O'Dowd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Early Origins of the O'Dowd family

Early History of the O'Dowd family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Dowd research. Another 231 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1354, 1579, 1656, 1706, 1813 and 1891 are included under the topic Early O'Dowd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Dowd Spelling Variations

Many spelling variations of the surname O'Dowd 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 Dowd, Duddy, Doody, O'Dowd, Dowdy, Dowdie, Doudy, Doudie, Doudd, Doodie and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Dowd family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Father John O'Duada (d. 1579) one of many Irish Franciscan martyrs when he was tortured and hanged in 1579; and Samuel Doody (1656-1706), an early English botanist...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Dowd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Dowd family

A great mass of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century, seeking relief from various forms of social, religious, and economic discrimination. This Irish exodus was primarily to North America. If the migrants survived the long ocean journey, many unfortunately would find more discrimination in the colonies of British North America and the fledgling United States of America. These newly arrived Irish were, however, wanted as a cheap source of labor for the many large agricultural and industrial projects that were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the western world. Early immigration and passenger lists indicate many people bearing the O'Dowd name: the Dowd family who arrived in Virginia as early as 1656. Thomas Dowd began the family trek. Most of the family, however, landed following the Potato Famine and settled in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in the late 19th century..