Geehan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The original Gaelic form of the Geehan surname is Mag Eochagain, a patronymic derived from the personal name Eochaidh.

Early Origins of the Geehan family

The surname Geehan was first found in the county of Westmeath (Irish: An Iarmhí) in the Irish Midlands, province of Leinster, in the barony of Moycashel at Kilbeggan where they held a family seat from ancient times. Traditionally, the Geehans are said to descend from Fiacha, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Early History of the Geehan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Geehan research. Another 148 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1186, 1291, 1580, 1600, 1603, 1650, 1689, 1702, 1749, 1763 and 1800 are included under the topic Early Geehan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Geehan Spelling Variations

Individual scribes in the Ireland during the Middle Ages would often record a person's name various ways. How the name was recorded depended on what that particular scribe believed the proper spelling for the name pronounced to him was. Spelling variations revealed in the search for the origin of the Geehan family name include Geoghegan, Gagahan, Gahagan, Gahaghan, Gaghan, Gegan, MacGeoghegan, Geohan and many more.

Early Notables of the Geehan family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was Conal MacGeoghegan (circa 1580-1650) Chief of the sept MacGeoghegan, historian who translated the Annals of Clonmacnoise; James MacGeoghegan (1702-1763) of Westmeath, an ordained priest in Paris, who wrote a "History of Ireland;" and Edward Geoghegan of Dublin was one of the most eminent surgeons of his time (early 1800s).Usher Gagahan (d. 1749), was an Irish classical scholar, belonged to a good family of Westmeath, Ireland; was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, but took...
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Geehan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Geehan migration to the United States +

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name Geehan:

Geehan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ann Geehan, aged 13, who arrived in New York in 1854 1
Anna Geehan, aged 32, who landed in New York in 1854 1
Bessy Geehan, aged 14, who arrived in New York in 1854 1
Bridget Geehan, aged 20, who landed in New York in 1854 1
John Geehan, aged 7, who arrived in New York in 1854 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Geehan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Geehan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Miss. Bridget Geehan, aged 17 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Bridgetown" departing 3rd July 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 29th August 1847 but she died on board 2
Miss. Elizabeth Geehan, aged 1 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Allan Kerr" departing 23rd June 1847 from Sligo, Ireland; the ship arrived on 4th August 1847 but she died on board 2

Citations +

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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 77)