IrelandThe Irish name Calkins has been taken as synonym for many other names. The Gaelic form of the name Calkins was generally Mac Cathmhaoil. The name Caulfield was used by people of the Irish names O Gamhna, O Caibheanaigh and Mac Conghamhna, and Mac Carrghamhna. The Anglicized form of these last four Irish surnames is Gaffney, but for some obscure reason, this has often been changed to Caulfield.
The surname Calkins was first found in Fermanagh (Irish: Fear Manach) in the southwestern part of Northern Ireland, Province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from ancient times. They were directly descended from King Colla da Crioch through the Maguires, Princes of Fermanagh.
Castle Caulfield is a large ruined house in Castlecaulfield, County Tyrone. At one time, the building was three stories high with large windows and tall chimney stacks. A wooden joist from the castle eludes to the age of the building as about 1282.
The Caulfeild Coat of Arms is still seen over the entrance. Nearby, Sir Toby Caulfeild, 1st Baron Caulfeild (1565-1627) built a house on the site of an earlier O'Donnelly castle. It was burned in the Irish Rebellion of 1641, but was rebuilt in the 1660s. Today Castle Caulfield is a ruin and declared a State Care Historic Monument.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Calkins research. Another 219 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1565, 1627, 1607, 1565, 1627, 1587, 1640, 1621, 1642, 1622, 1642, 1624, 1671, 1726, 1682, 1734, 1685, 1716, 1715, 1717, 1530, 1570 and 1545 are included under the topic Early Calkins History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Those scribes in Ireland during the Middle Ages recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in this era many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Calkins family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Caulfeild, Caulkin, Calfkins, Cawlfield, Cawfield, MacCaul, MacCawell and many more.
Notable among the family name at this time was Sir Toby or Tobias Caulfeild first Baron Charlemont (1565-1627), descended from a family which had been settled in Oxfordshire for many generations, his father being Alexander Caulfeild of Great Milton in that county. [1]
Continuing this noble line was: William Caulfeild (1587-1640), 2nd Baron Caulfeild; Toby Caulfeild (1621-1642), 3rd Baron Caulfeild; Robert Caulfeild (1622-1642), 4th Baron Caulfeild; William Caulfeild...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Calkins Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Calkins is the 3,228th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [2]
Calkins migration to the United States +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 Calkins or a variant listed above:
