Cassidy
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Cassidy Genealogy
The Irish surname Cassidy and its variants Cassiday, Casaday, Cassedy, and Casidy are anglicized forms of the Gaelic name O'Caiside, a derivative of cas, meaning "curly headed." The name originated in county Fermanagh.
Ireland. All Cassidys came originally from Fermanagh, where for centuries they were prominent not in warfare but in peace, culture, and scholarship. Their ancient home was Ballycassidy, just north of Enniskillen. The bardic poet Giolla Mochuda Mor O'Casside was famed among the men of learning of his time. He wrote the poem Banshenchas (The Lore of Woman) in 1147 which tells of the history of women in the world.
From the 1300's, when the Maguires assumed control of Fermanagh, the Cassidys acted as their hereditary physicians and were, during that time, the authors of several medical tracts. They were also one of the church families of Fermanagh. However, after the Scottish plantations in the early seventeenth century, the Cassidys, like nearly all the leading Gaelic families in the province, lost their power as chiefs. There are still Cassidys in Fermanagh. But many moved to other parts of Ulster and to Donegal; and others emigrated.
England and Scotland. There were Cassidys in Glasgow and Lancashire, not surprising as these were the closest immigrating points for Irishmen seeking a better life. Some made it. James Rice Cassidy, the son of a plasterer, set up his own theatrical company with his wife Lilian and toured the north of England, to great acclaim, in the early 1900's. In the inter-war years, John Cassidy who had moved to Manchester became a well-known sculptor in England through his various public works.
America. There were possibly as many Cassidys who set off for America. The first arrivals may well have been indentured servants. Catherine Cassidy was a servant of John Hutchins in Virginia in 1703. Peter Cassity arrived later in the century. His family moved onto Kentucky in the 1780's. Many more Cassidys came in the 1840's after the potato famine and again in the 1870's and 1880's. These Cassidys settled for the most part in the Irish communities in Brooklyn.
Two sons of these immigrants did well. Lewis Cassidy, who moved with his family to Philadelphia at an early age, studied law and later became Attorney General of Pennsylvania. John Cassidy profited more fortuitously. He was paid handsomely for standing in as a Civil War volunteer in place of the Spreckels sugar fortune heir. He invested his money in cottages on Shelter Island, a place which later became a fashionable gathering spot for New York society. In the twentieth century, from these roots, came the actor Jack Cassidy and his actor/singer son David Cassidy.
The Cassidy claIm to Wild West fame is mainly fictional. Butch Cassidy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was in fact born Robert Parker, the son of Irish immigrants from Lancashire. Hopalong Cassidy was the fictional creation of Clarence Mulford.
Select Cassidy Miscellany
Select Cassidy Names
Giolia Mochuda Mor Ó Caiside was an early bardic poet of Ireland.
Ruaidhri Ó Caiside (Rory O Cassidy) was archdeacon of Clogher Cathedral in the early 1500's.
Thomas Cassidy, an expelled Augustinian friar and later soldier of fortune, wrote a racy autobiography which was popular in Ireland in the eighteenth century.
Lewis Cassidy rose to become the Attorney General of Pennsylvania in the 1880's.
Cardinal Edward Cassidy, born in Australia, was one of the leading Vatican emissaries in the late twentieth century.
David Cassidy of New York Irish roots is an American actor, singer, and guitarist.
Select Cassidys Today
The Irish surname Cassidy and its variants Cassiday, Casaday, Cassedy, and Casidy are anglicized forms of the Gaelic name O'Caiside, a derivative of cas, meaning "curly headed." The name originated in county Fermanagh.
Select Cassidy Resources on The Internet
- The Cassidy Clan.
Cassidy history in Ireland.
- Cassidy Surname Page. Cassidy name and history in Ireland.
- Cassidy DNA Project. DNA
study.
Ireland. All Cassidys came originally from Fermanagh, where for centuries they were prominent not in warfare but in peace, culture, and scholarship. Their ancient home was Ballycassidy, just north of Enniskillen. The bardic poet Giolla Mochuda Mor O'Casside was famed among the men of learning of his time. He wrote the poem Banshenchas (The Lore of Woman) in 1147 which tells of the history of women in the world.
From the 1300's, when the Maguires assumed control of Fermanagh, the Cassidys acted as their hereditary physicians and were, during that time, the authors of several medical tracts. They were also one of the church families of Fermanagh. However, after the Scottish plantations in the early seventeenth century, the Cassidys, like nearly all the leading Gaelic families in the province, lost their power as chiefs. There are still Cassidys in Fermanagh. But many moved to other parts of Ulster and to Donegal; and others emigrated.
England and Scotland. There were Cassidys in Glasgow and Lancashire, not surprising as these were the closest immigrating points for Irishmen seeking a better life. Some made it. James Rice Cassidy, the son of a plasterer, set up his own theatrical company with his wife Lilian and toured the north of England, to great acclaim, in the early 1900's. In the inter-war years, John Cassidy who had moved to Manchester became a well-known sculptor in England through his various public works.
America. There were possibly as many Cassidys who set off for America. The first arrivals may well have been indentured servants. Catherine Cassidy was a servant of John Hutchins in Virginia in 1703. Peter Cassity arrived later in the century. His family moved onto Kentucky in the 1780's. Many more Cassidys came in the 1840's after the potato famine and again in the 1870's and 1880's. These Cassidys settled for the most part in the Irish communities in Brooklyn.
Two sons of these immigrants did well. Lewis Cassidy, who moved with his family to Philadelphia at an early age, studied law and later became Attorney General of Pennsylvania. John Cassidy profited more fortuitously. He was paid handsomely for standing in as a Civil War volunteer in place of the Spreckels sugar fortune heir. He invested his money in cottages on Shelter Island, a place which later became a fashionable gathering spot for New York society. In the twentieth century, from these roots, came the actor Jack Cassidy and his actor/singer son David Cassidy.
The Cassidy claIm to Wild West fame is mainly fictional. Butch Cassidy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was in fact born Robert Parker, the son of Irish immigrants from Lancashire. Hopalong Cassidy was the fictional creation of Clarence Mulford.
Select Cassidy Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Cassidy Names
Giolia Mochuda Mor Ó Caiside was an early bardic poet of Ireland.
Ruaidhri Ó Caiside (Rory O Cassidy) was archdeacon of Clogher Cathedral in the early 1500's.
Thomas Cassidy, an expelled Augustinian friar and later soldier of fortune, wrote a racy autobiography which was popular in Ireland in the eighteenth century.
Lewis Cassidy rose to become the Attorney General of Pennsylvania in the 1880's.
Cardinal Edward Cassidy, born in Australia, was one of the leading Vatican emissaries in the late twentieth century.
David Cassidy of New York Irish roots is an American actor, singer, and guitarist.
Select Cassidys Today
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