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phagan / fagan

phagan / fagan

Posted: 15 Nov 2009 8:46PM GMT
Classification: Query
I am looking for info to connect with Ga Phagans, believe I am related, and trying to find date of spelling change, my family came to texas from georgia about 1871.

Re: phagan / fagan

Posted: 19 Dec 2011 10:58AM GMT
Classification: Query
hello i'm william terry fagan. i fall under phillip phagan decendants if you want to look that tree up. in that tree its still phagan. sometime around 1850 the spelling of the name was changed due to the new mail service because that they all lived so close to each other. some of the phagan (fagan)once owned the land where Clemson University is today. it was sold to the calhouns. also some of the land where the Biltmore house is located known at that time as Pisgah Forrest was won in a land lottery by a fagan or phagan. that tree still has me listed as william terry phagan. i have tried to get it changed but haven't had any luck. the names were changed to fagans,fagan.feagan,fagen.phagen and probably a few more. i hope this helps you out.

Re: phagan / fagan

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 4:02PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Phagan/Fagan
In my research on the Phagan family I have found that the spelling of the name "Phagan" was changed to "Fagan" by James Phagan/Fagan, born abt 1797. He was the son of Moses Phagan (1765-1830) and grandson of Phillip Phagan, Sr. Moses also had another son, Phillip Phagan, who did not change the spelling. As far as I have found in my research, James Phagan/Fagan's line were the only ones who descended from Phillip Phagan, Sr that changed the spelling to "Fagan." I have also noticed it spelled "Fagans." I noticed in the 1830 census that James' last name was spelled with a PH but from the 1940 census and on it was spelled with an F. My guess about the reason for the change is that the census workers usually spelled phonetically so it was just spelled with an F, like it sounds, and James decided to continue using that spelling because it was probably easier. I've also heard the reason was the mail, but who really knows for sure?

On another note, there were also some that changed the spelling to "Phagans" with an "s" at the end. Andrew Jackson Phagan/Phagans and his children all spelled their name Phagans.
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