Family Branches
Connected surnames and family lines in the Dorgan Family Archive
This page provides a guide to the principal Dorgan / Dargan family lines and related surnames documented in the archive.
A surname appearing in a parish register, census, land record, witness list, or family tradition does not by itself prove a family relationship. Connections shown here are based on confirmed records where possible, while uncertain relationships remain identified as research leads.
Main Dorgan / Dargan Family Lines
Dorgan / Dargan — Core Surname Line
The Dorgan / Dargan family documented in this archive is centered on Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and Johanna / Anne / Nancy Flynn of Carrigkilter, East County Cork. Their children and descendants connect the Carrigkilter family with Cloyne, Churchtown, Rhode Island, and later generations in the United States.
For the history of the surname itself, see Jerry Kelly and the Origins of the Dorgan Name.
Flynn — Johanna / Anne / Nancy Flynn Line
Johanna Flynn was the wife of Patrick Dargan / Dorgan and mother of the documented Carrigkilter children.
Her exact parentage remains under investigation. Candidate Flynn records are preserved separately and should not be treated as proven ancestry until stronger evidence confirms the connection.
Hartnett — Mary Catherine Hartnett Line
Mary Catherine Hartnett married Patrick J. Dorgan in Cloyne in 1886 and later emigrated with their children to Rhode Island.
Her confirmed parents were John Hartnett and Catherine / Kate Duhig, connecting the Dorgan family with the Hartnett and Duhig families of the Cloyne and Churchtown South area.
Garde — Johanna Garde Line
Johanna Garde married Michael Dorgan in Cloyne in 1869.
Their marriage record confirms Michael as a son of Patrick Dorgan and Johanna Flynn and establishes the documented Cloyne branch of the family.
Duhig / Doohig — Mary Catherine Hartnett Family Connection
Catherine / Kate Duhig was the mother of Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan.
Duhig / Doohig records therefore form an important part of the maternal ancestry of the Rhode Island Dorgan branch.
Related East Cork Family Connections
Millerick — East Cork Family Connection
The Millerick surname appears repeatedly in records connected with the Dorgan family, including parish sponsors and later marriages.
These records are useful for studying the wider network of neighboring East Cork families.
Healy and Healey — A Confirmed Dorgan Family Branch
Mary Dorgan, daughter of Patrick Dorgan and Johanna Flynn, married Jeremiah Healy in 1866.
Their descendants provide a documented continuation of the Carrigkilter Dorgan family in Ireland and are supported by marriage, baptism, and census evidence.
Barry, Beausang, and Shinnick — Related East Cork Family Names
These surnames appear in records, local family connections, and research associated with the wider Dorgan network.
They are retained as related-family research lines while individual relationships continue to be evaluated.
O’Keeffe — Related East Cork Family Name
The O’Keeffe surname appears within the broader East Cork family and community network surrounding the Dorgan research.
Connections should be evaluated record by record rather than assumed from surname proximity alone.
Later Connected Family Branches
McIntosh, Dwyer, Connell, and O’Brien — Later Rhode Island Connections
These families became connected with the Dorgan family through marriages and later generations in Rhode Island.
Their records help document the transition from the Irish immigrant generation into twentieth-century American family life.
Hartnett and O’Brien Family Connection
Ellen Theresa Hartnett, sister of Mary Catherine Hartnett Dorgan, emigrated to Rhode Island and married John Henry O’Brien in Providence in 1910.
This branch provides an independently documented Hartnett connection between Cloyne and Rhode Island.
Using the Family Branches Archive
Each branch page should be read together with the Records Archive, place pages, photographs, maps, and original documentary images.
Confirmed relationships are distinguished from candidate or comparison evidence so that unresolved family connections can remain available for future research without being presented as established fact.
Ongoing Research
Some family connections remain under active investigation. For a summary of confirmed findings, unresolved questions, and eliminated possibilities, see: