Sheny History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Early Origins of the Sheny family

Early History of the Sheny family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sheny research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1750 is included under the topic Early Sheny History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sheny Spelling Variations

The spelling of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was rarely consistent. This inconsistency was due to the scribes and church officials' attempts to record orally defined names in writing. The common practice of recording names as they sounded resulted in spelling variations such as McShane, McShain, McShaen, MacShane, MacShain, MacShaen, MacCheyne, McCheyne, McSheyne, MacSheyne, McCheine, McChain, MacCheine, MacChain, McChein, McShaney, McShanie and many more.

Early Notables of the Sheny family

More information is included under the topic Early Sheny Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Sheny family

The English-ruled Ireland of the late 18th and 19th centuries featured a rapidly increasing population and an agricultural-based economy. This combination proved to be disastrous in the 1840s after a couple of failed potato harvests. Thousands died of disease and starvation, and thousands more left the country, often bound for North America. Those that survived the journey to North America were put to work building the bridges, canals, roadways, and railways needed for the development of an industrial society. Those Irish, although often despised by those already established in North American cities and towns, played an instrumental role in making Canada and the United States the powerful and wealthy nations that they are today. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has shown many immigrants bearing the name Sheny: John and Joseph McShain settled in Philadelphia in 1860.