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Author: MichaelCaine51
Surnames:
Classification: queries
Message Board URL:
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.caine/182.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx
Message Board Post:
hel-caine - beware of false information passed down in families. My own family and
immediate Caine relatives all had a traditional belief that we were of Manx origin. This
tradition was so ingrained that most of them holidayed in the IoM. The Cain(e) name is
very common in IoM.
As a motorcycle enthusiast & IoM being the home of the famous TT races, I was
intrigued to learn more of my Manx origins. By the time I got round to seriously looking
into it, sadly both my parents - the usual starting point - had died, so @ 25 years ago I
started on my genealogy trail.
I hit a brick wall after @ the 1871 census until a very kind amateur genealogist in
Australia ( using a web alias of 'white labrador') pointed me in the direction of
an earlier census where my family had been entered under the name Kean - origin Ireland !!
Picture the scenario - census taker is English and probably the only one who can read or
write. Say the name Cain(e) with an Irish accent and you become written down as Kean.
This new information lead me down a route where I found a marriage in 1844 between James
Cain (of Galway, Ireland) & Ann Linskey (written as Leinskey - Irish accents at work
again) also of Galway - fathers on the certificate of marriage given as Martin Cain &
James Linskey.
It is abundantly clear my ancestral origins are Irish & Galway - not IoM.
I can almost hear the story in my head as to reasons why this arose. 1844 is around the
Irish potato famine problem period and no doubt many Irish were leaving their shores
around then to find a better life elsewhere. In England, this Irish influx was so much of
a problem that the Irish were considered 'persona non grata' because they were
taking all the jobs and housing available.
No doubt having kissed the Blarney Stone - I can almost hear James Cain ( or was it Ann?)
saying when asked if they were Irish - 'To be sure no - we're from the Isle of Man
- and that's how we talk over there!' ............. and the family line stuck to
that story for the next 150 odd years - until I uncovered the real origins thanks to the
power of the internet and some helpful genealogists on the various forums.
To further cement my findings, I joined Rory Cains' Cain DNA venture & sure enough
my DNA pointed directly to Galway common roots. Sadly, Irish records seem to be non
existent in being able to trace just where in Galway my furthest back name Martin Cain
whose birth is pre 1800ish hails from, but I am ever hopeful some light may be shed one
day before I expire & if this comes about, I will certainly make a visit to Galway to
see the origin areas.
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