This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Burns, Koyne, Harmon, Murphy Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Ih.2ADE/333.1 Message Board Post: My Irish ancestors, including Burns, came to America in the late 1840's to early 1850's because of the Great Potato famine in Ireland. They migrated to Morgan County prior to the 1870 census. James Burns & Ann Joyce. If your Burns ancestors came from England, is it possible England was simply their port of departure and they originated from Ireland? Burns is a very common Irish name, though Burns is more likely the Scottish spelling.