Hello Allan. Sorry to sound flippant --- but the answer to your question about WHICH surname spelling to look for in Ireland is: ALL OF THEM, and more! For example, your McGINNIS etc. could also be McGUINNESS, Magennis, McEnnis, etc.; even Innes and Ennis. And when you see the Gaelic writing of Irish surnames, that is even more confusing -- especially if you are as ignorant as I am, and don't even know the basic rules of pronunciation for Gaelic. Because most of the people were illiterate, they only knew how to pronounce their names (just imagine the variety of accents etc. though); so whoever was writing the names down, just used whatever phonetic spelling rules they might have learned, and tried to listen as well as they could to the name that was said, and then wrote it down as best they could. Hence the variety of spellings. (I spent a few hours on Friday night at an Irish pub here in Sydney; and could NOT understand one word that any of the staff (all Irish) said to me -- what with their strong brogues (no I don't mean shoes), fast speech, and the loud background noises, I just had to guess and pretend that I understood -- so I could sympathise with anyone who might have tried to write down any names which they might have said). There are several books out about Irish family names which might help you. I suggest that you ask for them at your local library. Being called away ... must rush! good luck. ray hawkins in sydney, australia ----- Original Message ----- From: "Allan Griffith" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2001 1:38 PM Subject: Irish Surname Spelling > I'd like to ask this Irish researcg group about the more common or more > likely spelling for two names from Ireland - I have ancestors whose > names are spelled many different ways after they reached the U.S. - so > I'd like to know what is the most likely spelling to find them under in > Ireland. Also where where else might a question like this be better > presented on Email ? > > 1.) McGINNIS - (or McGinnes, McGennis, McGannis, etc.) > > 2.) FOGERTY - (or Fogarty, Foggarty, Fogharty, etc, etc.) > > Finally, since I'm writing, I might as well put in a person query. > I've narrowed my search to a couple living in Galveston, Texas in the > late 1850s and early 1860s and who probably died early in life leaving > young children as orphans. - This couple, named Edmund FOGERTY & Mary > Ann McGINNIS - believed married in the 1850s and both born in > Ireland. I'm not sure which country they married. At least one > child, Jennie Louise FOGERTY was raised in a Catholic orphanage on > Galveston Island, during the 1860s & 70s. > > -- > mailto:[email protected] (preferred address) > Thank you & sincerely, > > Allan Griffith, # 1 Jodi Lane, Bloomington, IL, USA 61701 > Home phone: 309-828-2059; 2nd choice: 309-829-2063 > Alternate address if Bigfoot server is down: [email protected] > Note alternate above has only ONE "F" > > > > ============================== > Search more than 150 million free records at RootsWeb! > http://searches.rootsweb.com/ > > >