Couffe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• England

Early Origins of the Couffe family

Early History of the Couffe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Couffe research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1563, 1598, 1601, 1641, 1670, 1678, 1694, 1733, 1737, 1744, 1781, 1793, 1797, 1804, 1821 and 1841 are included under the topic Early Couffe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Couffe Spelling Variations

Pronunciation, 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 Couffe are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include Cuff, Cuffe, Couffe, Couff, Cuffy, Cuffey, Cuffie and others.

Early Notables of the Couffe family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was Sir James Cuffe (died 1678) was an Irish politician, son of Thomas Cuffe of Somerset, he moved to Ireland with his father and brother in 1641; Michael Cuffe (1694-1744), an Irish Member of Parliament; Agmondesham Cuffe, who lived in Castle Inch, County Kilkenny, father of Otway Cuffe, 1st Earl of Desart (1737-1804); and James Cuff M.P., the 1st and last Lord Tyrawley (d. 1821), he held the estate containing Deel Castle, a 16th Century Tower House, in County Mayo. Henry Cuff or Cuffe (1563-1601), was an English "author and politician, born in 1563...
Another 177 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Couffe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Couffe family

During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much perseverance and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Couffe family in North America: Martin Cuffe who settled in Virginia in 1623; followed by John and Thomas in 1670; Richard Cuffe settled in Jamaica in 1670; John Cuff settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1762.