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![Show Contents]() Fehilly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Ireland
Hundreds of years ago, the Gaelic name used by the Fehilly family in Ireland was "Mac Fithcheallaigh," from the word "fithcheallach," referring to a chess player. Early Origins of the Fehilly familyThe surname Fehilly was first found in counties Donegal and Derry, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. Early History of the Fehilly familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fehilly research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1516, 1548, 1555, 1559, 1567 and 1626 are included under the topic Early Fehilly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Fehilly Spelling VariationsWithin the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Fehilly were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Feeley, Fealy, Feally, Feely, Fehilly, Fehley, Feley, O'Feeley, O'Feely and many more. Early Notables of the Fehilly familyMore information is included under the topic Early Fehilly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Fehilly migration to the United States | + |
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 Fehilly family relocated to North American shores quite early:
Fehilly Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Margaret Fehilly, aged 24, who landed in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1803 1
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
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Fehilly migration to the United States 
