Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Gonegal is Mag Congail, which means son of the most valorous one.
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Early Origins of the Gonegal family
The surname Gonegal was first found in County 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.
Early History of the Gonegal family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gonegal research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gonegal History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gonegal Spelling Variations
Many spelling variations of the surname Gonegal can be found in the archives. One reason for these variations is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. The different spellings that were found include MacGonigle, MacGonagle, Magonagle, Magonigele and many more.
Early Notables of the Gonegal family
More information is included under the topic Early Gonegal Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Gonegal family
In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Gonegal family came to North America quite early: James MacGonagal settled in Newcastle in 1803; Edward, James, Patrick, MacGonagle all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Edward, George, James, John, Michael, Patrick, Thomas, MacGonegal all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.
