While many Irish names are familiar, their past incarnations are often shrouded in mystery, reflecting the ancient Gaelic heritage of their bearers. The original Gaelic form of the name Dolly is O Dubhlaoich, derived from the words dubh, which means black, and laoch, referring to a hero or champion.
Early Origins of the Dolly family
The surname Dolly was first found in
Westmeath (Irish: An Iarmhí) in the Irish Midlands, province of
Leinster, where they held a
family seat from very ancient times.
Early History of the Dolly family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dolly research.
Another 220 words (16 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Dolly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Dolly Spelling Variations
The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the Dolly family name revealed numerous
spelling variations, including Dooley, Dooly, O'Dooley, O'Dooly and others.
Early Notables of the Dolly family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Dolly Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Dolly family to the New World and Oceana
Under the rule of
England, land ownership in
Ireland changed dramatically, and many native
Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the
Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of Dolly or one of its variants:
Dolly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- William Dolly, who landed in Virginia in 1653 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8) - Teage Dolly, who arrived in Maryland in 1663 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Dolly Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- Miss. Margaret Dolly who emigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec but died on Grosse Isle in 1847 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 24) - Miss. Theresa Dolly who emigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec but died on Grosse Isle in 1847 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 24)
Contemporary Notables of the name Dolly (post 1700)
- Wilbur Dolly, American Republican politician, Chair of Pendleton County Republican Party, 1917
- Abijah Dolly, American politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Hardy County, 1864-66; Member of West Virginia State Senate 10th District, 1867-68