Ireland
ScotlandThe Irish name Craigane has a long Gaelic heritage to its credit. The original Gaelic form of the name Craigane is O Croidheagain, from the word "croidhe," which means "heart."
The surname Craigane was first found in Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Craigane research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1616 is included under the topic Early Craigane History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Craigane are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include Cregan, Crean, O'Crean, O'Cryan, Creaghan, Creegan, Creahan, Crehan, Creane and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Craigane Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much perseverance and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Craigane family in North America: Phillip Crean who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1860; John Creahan settled in Philadelphia in 1868; Thomas Creane settled in Philadelphia in 1868.
