In a message dated 6/14/99 7:04:48 PM, [email protected] writes: >Hi Cuz; >Sometime last fall you sent a rather long (from several sources) letter >on the RAGAN Name History. Somehow I seem to have lost it. If you still >have it available I would greatly appreciate receiving another copy. > >Thanks --- Harvey Ragan Hi Harvey, How've you been? Why sure Cuz, I have some items for you. Here's a few things I've collected over the past few years. Michael ======== ORIGINS It has been stated in family traditions we come from the land of old sod, IRELAND, an island in the Atlantic Ocean west of Great Britain (England, Scottland and Wales). It is still called The Emerald Isle because of its lush countrysides. THE FAMILY SURNAME The families in early Ireland lived together in groups known as clans. The clan shared areas of land which they used for farming and hunting. Each clan was a distinct entity with their own judges, priests and historians. Its leadership was hereditary within the family, passing from father to son. As clans were not large, the clan name was used as the surname along with personal first names for identification in Ireland. Later the clans were divided into subclans, then the septs were established for this purpose. The sept took the personal name of their founders as the basis of a family surname. The Irish family surname was formed by prefixing the word Ua, (O), descended from, to the genitive form of the paesonal name of a paternal ancestor, generally the grandfather. Our Irish family surname, ORIAGAN, goes back to 11th century Anno Domino ... it descended from Raigan, son of Donchuan, a brother of Ard-Ri Brian Boru. It originated in the County of Clare and Limerick, part of the province of Munster. Later it located in the barony of Carbey in the county of Cork of said province. Today it is still widely used there. BACKGROUND In the late 1600s Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell from England and Wales began a brutal campaign of destruction and death for Ireland. In August 1649 he landed at Ringsend, Ireland with his troops, 8000 infantry and 4000 cavalry. He intended to relieve the Parliament army in the town of Dublin and to complete the conquest of Ireland. After taking Drogheda in Ireland, he ordered the slaughter of most of the garrison and the transportation of the remaining survivors to Barbados Islands. Then he immediately sent one half of the army to take the northern province (Ulster) while he took the other half of the army to take the southern province (Munster). After a brutal campaign, Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and his army had reduced all the opposition there, but it had also reduced the country to a state of hunger, disease and misery. It left hatred for the English government that has endured for centuries. ORiagan families who had lived in the province of Munster for generations were directly in the path of Cromwells campaign. Untold numbers of these families were killed, driven off their lands, starved to death or driven into exile. There was an ancient Dalcassian prophecy for ORaigan families and others. It was as follows: Chiefs and Warriors, tall and bright from sire to sire to lead bequeathed them In valors morn or sorrow night To that pure gem of nature, FREEDOM. It was fulfilled. So, it seems our family, ORaigan, came to America for political and religious freedom. Family traditions state that there were five brothers of one ORaigan family in Ireland who planned to migrate to America after the defeat to Cromwells army. But only two managed to reach to America. One settled in Maryland/Pennsylvania area and the other settled in Virginia/North Carolina area. It is also stated that both families in Maryland/Pennsylvania and Virginia/North Carolina dropped the O after its arrival here. So the old family name, ORaigan, was changed to a new family name, RAGAN. During the nineteenth century, an e was added to the family name ... REAGAN. Today, this family retains both spellings, RAGAN and REAGAN. -------------------------- The following from Kelly, Captain Patrick, IRISH FAMILY NAMES WITH ORIGINS, MEANINGS, CLANS ARMS, CRESTS AND MOTTOES, First edition, (Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, 1939). FROM THE FAMILY COAT OF ARMS ORiegaine, ORegane, ORegan, Regan, from a diminutive form of the Gaelic rio(d)gagh, which means impulsive, furious. The Annals record that this surname was established in Meath by a 9th century branch of the Ui Neill. The ORegans of Meath constituted one of the four tribes of Tara and were powerful in Lainster prior to the Anglo-Norman invasion. They took part in the wars aganist the Danish invaders. The Annals note that in 1029 Macgawan ORegan, king of Breagh, defeated the forces of Sitric (the Danish king of Dublin) and captured his son Olaf who was released upon payment of a large ransom which included the famous sword of Carlus. TGhe ORegans of Munster are of 11th century origin, being descended from Rioghan (of the Dalcass) who was son of Donncuan, brother to Brian Boru. The name is now widely prevalent in Eire. The Gaelic motto MULLACH-A-BU is translated Mullach (a placename) to Victory. - -------------------------- The Ancient History of the Distinguished Sirname Ragan The history of the distinguished Irish family name Ragan belonged to the green valleys and mountains of the Emerald Isle from very ancient times. Documentary evidence in the books by notable historians OHart, McLysaght, and OBrien, the Four Masters, baptismals, parish records, and ancient land grants, were researched by historians and they found that the family name Ragan was first revealed in county Meath where they had been seated from very ancient times. Variations in the spelling of the name were found. The surname was from time to time spelt Reagan, Regan, ORegan, OReagan, and these changes in spelling frequently occured, even between father and son. Also translations from the Gaelic varied and there were preferences for different spelling variations usually from a division of the family, or for religious reasons, or sometimes for patriotic reasons. Church officials and scribes spelt the name as it sounded, sometimes several diffrent ways in the lifetime of the same person. Traditionally, the ancient Kings of Ireland were descended from King Milesius of Spain, the grandson of Breogham (Brian), King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile and Portugal. Milesius, a great general/king, was instrumental in defending Egypt from the King of Ethiopia. Milesius turned his attention northward to Ireland to fulfill an ancient Druidic prophecy. He sent anSales Receiptsmy to explore this fertile land. On finding that his son had been murdered by the three resident Irish Kings (the Danans), Milesius gathered another army to take his revenge on the Irish. He died before he embarked on the trip. His remaining eight sons conquered Ireland. Heremon, eldest son of Milesius, reigned in Ireland for fourteen years, along with his brothers Heber, Ir and Ithe. They named the land Scota or Scotia, their mothers name, the land of the Scots. This name would later be taken by the Iriah King Colla in 357 when he was exiled to Scotland, leaving the name Ir-land, land of Ir. youngest of the four sons of Milesius, to the Emerald Isle. The four Irish kingdoms eventually broke into five separate nations under the High King, or Ard Righ. These royal lines would later produce such great kings as the 4th century King Niall of the Nine Hostages who died in France while cutting off the retreat of the Romans from Britatn, and King Brian Boru who died in the battle of Clontarf in 1014, finally expelling the Vikings from Dublin and Ireland. This great Gaelic family Ragan emerged in later years in the county Meath. This Royal distinguished Irish family were one of the four tribes of Tara, they were known as the Princes of Meath, and were descended Riagan, nephew of the famous King Brian Boru. They were very prominent in the campaign against the Vikings and their Chiefs were present at the Battle of Clontarf where Brian Boru finally expelled all the Vikings from Ireland. They were forfeited their lands during the Angelo/Norman invasion of Strongbow in 1172 and were dispersed to many parts of Ireland, principally to county Cork and Limerick. They again lost much of their remaining territories during the Cromweilian invasion of the 17th century and are believed to be descended from the Heremon line, specifically Morris ORegan who described the Angelo/Norman invasion of Ireland by Strongbow, the Earl of Pembroke in 1172. Noteable amongst the family of this time was ORegan of Meath. A succession of invasions troubled the Irish people. Strongbow in 1172, Cromwell in the 17th century and then the devastation of the great potato famine in 1845, all caused continued widespread misery and poverty, and the exodus from Ireland began, first a trickle, then a flood. Fifty years after the famine, the last straw, the population was reduced to less than half. Irish clansman joined the armada of sailing ships which sailed from Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Holyhead, Liverpool and Glasgow, many bound for the new world, some to Australia. In North America some of the first migrants which could be considered kinsman of the sept Ragan of that same family included James, John, Patrick, Thomas and William ORegan settled in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Charles, Daniel, Denis, Edmond, Jeremiah, John, Margaret, Thomas and