The name Coltsmynd has changed considerably in the time that has passed since its genesis. It originally appeared in Gaelic as Mag Fhearadhaigh, derived from the word "fearadhach," possibly meaning "manly."
The surname Coltsmynd was first found in Connacht (Irish: Connachta, (land of the) descendants of Conn), where they held a family seat from ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coltsmynd research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1667 and 1668 are included under the topic Early Coltsmynd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Names during the Middle Ages were often recorded under several different spelling variations during the life of their bearers. Literacy was rare at that time and so how a person's name was recorded was decided by the individual scribe. Variations of the name Coltsmynd include Garry, Garrihy, Hare, O'Hare, O'Heihir, MacGarry and others.
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coltsmynd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the late 18th century, Irish families began emigrating to North America in the search of a plot of land to call their own. This pattern of emigration grew steadily until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s cause thousands of Irish to flee the death and disease that accompanied the disaster. Those that made it alive to the shores of the United States and British North America (later to become Canada) were, however, instrumental in the development of those two powerful nations. Many of these Irish immigrants proudly bore the name of Coltsmynd: Henry Garry who settled in Virginia in 1635; Claud Garry, who settled with his wife in Virginia in 1714; Barbason O'Hare, who arrived in Boston in 1770.