Our Name

In early centuries, it was the Celtic tradition to teach each personseven generations of their ancestry. It was the primary method ofidentification in a society that was based on an oral tradition. Today,we have a written tradition and a very strong identification through precise names, spellings and numbers—social security numbers forinstances. In prior centuries that was not the case as you will see with the name interchangeability that follows. How many generations do you know? Paul Crilley knew four generations and his chart sent to us in 1968 appears in Chapter 17, the Correspondence chapter. It was the pivotal “find” to linking with the name McTeague and the relatives in Ireland.Section 2. Name Interchangeability

In 19th century Ireland the surnames McTague/McTeague and Montague were interchangeable. This statement is from professional genealogists researching the name and possible relatives through the historical landscape. Indeed, we have official death certificates from Ireland where the deceased was named McTeague and the son or daughter certifying the death is named Montague. You will see this in the appendices of documents. It was a crucial find to continuing the genealogical search. In discussing this with relatives we found in Scotland, it came as no surprise to them that the names were used interchangeably. They referred to McTeague as the old name.

We have information from people in Ireland who have said in the 1830's in County Tyrone, the name was Teague and then back to Montague in the 1860's. In Derry it appears to go back and forth from Montague to McTeague.

The level of accuracy in spelling and ages declines in history. Written identification, literacy and documentation were not as important then as now. Indeed, you can find these issues in the USA census for 1920 where names are spelled phonetically on occasion.

Section 3. Meaning/Evolution of Montague

We are not sure which if any of these meanings applies to us. Certainly, there are a lot of different definitions from different sources. Whether we are bards, poets, ollamhs, brehons, knights, Bretons, Normans or druids we do not know. There are rumors that we are descendants of a 10^th century Breton-Norman family. Some say we are related to John Montague the reigning poet of Ireland. There are other family rumors that we come from the Province of Brittany in Normandy, France and settled in Ireland after the 12^th Century Anglo Norman invasion of Ireland. Indeed, there is a Montague shown on the famous Roll of the Battle Abbey as: Ansger de Montaigu. There are many books and web sites dedicated to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. A simple google search will provide a lot of information.

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