I have had a bit of luck recently... The 1855 birth record of my great-grandfather, Owen McNally, showed that his parents were born in County Leitrim, Ireland. Owen was born in 1855, East Lothian County, Scotland, to Irish parents, Henry McNally & Helen Buchanan. <p>As you may know, the birth records in Scotland for the year 1855 required more information than usual, inquiring as to the place of birth for both parents, where and when the parents were married, and the number of other children they had (living and/or dead). Since 1855 was the only year that the birth (and marriage) records were that thorough, I was lucky that Owen was born that year, as the record provided valuable information about his Irish-born parents.<p>According to the record, Henry McNally (a Brick Layer) was born circa 1829 County Leitrim, and Helen Buchanan was born circa 1831 County Leitrim, and they were married in 1849 at "Portobello". I've learned that there is a Portobello in County Roscommon, and another near Dublin, as well as one in Midlothian County, Scotland. <p>Now, the McNally name appears in different forms for this family among the Scots records (census, birth, marriage, etc.), including: McAnnally, MacInalley, McInally , and McNally. In the case of Owen's birth record, both McNally and McAnnally appear. In various other Scots records, Helen appears with the maiden name of: Buchan, Bohan, Buchanan and Bohanan. I'm guessing that the older Irish records have similar derivations of these surnames. <p>Griffith's Valuation (1856?) of Ireland doesn't show any McNally names (or derivations) in County Leitrim, but does show a few Buchanans there. <p>Anyone with ties to these venerable surnames in County Leitrim?
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mhartain@appleisp.net