Shanesy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Early Origins of the Shanesy family

Early History of the Shanesy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shanesy research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1569, 1673, 1690, 1691 and 1744 are included under the topic Early Shanesy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shanesy Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, scribes recorded people's names as they saw fit. As a result, surnames often had many spelling variations. For Shanesy some of these variations included: O'Shaughnessy, Shaughnessy, O'Shanessy, Shanessy and others.

Early Notables of the Shanesy family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Ruaidhrí Gilla Dubh Ó Seachnasaigh (aka Sir Roger O'Shaughnessy) (died 1569), Irish Knight and Chief of the Name; Roger O'Shaughnessy, The O'Shaughnessy (d. 1690), Captain in the Irish...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shanesy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Shanesy family

Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name Shanesy or one of its variants: Thomas O'Shaughnessy settled in Philadelphia in 1854; along with Martin and James; John O'Shanessy settled in Philadelphia in 1820; Patrick, James, John, Michael Shaughnessy all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860..