About Thomas McIntyre and Ellen Walsh

About Thomas McIntyre and Ellen Walsh

Thomas Joseph McIntyre was born on April 14, 1878 in the townland of Lislea, County Sligo, Ireland. He was the oldest of six children born to Lawrence McIntyre (1854-1931) and Mary Ginty (1850-1930). Ellen Walsh was born in Knockahoney, a townland very close to Lislea, on October 12, 1881. She was the youngest of nine children born to Jack Walsh (c1830-b1901) and Bridget Cawley (c1840-a1911). It is not clear if Thomas and Ellen knew each other in Ireland, though it is very possible since they lived only a few miles from each other. Thomas immigrated to the US on April 14, 1904 arriving at Ellis Island on the Steamship Majestic on April 21, 1904. Ellen immigrated around 1905. They were married on September 4, 1910 at Nativity of Our Lord Church in Chicago, Illinois. Thomas and Ellen were naturalized on October 7, 1910. They raised five children, Mary Cecelia (1911-1994), Lawrence Francis (1913-1995) see also McIntyre/Sullivan Genealogy, Blanche Catherine (1914-1978), Helen Patricia (1916-1982) and Thomas Joseph (1919-2009) on the west side of Chicago. Thomas Sr. was a streetcar motorman on the Chicago Surface Line, now the Chicago Transit Authority, for most of his life. Ellen was a homemaker. Thomas died on Christmas Eve 1939 at the age of 61. Ellen died less than two years later on November 28, 1941. Her family said she died of a broken heart but her death certificate said it was kidney failure aggravated by influenza.

What this Blog Includes

You will find pictures, comments, documents, and stories about Thomas J. McIntyre and Ellen A. Walsh of Ireland and their children born in Chicago, Illinois. Where we have information about Thomas and Ellen's parents, that information is also included. Additional information about the McIntyre/Walsh family is available on my website at http://McIntyreGenealogy.com Please add your comments and stories of the McIntyre/Walsh Family here too!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Origin of Walsh and McIntyre names

Walsh
 This famous national locational and descriptive nickname surname derives from the pre 7th Century Olde English and Anglo-Saxon word "waelisc", meaning "foreigner" or perhaps more likely in the passage of time, "stranger". Be that as it may it is one of the ironies of history that the invaders from North Germany and even the later Vikings, should apparently refer to the people that they conquered or at least drove from their original homes, as 'The Foreigner" and even more so that the name should have stuck. The surname is popular in many areas and countries, there being a large "Walsh" contingent in Ireland, where it is the fourth most popular surname, and even a small number in France, originally in the Nantes area. The modern surname is recorded in a wide variety of spellings, including Welch, Welche, Welsh, Walsh, Walshe, Walch, and Wellish. The early surname development includes examples such as Walter Walsheman of London in 1279, Simon Welshe of Bedford in the year 1279, John Walsh of Roxburgh, Scotland, in 1330, Margery Wellis in the 1327 Pipe Rolls of the county of Essex, and Lawrence Walsh of County Mayo, Ireland in 1588. The first recorded spelling of the family name is from Ireland. This is believed to be that of Haylen Walsh, the son of Phillip the Welshman, and dated 1171. He is recorded as being with Strongbow, earl of Pembroke, in his initial invasion of Ireland in that year. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

McIntyre
Information on the origin of the McIntyre name can be located at the McIntyre/Ginty Genealogy Blog.

Source: The Internet Surname Database.  Accessed June 5, 2010.