First found in county Cork, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

A massive wave of Irish immigrants hit North America during the 19th century. Although many early Irish immigrants made a carefully planned decision to leave left Ireland for the promise of free land, by the 1840s immigrants were fleeing a famine stricken land in desperation. The condition of Ireland during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s can be attributed to a rapidly expanding population and English imperial policies. Those Irish Families that arrived in North America were essential to its rapid social, industial, and economic development. Passenger and immigration lists have revealed a number of early Irish immigrants bearing the name Cory: Giles Corey who settled in Salem Mass in 1630; Caleb Corey, who settled in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1823; Daniel Corey, who arrived in Sandusky Ohio in 1820.

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