William Regan all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; John Regan settled with his wife and three children in Prescot, Ontario, Canada, in 1825; James, John, Michael, Patrick Regan arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; John and Michael Regan arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860. In the new world the Irish played an important part in building the nation, the railroads, coal mines, bridges and canals. They also moved westward with the wagon trains, and settled in the mid west, some trekking as far as the west coast. During the War of Independence some were loyal to the cause, others were loyal to the Crown, and moved north into Canada becoming known as the United Empire Loyalist and being granted lands on the banks of the St. Lawrence and the Niagra Peninsula. During the American Revelution formed the Irish Brigades in the great struggle, Union versus South. Meanwhile the family name Ragan produced many prominent people President Ronald Reagan, U.S.A.; Donald Regan, American Fincancier; Gerald Regan, Canadian Politician; Reginald Regan, American Biologist. ========== THE NAME AND FAMILY OF REGAN OR REAGAN Compiled by THE MEDIA RESEARCH GROUP Washington, D.C. The surname REGAN or REAGAN was derived in most cases from the Celtic Riagan or Riagain which means kinglet, but in others is said to have been derived from the Irish Raighan, meaning to biggit (inhabit), and from Raigan, meaning religious. In ancient Irish and early American records the name appears in the various spellings of ORiagain, ORiagan, OReagain, ORiaghan, ORiaghain, ORegaine, ORiegaine, ORegane, ORegan, Riagan, Reagain, Reagin, Reagen, Regen, Ragon, Ragin, Ragan, Ragen, Ragins, Ragens, Reggon, Reagon, Reagan, Regan, and others. Of the forms mentioned, the last two are those most frequently in evidence in America in more recent times. The ORegans of Meath were a branch of the southeren Ui Neill and one of the four tribes of Tara. The heads of this line were lords of South Breagh, County Meath, and of the North of the present County of Dublin, prior to the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. They were a powerful family in that vicinity. They trace their descent from Raighan, son of Cineth, son of Flann Da Congall, a descendant of Heremon, one of the first Milesian Monarchs of Ireland. In the year 1029 A.D. Matgamain ORiagain, King of Breagh, won a noble victory over Amhlaoibh, son of Sitric, King of Dublin. The members of the family were soon afterwards dispersed throughout Ireland and one branch became chiefs of Hy Riagain, now the Barony of Tinehinch, Queens County, Ireland. Dubhrean, son of Dubhgall, was the father of Dubhda, father of Maolcroine, whose son, Giollamuire Caoch ORiaghain, was Chief of the Hy Raigain, Queens County. Probably of the above-mentioned family were Maurice Regan, secretary to Dermod MacMurough, King of Leinster, and Sir Teigue or Teige ORegan, a distinguished officer in the Irish army of King James II. Possibly, however, Maurice Regan of, Leinster, was descended from the ORegans or Raigans who trace their descent from Cahir or Cathire More, King of Ireland A.D. 144, through his son, Rossa Failge. Some of the descendants of this clan possessed lands in the County of Cavan, but most of them resided in Leinster. Leinster is a former province in S.E. Ireland. The ORegans of Thomond are of a Dalcassian family, descended from Riagan, son of Donncuan or Donchuan, son of Cineadh, King of Thomond, and brother of Brian Boru, the one hundred and seventy-fifth Monarch of Ireland, who was born in the year 926. This line had its origin in Heber, son of Miled, another of the early Milesian Monarchs of Ireland. Among the many later records of the name in Ireland are those of Dr. James ORegan, of Mallow, County Cork, whose will was recorded in the year 1803; Thomas ORegan, a grocer, of Mungret Street, Limerick, who married a daughter of Thady OHalloran, of Ballyounnane, County Clare, in the year 1807; Thomas ORegan, of Drogheda, whose will was recorded in 1811; Thomas Regan of Moygownagh, whose daughter, Mary, was married in the early nineteenth century to John OHart; and Mary Regan, who married Michael OMurphy, of Kilbonane, in the Barony of Muscry, toward the end of the nineteenth century. As early as the year 1668 one Daniel Ragan was living in Surry County, VA. In 1687 he and Francis Regan, probably a brother were listed among the foot soldiers of that county. Nothing is definitely known of the immediate decendants of these early immigrants to America, but later records of the Virginia Colony mention Michael Regan Jr., of Fairfax County, in 1756; John Regan, of Frederick County, in 1758; and John Reagan, of Frederick County (probably identical with the preceding