All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name O'Begley originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Beaglaoich where beag means little, and laoch means hero. 1 First Anglicized as O'Begley, it now appears mostly as Begley, and occasionally Bagley.
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Early Origins of the O'Begley family
The surname O'Begley was first found in the counties of Cork and Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel, where they held considerable territories as an important Irish sept directly descended from the line of the Heber Irish Kings. (O'Hart)
Early History of the O'Begley family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Begley research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1732 and 1890 are included under the topic Early O'Begley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
O'Begley Spelling Variations
The spelling of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was rarely consistent. This inconsistency was due to the scribes and church officials' attempts to record orally defined names in writing. The common practice of recording names as they sounded resulted in spelling variations such as Begley, Beegley, Beeghley, Begly, Begeley, Begely, Beagley and many more.
Early Notables of the O'Begley family
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Begley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the O'Begley family
Many destitute Irish families in the 18th and 19th centuries decided to leave their homeland, which had in many ways been scarred by English colonial rule. One of the most frequent destinations for these families was North America where it was possible for an Irish family to own their own parcel of land. Many of the early settlers did find land awaiting them in British North America, or even later in America, but for the majority of immigrants that arrived as a result of the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s the ownership of land was often a long way off. These Irish people were initially put to work on such industrial projects as the building of bridges, canals, and railroads, or they worked at manufacturing positions within factories. Whenever they arrived, the Irish made enormous contributions to the infant nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the earliest immigrants to bearer the name of O'Begley were found through extensive research of immigration and passenger lists: Charles Begley who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1855; Christopher Begley arrived there in 1854; Edward Begley in 1869; Henry Begley in 1856.
