MacNeeley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Early Origins of the MacNeeley family

Early History of the MacNeeley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacNeeley research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1120, 1653, 1680 and 1697 are included under the topic Early MacNeeley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacNeeley Spelling Variations

Names from the Middle Ages demonstrate many spelling variations. This is because the recording scribe or church official often decided as to how a person's name was spelt and in what language. Research into the name MacNeeley revealed many variations, including McNally, McAnully, McAnalley, McAnally and others.

Early Notables of the MacNeeley family

Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early MacNeeley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the MacNeeley family

To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name MacNeeley or a variant listed above, including: Bernard, Biddy, Charles, George, Henry John, Michal, Patrick, Thomas and William McNally all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Daniel, Francis and Patrick McAnully all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.