Doughan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Irish families began to migrate to North America in the late 18th century in the hopes of gaining their own plot of land. The majority of these early immigrant families were relatively well off because the transatlantic passage was costly. As a result the decision to immigrate was carefully made. Those immigrants that arrived in the late 1840s differed because their decision to leave was in direct response to the Great Potato Famine. Many of the families that crossed the Atlantic during this decade were destitute, either having spent all they had on the fare or even starting with nothing, but being sponsored by a philanthropic society. Whenever, these Irish families came to North America, they were made great contributions to the developing nations of the United States and what would come to be known as Canada: the earlier settlers as land clearing homesteaders, and the later immigrants as the muscle that would build the industries and routes of transportation so critical to a powerful nation. Research into the passenger and immigration lists has shown many early and significant Irish immigrants bearing the name Doughan:

Doughan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• John Doughan, aged 36, who arrived in New York in 1812 2

• James Francis "Jim" Doughan (b. 1959), American actor, writer, and teacher, best known for his roles as Detective Doyle in The Mask (1994) and as the voice of Lucky the cat in Stuart Little (1999)
• John E. Doughan, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Connecticut 3rd District, 1926 3