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Archiver > GALLAHER > 2001-02 > 0981481755


From: MMGollaher <>
Subject: [GALLAHER] Calling all Goll-yers ...
Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2001 10:49:15 -0700


A few days ago I happened upon a surname discussion forum spelled GOLLAHON.
Other variant spellings may be GOLLAHORN and GOLLYHORN. What interested me in
this spelling is that I had been once again considering the pronunciation of
our surname in some circles as GAWL-yer. I also know of at least one family
where a grandmother remembers it being pronounced GOLLY-you back into
Kentucky, and even recalled it being spelled that way in some papers she
remembered seeing when she was younger.

This greatly interests me, especially since my own line evidently pronounced
the surname GAWL-yer for an indeterminate length of time.

Anyway, I left a note on the GOLLAHON message board inquiring as to whether
there was any known connection with the GOLLAHER or GOLLIHER surname spelling,
and I received this reply:

SUBJECT:.....gollahon surname
Posted by: michael r. nack
Message:
Michael,
... I remember hearing from some of my oldest Gollahon relatives that there
was some relationship to the family name of Gollaher, but I was young and
can't recall the details. The relatives are no longer with us. Also, some of
the older folks pronounced "Gollahon" as "Gollahorn", although I believe this
is best explained as a colloquialism. good luck in your efforts, and feel free
to share any info you find!

Michael

-------------

Interesting, no?

While I was contemplating this and searching back through my notes, I came
upon the surname spelling GOLLAHUE (also found as GOLLIHUE, GALLAHU,
GOLLAHUGH, GALLIHUGH, etc). The web pages for one GALLAHUE ancestor confirms
the surname can be traced back to the Irish surname spelling Gallchú,
pronounced roughly GAWL-hew.

Looking back through some correspondence, I can list the following states this
pronunciation may have been found in:

Virginia, West Va, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Utah.

I would suspect the states of Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee as well, but have
not heard from anyone there yet.

One correspondent spells it GALLIER (also Gallien, Galien, Gallion) and says
it is also found in Canada and Germany, but I wonder if there may be some
intermingling here with the GOLLER surname.

Another writes concerning a GALLEAR of England.

A James GALLYER b. in 1828 in Bambrough or Famboro, Kent, England and died in
1916 at Murray, Salt Lake, Utah has evidently been confused with my ancestor
James GOLLAHER, who pronounced his name this way, and listed as a a husband to
Honor WELCH born in Dorsetshire, England.


Spelling a surname this way or that is one thing, especially for traditional
Gaelic surnames which were so easily mangled by English speaking cultures, but
a persistent tradition of pronouncing it a specific way -- especially when
that pronunciation runs counter to the rules of grammar applied to the surname
spelling -- seems to be quite another thing.

I am interested in seeing if a pattern of immigration can be discerned for the
pronunciation GAWL-yer and GAW-lee-oo (GAWL-hew) applied to the surnames
GOLLAHER, GOLLIHER, GALLIHER and their variants, and what, if any connection
might be ascertained with GOLLIHUE, GOLLIHUGH and its variants, which some
claim to have originated in County Limerick in the 4th century A.D.

Please be so bold as to contribute to the discussion with any information you
have. This topic is best suited to the GOLLAHER-L mail list hosted at
Rootsweb, and the COUSINS-GOLLAHER list at Yahoo! Groups. In addition, I am
cross-posting this initial query to the GALLAHER-L and GALLAGHER-L lists as
well as several discussion boards for optimal distribution, so many of you may
be getting more than one copy (sorry 'bout that!).


Replies should be directed to either the GOLLAHER-L list, the COUSINS-GOLLAHER
list, or posted to the GAWLyer / GAWLhew discussion at the O'GOLLY CLANN
FORUM, by going to this URL:

http://forums.delphi.com/ogollaher/messages/?msg=87.1

If you are a member of none of these lists or forums, reply to me
() and I will forward or repost your reply.

Thanks!



--

Always...
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| `--' | perceives a solution and |
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| |------------------------------------------'
\ /
`---' ME: http://www.Gollaher.net/Gabrielcom
. Clann ÓGallchobhair WorldWide:
. http://OGallagher.org
. http://forums.delphi.com/ogollaher/start

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