Genealogy Chat

I am researching a family called Hagen, Hagan, O'Hagen, and O'Hagan, these surnames for the same family all appeared on two large graves, some of them quite recent!! The spelling appears to be dependent on whoever wrote it. I know I can use a *, but how can I cover all these variations?It's a nightmare, I could use some advice
Molly.

You mean searching for them or adding them to your tree.

You can use

*hag*n or o*hag*n

on Ancestry to cover all the variations.

Rose

? can also be used as a wild card


* searches for 1 or more different letters that may be found between h*g*n


? searches for only 1 letter that may be present, h?g?n

................... ? is probably your better choice because that will look for hag/heg/hig/hog/hug while * could be looking for any number of additional letters!



sylvia

I have a Mary ann Hagan on my tree, she is my great great grandma.i have only just begun this line of inquiry so hope i wont come up against this wall. will watch this space with interset and possibly some tips!

Thanks so much for your wonderful advice, I now understand., I didn't realise I could use more than 1*or a ?. When I first started I was doing four searches for each name. [I too have a Mary Ann Hagan whose name is sometimes spelt with the O'].
I am so pleased, can't wait to start!!!!
Thanks again.
Molly

if you try this free site it will bring up all the variants when you put in just one of them

http://www.ancestorhunt.com/mormon_church_records.htm

Recorded in various spellings including O'Hagan, Hagan, Hagen, Haggan, Hagon, Hegan and Aiken, this is an Irish surname. Originally from the pre 10 th century Old Gaelic O'hAodhagain, meaning the "male descendant of Aodh", a personal name meaning "fire", Aodh was a pagan god worshipped by the early natives. The great O'Hagan clan originated in the province of Ulster, and the seat of its chief was at Tullahogue, County Tyrone. The chief exercised the hereditary right of inaugurating O'Neill as king or overlord of Ulster. In medieval times, members of the sept were territorial magnates in Counties Monaghan and Armagh, and two places called Ballyagan, (from "baile", a settlement), one in County Derry and the other in Antrim, further locate the O'Hagans. Among the several notable bearers of the name were Thomas O'Hagan, (1812-1885), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, (1868-1874 and 1880-1881), he was created a peer in 1870; and John O'Hagan (1822-1890) was a judge and a patriotic song-writer. Mark O'Hagan was a"Famine immigrant" who sailed to New York on the ship "Rochester" on January 18th 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ivor O'Hagan, tutor of St. Malachy, which was dated circa 1100, Medieval Records of County Armagh, during the reign of High Kings of Ireland, "with opposition", 1022 - 1166. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

The O'Hagan family motto was "To conquer or die".
Generally O'Hagan and Hagan can be the same family. The O' is added and dropped at whim meaning "of". Probably depending on how much they had to drink before they got to register whichever event it was.
None of the O'Hagan's/Hagan's I know have ever used Hagen. I think they are a different lineage.
Regards Tom O'Hagan, son of John Hagan, Grandson of Stephen O'Hagan.