Friday, March 11, 2011

Around the World with the Ogan Surname

The Ogan surname has been found in many countries and has had several spellings, some intentional; some accidentally misspelled in records. I have yet to research all the areas.

Surprisingly, the surname is dispursed all over the world. It is found in many places in Africa, Indonesia and is also found in Germany (Nordrhein-Westfallen, Bayern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Niedershassen, Schleswig-Holstein, Vlaanderen, Hamburg), Poland (Slaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie), and Argentina (The Pampas, Gran Chaco, and Cuyo) according to Public Profiler World Names. It would be wonderful to find people with the surname in some of these countries and hear from them.


OGAN from Turkey

Public Profiler World Names indicates that OGAN is a Muslim name from Turkey, and that the OGEN spelling is European. The origins of the other spellings are not known by this source.


OGAN in Ireland

According to The Internet Surname Database The Little Book of Irish Clans by John Grenham, OGAN was a descendant of an uncle of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland (1002-1014), who lived in the 10th century literally means “young man”.

The following lineage appears in John O’Hart’s Irish Pedigrees; or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation (1892, reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Md., 1989, p. 307fn) for the HOGAN line up to the first indication of OGAN, thus showing an Irish connection. HOGAN derives from this OGAN. The book states:

Cosgrach, brother of Cindeidh kenneth or kenneda of the O’Brien pedigree, was the ancestor of O’hOgain, of Munster. The lineage:

104. Cosgrach: son of Lorcan: a quo Cosgrave, of Munster
105. Aitheir: his son.
106. OGAN: his son.


WOGAN and HOGAN are possible connections to OGAN

The WOGAN surname has also been recorded as OGAN according to The Internet Surname Database. Before the 7th century, the surname derived from a personal name “wagan,” and as a surname it is believed to be English, Irish, and Welsh. It is first recorded in 1292 in the county of Cumberland, England when John Wagan appears in the charters known as 'Placita de quo warranto', and later in Yorkshire in 1297 when John Wougan, who could possibly be the same person, appears in the Ministers Accounts of the earldom of Cornwall. In Ireland the name is first recorded in 1317 during the reign of the famous King Henry V (1314 - 1322).

Modern forms of WOGAN are OGAN, OUGAN, and OOGAN and are found in counties Louth and Dublin. OGAN and OWGAN appears in the 1659 census in the barony of Shelburne, Wexford. The form UGAN appears in Cork. This name is written as U’GAN in Irish (pronounced Oogawn).

Rev. Patrick Woulfe's Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall (Irish names & surnames) Dublin 1923 states that various spellings of O’HOGAN and HOGAN is from a descendant of OGAN who descended from Coscrach, the uncle of Brian Bora. The line of HOGAN was a Dalcassian family and were seated at Ardcrony, about four miles north of Negagh in Co. Tipperary. There is also a family in Corca Laoighdhe, in southwest Cork and the name is very common in Musnter, Limerick, Clare, and Cork.

He further states that UGAN, OWGAN, WOGANE, OUGAN, OOGAN, OGAN, WOGAN, and VEGAN are Welsh and derived from “gwgan” which cmes from “gwg” meaning a frown or scowl. The WOGANs settled in Kildare after the Anglo-Norman invasion with Rathcoffey being their county seat.

The Surnames of Ireland by Edward MacLysaght (Irish Academic Press, Dublin, sixth Edition, reprinted 1999) agrees with Woulfe that OGAN and OOGAN are synonyms of WOGAN in Louth and Dublin.

Coat of Arms and Motto

There are two Blazon of Arms described for the OGAN Clan. The ancient arms are described as sable on a chief gold three annulets of the field (another the tinctures reversed). Edward MacLysaght's Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origin, (New York: Crown Publishers, 1972) similarly describes the O’HOGAN arms as sable on a chief gold three annulets of the field. In O’Hart (1989) the arms is described: Black, three lions passant in pale gold each holding between the forepaws an esquire’s helmet proper. Crest: A dexter arm in armor embowed, the hand grasping a sword all proper. The motto Fulminus instar translates “Like Lightning”.

Future research may focus on the surnames HOGAN and WOGAN as being related to the various OGAN lineages.


Given all this, surname origins must be viewed in terms of the surname location, information found though research, and by DNA testing which determines what families are related and which evolve from the same origins. All three areas must work together to determine the source of the surname for any given family as the surname may have several origins.

Through the OGAN DNA Project, testing has determined that several families which were suspected to relate in the United States do have a common ancestor. To date, all of those tested are from a haplogroup considered Western European. In order to find the origins of the surname, more testing from other countries is needed. As I wish to find my roots in England or Ireland, I am interested in sending a free DNA test to males in those areas. Contact me at ogan@one-name.org for more information.

If your surname is Ogan, share with us more about where your ancestors lived and who they were. Your story (with permission) could be posted here and you can find others who are your cousins.

Enjoy,
Emily
copyright 11 Mar 2011

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Ogan Yahoo Group and US Census Uploaded

Greetings!

As this blog does not easily allow me to categorize various records, I have established a Yahoo account where data will be uploaded into folders. The Yahoo account doesn't have an RSS feed so Facebook cannot link to it. This may seem cumbersome for many of you (It is for me!), but as I have a lot of data, it is paramount to be able to easily locate what is desired easily. In a perfect world, all would work as one.

You will need to join the Yahoo group to view the material. Go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ogan_One-Name_Study/ and sign up. Everyone with an interest in the Ogan (any spelling) surname is welcomed.

If you have data to send me or if you have some time to glean additional data from online sources or your local Family History Society or court house, please email me at:
ogan@one-name.org

With your help, this repository will be a wonderful tool for all Ogan researchers.

Today, I uploaded some census indexes for the US from Ancestry.com that I had in my files. They are not complete, but over time, I hope they will be. While in London recently, I gleaned information from the birth, marriage and death files that will be posted as soon as I can get to it.

To view what I'm archiving, you must join the group and check the FILES section.

If you have questions, just email.

Thank you,
Emily

Friday, March 4, 2011

Welcome to the Ogan One-Name Study

The Ogan One-Name Study

The Ogan surname is registered with the Guild of One-Name Study (GOONS). See Ogan One-Name Study. The surname is found in many locations throughout the world, but is not all that common. There are a variety of spellings, and this project intends to cover them all.

The OGAN One-Name Study will research these variants, but will add any information for the surname (any spelling) to this blog. Other variants will be studied as they are located.

.......OGEN, OGIN, and OOGAN

You can aid the goals of the Ogan One-Name-Study by submitting your Ogan information, pedigree or any Ogan records for any spelling to me at: ogan@one-name.org Please include sources so others can locate the material, if needed. The information will be placed here without the dates and locations of living people.


The Ogan DNA Project

The Ogan One-Name Study has a related OGAN DNA Project which has proved that, in some cases, the variants OGEN and OGIN are related. My mother indicated that the name was O'OGAN before reaching the United States, and hopefully this can be tested.

The OGAN DNA Project at Family Tree DNA includes:

.......HOGAN, OGAN, OGEN, OGIN, OGUN, OOGAN, O'OGAN, OUGAN, OWGAN, WOGAN

Visit the OGAN DNA Project

Men with the surname Ogan (any spelling) who take a Y-chromosome DNA test or any male or female who wishes to take the Family Finder test are accepted into the project. If you are a male without the surname or a female who descends from an Ogan (any spelling), you can request to be on the Ogan DNA Project email list where you will be notified about the project results.

If you wish to test with the Ogan DNA Project, read the information on the site and email me, if you have further questions.

Watch this blog for Ogan records of all type, including those outside of the U.S.

Emily
4 Mar 2011