THE GODERICH DONOGH'S

First there is the Donogh family of Goderich Ontario. In the early years, we frequently find their name spelled as Donagh. We have worked with descendents of that line and have put together a good family history for them. It is known that their immigrant ancestor was John Donogh, who immigrated from County Roscommon. There is record of his owning a farm in Goderich in 1834. In census reports, they all stated that they were of the Church of England.

The common males names in that family in the early years are Andrew, John, William, Robert, Samuel, Abraham and Ashmooty, as well as the names of Adam, Jacob and Edward, each used one time. Some of the surnames that show up are Hawkins, Richardson, Robotham (used as a middle name) Splan/Splane, Proctor, Spotswood, Thompson, Richardson (used as a middle name) and Bradney.

There is one Donogh surviving from this line. He is a male with one daughter, thus that ends that line of Donogh.

THE US DONOGH'S

In addition to the Donogh family of Goderich, there is a line of Donoghs in the US in the 19th century. This is even more of a mystery than the previous family. We do not have any family members to help us put all this information together, however, we have been able to draw some conclusions. One of the most compelling reasons for thinking that there is a connection between this line of Donogh and our line of Donogh in Ontario is the use of the name Ormsby. Donogh is a very rare name, Ormsby is quite unusual. The conclusion has to be that there is a connection.

It would appear that the immigrant ancestor for this line was Andrew who is listed on the Alien Docket of Fayette Co., PA. in 1808, earlier than the two previous lines. It appears that his wife is Rachel. It also appears that his children are John P., Robert P., Margaret M., Ormsby H. or J., Andrew, James B., Frances C. (female) and perhaps Ransom.

Some of the surnames that married into this family in the early years are Mahard, Bellsmith, Steinkamp, Coleman, Hannaford, Hornaday, Stephens and Park. This family, for the most part, lived in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

We have been able to glean a lot of information on this line and we need a descendent to help us put it all together. This Donogh line also seems to have disappeared. Can you help us solve this mystery?

THE B.C. DONOGH'S

There is one more line of Donogh that shows up in British Columbia, Canada. Walter Russell Donogh, son of Thomas Andrew Donogh of Galway, Ireland and Caroline Skinner Kelso of Scotland, died in Victoria in 1926. A retired barrister, he was born in Rungpore, India. His wife, Elizabeth Gardiner, born Ayrshire Scotland, was the daughter of Robert Gardiner and Margaret Strachan. She died in 1931 also in Victoria.

They had three daughters, Kathleen, born in India in 1883, died in Vancouver in 1952, Marjorie, born in India in 1891, married Hamilton Aspin in 1915 in Victoria and died in Vancouver in 1950 and Dora, who married John Purser in 1934 in Victoria. Unless there are other children, it would appear that the name Donogh also no longer survives.

A SIDE NOTE

As a side note, and as even more of a mystery, there is record of a John and William Donogh who were affiliated with a church in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1792-94. There is also a record of a John Donogh in the NY Volunteers in the War of 1812. This name is so frequently misspelled as Donough, which can complicate the search, but unless we know it is meant to be Donogh we are not including it in this overview of the lines of Donogh.

Please help us solve the mystery of the four lines of Donogh. If you have any information, please click here to contact us.