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![Show Contents]() Kellehar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Ireland
Irish surnames are linked to the long Gaelic heritage of the Island nation. The original Gaelic form of the name Kellehar is "O Ceileachair," which means "companion dear." 1 Another source claims the name means "wise, prudent." 2 Early Origins of the Kellehar familyThe surname Kellehar was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. They "derive their sirname from Ceileachar, son of Donchuan, brother of Brian Borimhe [Boru], the 175th Monarch of Ireland. In the twelfth and even so late as the sixteenth century, the O'Kellehers were possessed of lands in Munster; but the pedigree of the family is, we fear, lost." 2 The oldest record of the family was of Donogh O'Kelleher, successor of St. Kieren of Siager (Bishop of Ossory) who died in 1048. MacLysaght noted that the family left their original habitat in County Clare in the 14th century and moved to County Cork. 3 Early History of the Kellehar familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kellehar research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1014 is included under the topic Early Kellehar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Kellehar Spelling VariationsOfficial documents, crafted by early scribes and church officials, primarily contained names that were spelled according to their pronunciation. This lead to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating an illusion that a single person was many people. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Kellehar that are preserved in the archival documents of the time are Kelleher, O'Kelleher, Kellehar, Kellegher and others. Early Notables of the Kellehar familyMore information is included under the topic Early Kellehar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Kellehar migration to the United States | + |
In the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of Irish people immigrated to North American shores. The early settlers were enticed by the promise of their own land, but they were moderately well off in Ireland when they decided to emigrate. Therefore, they were merely carrying out a long and carefully thought out decision. The 1840s saw the emergence of a very different trend: thousands of extremely desperate people crammed into passenger boats hoping to find any type of opportunity. The Irish of this decade had seen their homeland severely stricken by crop failures which resulted in widespread disease and starvation. At whatever time the Irish immigrants came to North America, they were instrumental in the rapid development of the emerging nations of the United States and what would become known as Canada. An exhaustive search of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many persons bearing the name Kellehar, or one of its variants:
Kellehar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Cornelius, John and Patrick Kellehar, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1855 and 1878
- Grehan, Ida, The Dictionary of Irish Family Names. Boulder: Roberts Rinehart Publications, 1997. Print. (ISBN 1-57098-137-X)
- O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
- MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
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Kellehar migration to the United States 
