Mcwilliams of county londonderry

[owenc]

Unfortunately I have no idea but he is the only McWilliams in Owenreagh in Griffiths ( a non-sectarian reference document for the whole of Ireland between about 1848 and 1864). However note my comments about children in Scotland.

Regards

Ok maybe he is the brother of his father or something.. hmm Is there anyway of getting back further online?

[kingskerswell]

I suggested earlier that you look at the records of Castledawson R. C. Church. This is a source document and there is a good chance that Coleraine Library has them on microfilm.

Regards

[owenc]

I suggested earlier that you look at the records of Castledawson R. C. Church. This is a source document and there is a good chance that Coleraine Library has them on microfilm.

Regards

Right ok i'll have to try that, How do i work out a conversion if i find one again i forget and how long do these records go back if its 1840 or something its not worth while

[kingskerswell]

Being in Coleraine and having made extensive use of the library you are more au fait with Coleraine records than I am.

Regards

[JohnMcW]

McWilliams is a common surname in south Derry and predates the Plantation in Loughinsholin/Glenconkeyne.  Y DNA is descended from Kenel Ferry

[owenc]

McWilliams is a common surname in south Derry and predates the Plantation in Loughinsholin/Glenconkeyne.  Y DNA is descended from Kenel Ferry

Hi John,

I did some investigating of my own on the McWilliams surname in this county and came to a similar conclusion (based on Y-DNA studies being R1b-M222 and clustering of the surname - as plantation surnames are usually scattered geographically).

Could you clarify where Kenel Ferry is? Would also be interested to know if you have a theory of the origin of the surname itself, what would the original name have been and why did they adopt this name?

[JohnMcW]

Not a planter name.  Local to the Ballinascreen region and pre-plantation

Kenel Farry is Cenel Fearadhaigh.  McCawell/Campbell

[JohnMcW]

I would imagine the origin is from someone named William who split off from the McCathmhaoil or a branch thereof.  Who knows when they came to the area from Clogher.  Some have speculated it was around the time the church was headquartered in Maghers in the 1200s but that is a guess.