Kerwin Ancestors
My g-g-grandmother was Mary Maguire born on February 14, 1824 in Ireland. Mary Maguire's mother was Bridget Kerwin; Mary Maguire's father was Bernard Maguire; both of Ireland.
Bernard and Bridget Maguire emigrated from Ireland to Quebec and brought with them the following children:
Mary born 2/14/1824
Susan born 9/18/1828
James born 4/23/1833
John born 4/28/1834
Thomas born 4/6/1835
Anne born 2/13/1839
Philip born 1/14/1841
Patrick (date unknown)
Mary emigrated to Canada and married John Dunn on November 21, 1844 in St. Sylvestre, Quebec, Canada. They had my great-grandmother, Margaret, in December 1860 and a son, James, on December 8, 1845. After John Dunn's death, Margaret and her mother, Mary, moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Mary Maguire's second marriage was to John O'Neill and Margaret married my great-grandfather, William Hugh Monaghan. William Hugh Monahan, my Great-Grandfather, was born on November 8, 1855 in Portland, ME. He married Margaret Dunn on July 15, 1884 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Spelling variations include: Kirwan, O'Kirwan, Kerovan, Kyrvan, O'Quirivan, Kirwin and many more. First found in county of Galway. Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: William Kirvan arrived in Philadelphia in 1853; Elizabeth, Maria, Michael, Thomas Kirwan arrived in Philadelphia between 1820 and 1844 and others.
The Kirwans are the descendants of the Gaelic Irish sept of Ciardhubhain who were originally found in County Louth. The name was established in Galway, where they became one of the celebrated "Fourteen Tribes of Galway". The word Ciardhubhain is composed of the elements ciar = dark + dubh = black + the diminutive suffix -an. This surname commonly described the swarthy man, or black-haired man. "Ó Ciardhubhain" means "Descendant of Ciardhubhan".
When the name was Anglicized it took a number of versions, with the spelling of the name being widely varied because it was not Anglo to begin with. While Kirwan is the most commonly found, these also derived from Ó Ciardhubhain: Kerwin, Kirwen, Kirwin, Kirivan, Kierevan, Kiervan, Kirovani, Kyrewain, Kerovan, Kyrvan, Kyrwan, O'Kirwan, O'Kerevan, O'Kerrywane.
Coat of Arms: Silver (Argent) with a black chevron sable between three Cornish ravens
FAMILY MOTTO: MON DIEU, MON ROI ET MA PATRIA (French) - meaning "For my God, my King and my Country".
For T-Shirts, Mousepads, mugs, clothing and lots more with the Kerwin Coat of Arms and the Irish Cottage image above, please go to the Irish Country Store ~ Very reasonably priced products ~ Come on over and take a look!