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| Origins Available: |
| | Ireland |
The original Gaelic form of MacAnaly was Mac an Fhailghigh, which is derived from the word failgheach, which means poor man.
The surname MacAnaly was first found in counties Armagh and Monaghan (Irish: Muineachán) located in the Northern part of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacAnaly research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1120, 1653, 1680 and 1697 are included under the topic Early MacAnaly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name MacAnaly include McNally, McAnully, McAnalley, McAnally and others.
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early MacAnaly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the MacAnaly family came to North America quite early: 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.