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Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 1999-09 > 0937272153


From: Mac McCutchan <>
Subject: Re: MCLATCHIE or variations
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 20:22:33 -0500


Trisha speaks of "...ho ho ho .... *family legends* about a connection
to Ireland..." for the surname McLatchie or variations.
I understand the "ho ho ho" very well. A lot of family legends
(including an unfortunate number in my own family) appear to have been
concocted of wishful thinking and/or good whiskey. This one, however,
appears to be valid.
Black's "Surnames of Scotland" describes the surname largely as
Trisha does, but adds that George M'Clatchy, a native of Ireland, joined
the Church of Scotland in 1840. In addition, Black lists McClatchie and
McLetchie among the variations of McLatchie.
Bell's "Book of Ulster Surnames" doesn't list the name, in either
the "McC" or "McL" variations, indicating it's not among the 500 most
common names in Ulster. He does, however, mention "M'Clatty" as a
variation of the surname Alexander, occurring around Stewartstown,
County Tyrone. This is a different family - no connection to the family
Black describes (which appears to be yours).
Hanna's "The Scotch-Irish" reports (Vol. 2, page 524) that in 1890
there were 8 families named McClatchey; of these 8, 7 were in Antrim and
Armagh.
If you want to have a little fun (and drive yourself crazy), go to
http://www.familysearch.org/ and do a custom search on McLatchie.
You'll find all the variations of the name, most in Scotland, but many
in Ulster as well...and things seem to have changed a little since
1890. Almost all the Ulster names I found were in County Down. The
"EY" ending seems more common in Ulster, while the "IE" ending
predominates in Scotland (but with some "EY" endings there too).
So...it looks like the family legend is a good one. Given that the
surname was common in Ayrshire in the 17th century, it would be
surprising if it didn't also turn up in Ulster. Ayrshire was a
significant source of labor for the Ulster Plantations.
Hope this helps -

Mac McCutchan

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