Douds History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe original Gaelic form of Douds was Ó Dubhda. The first portion of the name comes from the word dubh, which means black or dark complexioned. 1 Early Origins of the Douds familyThe surname Douds was first found in County Mayo (Irish: Maigh Eo) located on the West coast of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Connacht. King Niall, brother of Fiachra and descended from Daithi, was one of the last pagan Kings of Ireland. For centuries they were the leading sept of northern Ui Fiachrach. Their territory comprised the baronies of Erris and Tirawley in the county of Mayo and Tireagh in Sligo. 2 They were the traditional Princes of Hy-Fiachra in Connaught. 1 Early History of the Douds familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Douds research. Another 231 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1354, 1579, 1656, 1706, 1813 and 1891 are included under the topic Early Douds History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Douds Spelling VariationsIrish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name Douds dating from that time include Dowd, Duddy, Doody, O'Dowd, Dowdy, Dowdie, Doudy, Doudie, Doudd, Doodie and many more. Early Notables of the Douds familyNotable amongst the family name at this time was Father John O'Duada (d. 1579) one of many Irish Franciscan martyrs when he was tortured and hanged in 1579; and Samuel Doody (1656-1706), an early English botanist...
The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Douds family relocated to North American shores quite early: Douds Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
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