The story of the
O'Carrolls on these pages starts in 1690 but they
are an ancient family that can trace their roots
to the early history of Ireland. In the 14th
century, Teige O'Carroll defeated the forces of
King Richard II which had invaded the Kingdom of
Ely O'Carroll in 1395. The O'Carrolls had
withstood the most powerful of armies of the time
and repelled them. But by 1590 the O'Carrolls had
lost most of their power and by the Cromwellian
confiscations, most of their territory and so by
1690 the O'Carrolls fought at the Battle of the
Boyne in a desperate bid to regain independence
for Ireland from under the English yoke.
This
site
includes information about Col.Thomas
O'Carroll and his descendants. He was the
brother of Charles Carroll who emigrated to Maryland in
1688 (the grandfather of Charles Carroll of Carrollton who
signed the American Declaration of Independence). Colonel Thomas
O'Carroll fought and died at the Battle of the Boyne
leaving two young sons. The orphaned boys were
removed from their hearth to families far away in the
North. One was to become a farmer in Moira the other we
know not where. This boy prospered, married and had many
children. By the end of the eighteenth century some of his
10 grandchildren had moved to Cork and in 1800 Edward, who
had inherited the homestead, sold up to a neighbour and
emigrated to the USA settling in East Liverpool, in what
is now Ohio in 1801. The family in Cork moved to England
at the end of the nineteenth century.
So,
if you would like to join me in following the family
fortunes that took family members to revolutionary France,
Brazil the emerging United States and the West Indies
please click on any of the headings to the left that takes
your fancy.
David
O'Carroll,
August 2005
Click for overview of information on
this site.
Linked
Families
I have put information about my links to other
families through the female lines of my ancestors on
a partner website:
This information includes
mainly the Alexander, Bolton, Duke, Gall,
Hatton, Sykes, Tucker, Ward and Wilkin families,
which can be accessed directly by clicking the
adjacent buttons.
RESOURCES
I
have put most of the supporting and research material
I have on a resources
website . This includes:
This is an
interesting site concerning the Irish chiefs which debunks
some modern attempts to claim chieftanship of so-called
"clans".Sean Murphy explains the Irish system of Septs
rather than clans and the Gaelic system of Tanistry. In
contrast to the English system of promogeniture, whereby
the eldest son succeeds, under the Irish Brehon Law system
the right to appoint a new Chief lay with the extended
kingroup or derbfine.
The Carroll family of Oriel is a Gaelic
family descended from Donough O’Carroll, King of Oriel, and
claims a connected genealogy that traces back to Adam.
This site provides extracts
fron Irish
Pedigrees; or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation by John
O'Hart
http://www.wordsvalley.org/node/33517
In
the Irish Brigade: A Tale of War in Flanders and Spain
By G.
A. Henty. This is a work of fiction concerning the
O'Carrolls.
King
James's Army List 1689 This is a web version of this
authoratative description of the members of King James's
army on the eve of the Battle of the Boyne. Written by
John d'Alton in 1855.
for overview of information on
this site.
