The Caughey name has many variant spellings. Some are Coy, Coye, Caughy, Cuy, Cuijs, Cuis, Caughee, Koy, Kuy, Koye, Kaughey, Kaughy, Kaugie, Kaughee, deQuoy, Quay, deQuay, Kegy, Keaghy, Keaghey, Koij, Coeys, Cathey. Do you have any to add? They are also preceeded with Mc & O at times.
In "More Irish Families" by Edward Maclysaght on page 53. MacCaughey. In Irish this is MacEachaidh Variant spellings of its anglicized form are MacAghy, MacCaghey and MacCahy and three centuries ago we find it as MacCahee in Co. Tyrone Hearth Money Rolls. In "The Surnames of Ireland" by MacLysaght on page 40 Mac Caughey, -Cahey "MacEachaidh. Eachaidh is a personal name anglicized Aghy, cognate with Eochaigh, Oghy, once a popular Christian name. Co. Tyrone. Mac Caughley, -Caffelly Mac Eachmhilidh (each, horse--miledh, soldier) Woulfe counts this Co. Down family a branch of the MacGuinness sept. MacCaughley has inevitably often become Mac Cawley.
Marjorie McCreary, in her Genealogy of the John McCreary Clan states that the CAUGHEY's of Pennsylvania are of Protestant, Scoth Irish descent. It is her opinion that they left Scotland because of religious persecution and settled in Northern Ireland, around Donegal about 1688.
It is the opinion of James Tandy Coy, Jr.,M.D. who compiled a family history of the Coy family that his line of Coys lived in Scotland in the 1400's on the Isle of Wright and were sea-faring men. He states that the name in Scotland was spelled as Caughey and McCaughey. There were some Coys in Lincolnshire Co., England as far back as 1200 A.D Dr. Coy says his line began in Germany.
One thing is certain, the CAUGHEY, Coy, men played a big role in the establisment of our Nation. Many of our CAUGHEY ancestors served in the Revolution.
In Karl Rosenberg's "Descendants of John Caughey" there is a letter in which one of the Caughey descendants, Maxwell E. Burden had corresponded with an Irish Cousin named Karl. In his letter to Mr. Burden, Karl said that in Scotland they proved to him that CAUGHEY is not a Scotch name, and the Irish have proved to him that CAUGHEY is Irish and that the Caugheys have lived in Ulster since the 13th century. He said they have always lived in County Down and in and around Belfast.
Since we have various opinions as to the origion of our families, I guess we can choose which one we like until we can actually find verification of one of the lines to a certain area.
Argent a lion rampant gules, in the dexter chief a dexter hand couped at the wrist and in the sinlister a crescent both of the seond.
