O'Creagh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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• Ireland

Early Origins of the O'Creagh family

Early History of the O'Creagh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Creagh research. Another 192 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1505, 1514, 1518, 1520, 1523, 1525, 1541, 1567, 1585, 1676, 1689, 1692, 1693, 1705, 1707, 1848 and 1923 are included under the topic Early O'Creagh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Creagh 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 O'Creagh are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include Creagh, Crear, Creag, Creavagh, Cray and others.

Early Notables of the O'Creagh family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was Richard Creagh (1525?-1585), born in Limerick, an Irish Catholic Archbishop of Armagh who died in the Tower of London. Called also Crvagh, Crewe, and in Irish O'Mulchreibe, he was born about 1525, being the son of Nicholas Creagh, a merchant of the city of Limerick. "On 8 May 1567 he was arrested in Connaught, and in August was tried for high treason in Dublin. Though acquitted, he was detained in prison, but he escaped soon afterwards. Before the end of the year he was recaptured, sent to London, and lodged in the Tower...
Another 169 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Creagh Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Creagh family

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name O'Creagh or a variant listed above: Carmelo Creagh who settled in Philadelphia in 1878; along with Richard and Thomas; Isabella Creag settled in Pennsylvania in 1772; Michael Creier settled in Philadelphia in 1741..