Origins of the surname Kinch

[KGarrad]

One Donold Kynyshe was recorded in "The Manx Notebook" in 1601.

More likely to be a variant spelling of Kinnish - which IS Manx!

Having lived on the IoM for some years, and now married to a Manxie, I have never heard of the name Kinch in relation to the Isle of Man.

Doesn't mean there isn't a link! I''m not infallible!

[RedMystic]

Many thanks Pastmagic.

Scotland was a blast. We were there 3 weeks, & mostly stuck to the Uists in the Outer Hebrides & then west to Aberdeenshire. We did take time to be tourists, but mostly had a blast connecting the dots in our family history (& meeting family that hadn't connected for 5 generations). Yes, I'm truly addicted now.  

Thank you very much for your cemetery research. I'll take some time later today to go through that to get a handle on it. The comments around those that came to Alberta are particularly intriguing. Several of the brothers among my g grandfather's siblings came west with 3 ending up in Alberta. His parents (my gg granparents) came as far west as Saskatchewan, started to homestead & then went back to PEI when my gg grandfather became ill. Several of the siblings of my g grandfather stayed in PEI & a number went to the US. (Family lore is that one of the branches headed for Barbados - now I'd like to track that one down & use it as an excuse for a family history research trip.   )

The Kinchs have been in Canada such a long time (since about 1817-1818 apparently), that I didn't hold out much hope of making any family connections in Ireland. Now ... you've provided leads galore!  

The origins of the Kinch name itself is getting increasingly curious, as you'll no doubt pick up from the posts made by Stan, Trish & Hazel.

Looks like I'll have many enjoyable hours puzzling this through.

Thanks again.

[RedMystic]

One Donold Kynyshe was recorded in "The Manx Notebook" in 1601.

More likely to be a variant spelling of Kinnish - which IS Manx!

Having lived on the IoM for some years, and now married to a Manxie, I have never heard of the name Kinch in relation to the Isle of Man.

Doesn't mean there isn't a link! I''m not infallible!

TX KGarrad.

The plot thickens - or thins as the case may be. It's interesting how a general surname search returns the Isle of Man info, but you wonderful Chatters can't make any identifiable connections. Fascinating - & proves out the need to check, double check & verify where ever possible! 

TX again for your insight.

[Pastmagic]

Have sent you a PM about Kinch in Ireland - They did not die out;

The table below shows the number of Kinch households in each county in the Primary Valuation property survey of 1847-64.

Derry    1    Dublin    2
Dublin city    1    Offaly    3
Tyrone    1    Wexford    4
Wicklow    14         

SURNAME DICTIONARY/ SLOINNTE NA h-EIREANN:

Kinch   Quite numerous: E Leinster etc. Ir. Mac Aonghuis. A Manx version of MacGuinness, q.v.

Now back to the name in England:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=6&CATID=7028354&j=1

Has Date: 1272 - 1307
 a Conveyance by Robert son of Walter the smith (fabri) of Adelmenston, to William the abbot, and the convent, of Pershore, for seven years, of all the land in Aldermonston and Goldicote which he had of the gift and sale of Juliana daughter of Henry . . . yn of Aldermonston ; reserving to the grantor a messuage and curtilage and certain land of which part lies ' atte W . . . ,' part in Cnaveslade, part upon Cou . . . lle, and part upon Sta . . . ; paying a rent of money and grain. Witnesses :- Peter le Kinch of Goldicote, and others (named) : [ Worc. ]



There are actually 325 documents listed for Kinch, but this seems to be the oldest.

[RedMystic]

Oh joy Pastmagic! 

Must walk the dog, then come back to luxuriate in all this. I can't part (even for a few minutes) without adding ....

... gift and sale of Juliana daughter of Henry    

He sold his daughter - surely a trade in terms of dowry or something similar?

Those were the days.   

[Pastmagic]

I know, I am still laughing! (Only allowed because its so long ago) Wonder how Juliana felt about it!)

It may mean that Juliana had the "gift and sale" of some asset or other, rather than she was wrapped up and handed over as a job lot!

PM

The Manx reference seems to originate with Mac Lysaght author of  - Surnames of Ireland. Probably copied on by other sources. He was usually very accurate, and his book is used as the Irish Bible of surnames. I don't have a copy, alas, to see if there is a reason noted.

( He was appointed Chief Herald of Ireland in 1943 and served in this post until 1954. MacLysaght served as Keeper of Manuscripts at the National Library of Ireland from 1948 to 1954 and was Chairman of the Irish Manuscripts Commission from 1956 to 1973.)

 

[RedMystic]

The Manx reference seems to originate with Mac Lysaght author of  - Surnames of Ireland. Probably copied on by other sources. He was usually very accurate, and his book is used as the Irish Bible of surnames. I don't have a copy, alas, to see if there is a reason noted.

TX again Pastmagic.

I've looked at the family letter I have dated July 1980. As you've noted, it too indicates the source as The Surnames of Ireland, Edward Mac Lysaght, Irish University Press, Shannon, Ireland, 1969.

It also references Supplement to Irish Names by Edward Mac Lysaght, Helicon Ltd., Dublin, 1964.

Neither explanations in the letter have any additional detail other than to mention the Manx form of Mac Aonghuis.

I'm waiting for a call back from the local library to see if they can source one or both publications for me. Here's to hoping, when it comes to the Manx reference, that there is a reason noted for the comment.
 

[RedMystic]

Goodness gracious. Here is something I found in the Summerside Pioneer (Prince Edward Island) re origin of the Kinch surname - keeping in mind that my Kinch relatives were Catholic who left Ireland in 1818 & settled in PEI.

This is a new curve. Unfortunately, the comment I bolded below is not footnoted. Does it cause any new thoughts or conjecture?

Herein lies the problem today of the conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants, deeply rooted in history. Moreover, since Catholics were not permitted to own land, as well as to practice their religion, records were seldom if at all kept by them, thus making it difficult even today for our Irish people to trace their ancestry in Ireland. It was not until 1830 that the Penal Laws were rescinded, permitting Catholics to exercise their civil rights, including the right to vote and to hold public office.

Ireland was considered a safe haven for Roman Catholics who fled Continental Europe to escape from religious persecution originating from Martin Luther's Reformation in sixteenth century Germany. Luther was a break-away Augustinian Roman Catholic monk prior to this. With reference for example to the Kinch people who settled at Tignish, it is said that they were known as Von Kinch in Germany. They fled Germany because of religious persecution and emigrated to Ireland, dropping the prefix "Von" meaning "son of" from their name when they settled in Ireland.

http://www.islandregister.com/tignish_history.html

Note added: This same article refers to the July 1980 letter that I referenced in my first post & subsequently. It has recently come into my possession.

There was a Father Edwin Kinch, O.S.M. stationed at Emanuel Cathedral in South Africe in 1980 who, however, reported evidence which seems to contradict the German origin story. During a visit to Ireland he found that "Kinch" is the Isle of Man version of MacAonghouis or MacGuiness and is found mostly in the counties of Wicklow and Wexford. He also discovered that the Kinch coat of arms indicates they were military, which might be part of the basis of the deserter story.

[RedMystic]

Pastmagic, TX very much for sending the PM with the link to TheShipsList transcription re: preparation for the 1818 sailing. That is great background on the transit.