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![Show Contents]() McDavit Surname History
- Origins Available:
 Ireland
The Irish McDavit surname is derived from the Irish Gaelic Patronymic name "Mac Daibheid," which means son of David. Early Origins of the McDavit familyThe surname McDavit was first found in on the Inishowen peninsula, in County Donegal, where a sept of this name claim David O'Doherty (d. 1208,) a chief of Cenel Eoghain, as their ancestor. Early History of the McDavit familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our McDavit research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McDavit History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. McDavit Spelling VariationsPronunciation, rather than spelling, guided scribes and church officials when recording names during the Middle Ages. This practice often resulted in one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname McDavit are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include MacDaid, MacDavid, McDavid, Dade, MacDade, Devitt, MacDevitt, MacDavitt and many more. Early Notables of the McDavit familyMore information is included under the topic Early McDavit Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 McDavit 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 McDavit family relocated to North American shores quite early:
McDavit Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Francis McDavit, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1838 1
| Historic Events for the McDavit family | + |
Lady of the Lake - Mr. Robert McDavit (b. 1803), traveller who sailed aboard the "Lady of the Lake" from Greenock, Scotland on 8th April 1833 to Quebec, Canada when the ship hit ice and sunk of the coast of Newfoundland on the 11th May 1833 and he died in the sinking
- 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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McDavit migration to the United States 
