sister in Chicago.
This is a site which has the Aughagower Cemetery records, I looked for "Heraty" as it is a common name in that area
http://www.irishgraveyards.ie/search.php?yardid=119&lastname=heraty&fir…
NOTE: GRAVE NO 47 has an Austin with wife Mary in the old Cemetery beside the Round Tower in Aughagower.
These are the Austin Heraty's in the 1901 Census.....
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/results.jsp?census_year=19…
All of those Austin's (4) are in the Westport area, so you can see why it might be hard to identify the correct one.
Re: Name Changes, this seems to be a common occurance with emigration records, where some of the names are transcribed phonetically at the port of arrival, eg Herrity does sound like Heraty. Also if a Mayo man is speaking with an Irish Brogue it may sound like there are "h's" in it. Some people dispute this fact but I have come across it very often when searching for emigrants from Ireland.
As Roger says above if we had dates we might find the right Austin.
If you need to ask any other questions about the area, please feel free to follow up
Thank you for the replies, I'll check out the links therein. Much appreciated.
Austin Heraghty was born in Aghagower, Co.Mayo around 1845. Circa 1886 an altercation occurred with his English Landlord which led the family to seek immediate emigration, I believe his brothers were Patrick, Michael, Rory and Thomas.
Some of the brothers headed to America as stated and some to Scotland. It was believed the name change was to do with not being recognised by the authorities, so the story goes!
My wife's (Pam Harrity) grandfather is Austin Heraty/ Harrity. i have his birth as 22 Sep 1899/ Aghagower parish. Ellis Island date of arrival, July 5, 1910 on the Caronia. Settled in Chicago. I have more information
Hi mjlongeway, I would be interested in learning the further information you have, thanks.