John), whose will was recorded in 1767. Cornelius Regan, probably the progenitor of the family of the name in Maryland, died in Calvert County, MD., in 1673, but the names of his children, if any, are not in evidence. Among the probable descendants of this immigrant were Timothy Reagan, who witnessed the will of Richard Moss, of Anne Arundel County, MD., in 1700; Timothy Regan (probably identical with the last-mentioed Timothy), who witnessed the will of Nicholas Dorsey, of Baltimore County, in 1717; and Philip Reagan, of St. Marys County, MD., whose will is dated 1718. About the year 1729 several members of the ancient Irish family of ORegan emigrated to Pennsylvania, where they dropped the prefix O from their name. James and Michael Reagan, of Pennsylvania, who served in the Revolutionary War, may have been descended from one of these immigrants, but the early records do not clearly show this. In 1790 seven of the name, James Reagin, Weldin Reagan, Reason Reagan, Stephen Regan, John Regan, George Ragon, and Philip Ragin, were listed as heads of families in the Pennsylvania census. One branch of the Pennsylvania family of the name is believed to have settled at an early date in Guilford County, NC. In that state are found the records of John Reagan and his wife Mary, living in 1772, who were the parents of a daughter named Elizabeth and a son named James. The son James married Nancy Cook and settled near Knoxville, TN., where he died in 1827. By an earlier wife (nee Hays), James was the father of a son named John, and by his second wife, Nancy, he had six children, James, Charles, Frances, Peter, William, and Rebekah. By a third wife, whose name is not known, James Sr., had three daughters, May, Ann, and Rachel. John, eldest son of James Sr., had two children, James Hayes Reagan, of Sweetwater Valley, TN., and a daughter named Sarah. James, son of James Sr., removed to Georgia and was married in Elbert County in 1805 to Mary Dandridge Morrison, of that place. Their children were William Morrison, John, Martha, Nancy A., Charles, Joseph, James, Francis Washington, Mary Dandridge, Sarah Elizabeth, and Thomas Jefferson Reagan. Of the last-mentioned brothers, Francis Washington, a doctor, made his home at Atlanta, GA. Peter, son of James Sr., married Nancy Cunnyngham or Cunningham, of Monroe County, TN., and removed with her to Rome, GA.; where he left at least two children, Carrie and Addie Reagan. John or James H. Reagan, supposedly a cousin of the before-mentioned James Hayes Reagan, of Tennessee, became Postmaster General, Governor of Texas, and United States Senator for Texas in the first half of the eighteenth century. However, the names of his progeny, if any, are not of record. Timothy Reagan, a native of East Tennessee, was married before 1834 to Barbara Schultz, of German ancestory. To this union was born at least one son, Benjamin B. Reagan, and by a second wife, Martha Moore, Timothy had seven other children. Benjamin B. Reagan, son of the first union, removed with his parents to Madison County, MO., at an early age. He married Utica Kinkelman, of Missouri, in 1861 and had issue by her of three daughters, Edith B., Mary M., and Grace E. Alexander C. Reagan, also of Tennessee, removed with his parents in the early nineteenth century to Alabama and thence to Mississippi. In that State he married Rhonda Wood, by whom he was the father of James W. and William Reagan. The father removed with his two sons to Texas about 1853, and the sons removed soon after his death to Louisiana. Of these brothers, James W. married Amanda Stewart in 1869 and had issue by her of E. Brown, Alice, Lillie, and Augustus Reagan, of Louisiana; while William married Mary Frances Anderson in 1869. To this union were born six children, Mary Marguerite, Webb P., James W., Sallie L., Claude Douglas, and John W. Reagan, of Louisiana. Peter Reagan, possibly related to the above-mentionedTennessee lines, was the father about the middle of the nineteenth century by his wife Nancy of a son named John,who married Nancy Finley and was the father by her of Joel L. Reagan, who married Lucy C. Beaty. To this union was born at least one son, James Blaine Reagan, of Fentress County, TN. Evidently of the same family were George W. Reagan and William Louis Reagan, of the same county. In the early eighteenth century one Thomas Reagain, probably of Irish descent, settled in Cumberland County, NJ. His will, dated 1749, names four sons, Lazerus, Gaberall or Gabriel, Benjamin, and Nebucadnezer. Later records of the New Jersey lines of the family include those of Gabriel Reagain, of Cape May, who married Susannah Gaudy in 1749, and of Elizabeth Christina Regan, who married Simeon Vernor, of Somerset County, NJ., in 1767. Another family of the name