O'Cuff History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• England

Early Origins of the O'Cuff family

Early History of the O'Cuff family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Cuff 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 O'Cuff History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Cuff 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'Cuff 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 O'Cuff 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 O'Cuff Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Cuff 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'Cuff or a variant listed above: 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.