was seated about the middle of the eighteenth century in New York. The early records are not complete, but the will of John Rider, of Dutchess County, NY, dated 1774, mentions his grandchildren, Elenor, Hulda, and Thomas Regan. Patrick Reagan, of Kansas, whose ancestry is not known, was the father in 1864 by his wife, Catherine Trayner, of a son named James William, who made his home in Missouri, Kansas, California, and other parts of the West and Southwest. John Reagan, son of Charles Reagan, of Ireland, was born in that country in 1858 and came to America before 1883. In the last-mentioned year he married Rhoda Duffy, of St. Johnsbury, VT, and settled with her at Littleton, NH. His children were Mary, Charles, John, James, and Leo. Best known for their intellectual attainments, resourcefulness, and sound judgment, the Regans and Reagans of America have been successful as lawyers, educators, engineers, businessmen, architects, judges, and public officials. They have shown themselves possessed of imagination, sound business sense, the ability to lead and direect others, and often a keen sense of justice and right. Among those of the name who served with the Colonial forces in the American Revolution were Captain Charles, Ensign Daniel, Denis, Phillip, Captain Richard, Thomas, and William Reagan or Regan (sometimes recorded as Ragan, Ragin, and Reagen, as well), of Virginia; Bartholomew, Brice, and John Ragan, Ragen, Reagin, or Reagon, of Virginia; Darby, James, Morris, and Roderick Ragan or Regen, of Maryland; Bartholomew Reagon, of Maryland; James, John, and Michael Reagan, of Pennsylvania; William Regen, of Pennsylvania; Basil, Daniel, Francis, James, Michael, Thomas, and William Regan, of Pennsylvania; Jerrit or Jerret Regin, of Pennsylvania; Thomas Reagon, of North Carolina; Charles, John, and Richard Regan, of North Carolina; Darby Reagan, of Georgia; and many more from the other States of that period. James, John, Edward, William, Daniel, Thomas, Charles, Timothy, Peter, George, Richard, and Benjamin are some of the masculine Christian names frequently recurrent in the annals of the Regans and Reagans. Of the bearers of the name who have achieved distinction in America in comparatively recent times, the following are considered representative. James A. Reagan (b. 1846), of Tennessee, engineer and judge. Edward Joseph Reagan (1853-1926), of Georgia, judge. Frank Stewart Regan (b. 1862), of Illinois, lawyer and lecturer. James William Reagan (b. 1864), of Kansas, California, etc., civil engineer. John Regan (1867-1929), of California, United States Cutoms official. Daniel J. Regan (1867-1930), of California, real estate broker. Edward Regan, (b. 1871), of Nevada, County Commisioner and Sheriff. James H. Reagan (b. 1880) of Tennessee, businessman and banker. William J. Reagan (b. 1882), of Indiana and New York, educator. Richard J. Regan, (b. 1885), of Tennessee, architect. A coat of arms anciently borne by the Irish family of Regan, later often written Reagan, is described in heraldic terms as follows (Burke, Encyclopedia of Heraldry, 1844): Arms. -- Argent, three bendlets azure; a canton gules. Crest. -- A demi griffin per fesse or and azure. --BIBLIOGRAPHY-- Harrison. Surnames of the United Kingdom. Vol. 2. 1918. Woulfe. Irish Names and Surnames. 1923. Rooney. Genealogical History of Irish Families. 1895. OHart. Irish Pedigrees. Vol. 1. 1915. Vicars. Index to Prerogative Wills of Ireland. 1897. Farrar. Irish Marriages. Vol. 2. 1897. William and Mary Quarterly. 1899-1900. 1902-1903. 1918-1919. Henning. Statutes of Virginia. Vol. 7. 1820. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Vol. 18. 1910. Maryland Calendar of Wills. 1901. 1906. 1914. Lenior. History of Sweetwater Valley, Tennessee. 1916. Hale and Merritt. A History of Tennessee and Tennesseeans. Vol. 8. 1913. Moore. Tennessee, The Volunteer State. Vol. 4. 1923. Howell. History of Georgia. Vol. 4. 1926. History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford, and Gasconade Counties, Missouri. 1888. Northwest Louisana, Biography and History. 1890. Hogue. Tennessee, The Volunteer State. Vol 4. 1923. New Jersey Calendar of Wills. Vol. 3. 1924. New Jersey Marriage Record, 1665-1800. 1900. Fernow. Calendar of Wills, Albany, New York, 1626-1836. 1896. Notables of the West. Vol. 1. 1913. Jackson. History of Littleton, New Hampshire. Vol. 3. 1905. Gwathmey. Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution. 1938. Maryland Muster Rolls in the Revolution. 1900. Pennsylvania Muster Rolls. 1907. Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution. 1932. Knight. Georgia Roster of the Revolution. 1920. Hunt. California and Californians. Vol. 4. 1932. Whos Who in America. 1934-1935. Burke. Encyclopedia of Heraldry. 1844. =========