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Moughtin page

Welcome to any visiting Moughtin, or Moughton, or even Mugtin, Mortin or Morton!

Moughtin is a Manx name, from the Isle of Man.

Go to the parish church of St Patrick Jurby on the wild north coast and you will see many gravestones inscribed with the name Moughtin.  

Over the years many have emigrated. Some - like my own branch of the family - settled just over the Irish Sea in Liverpool.

Why should 20th August be Moughtin day?

The Manx Note Book of 1886 says that Moughton and Moughtin are possibly derived from the diminutive of Mochta.   

 

And who is Mochta?

 

St Mochta was a disciple of St. Patrick. A native of Britain, he was made a Bishop by Pope Leo I and founded the monastery at Louth in Ireland.  He died at the age of ninety on 20 August, 535, the last known disciple of St. Patrick.

 

Two reasons why I agree with A W Moore who wrote the note book:

 

1      St Patrick stopped in the IOM as he travelled from Britain to Ireland, at Jurby.  This is attested, I believe, by the dedication of the church at Jurby to him.  (It is virtually impossible, even today, to change the patronal name of a church usually given for local reasons).  

 

Remember priests in the Celtic tradition could marry and it seems plausible that Patrick recruited followers from the north of the IOM, whose families would then be known by this connection.

 

2      It makes me feel holy. 

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How do pronounce "Moughtin?"

Well, in our family we say More-tin, rhyming (almost) with Aughton - where we live.  

 

Over the years some branches of the family, weary of spelling out their name to incredulous call centre staff on the Indian subcontinent, have anglicised the spelling to Mortin.     

Way back in 2005 I came 2nd in the IOM half marathon - the over 55 category, I reluctantly add. 

A major event in my life because I was introduced to the rapturous Manx crowd 

as one of their own, - Ross Muck-tin, with a guttural ck. 

At last, the definitive pronunciation.   

There are basically two ways of researching the Moughtin family tree

The first is to diligently go through the historical documents, using various websites and genealogical search engines. 
This may also mean trudging through the snow in Toronto to inspect copies of Moughtin wills as recorded in the nearby Mormon Family History Centre or to cross continents from New Zealand to visit the Registrar of Births and Deaths in Liverpool. 
Then to patiently sift the evidence, consult with other dedicated genealogists and then lay out your conclusions as accurately as you can. 

 

The second is to find a not-too-distant cousin who has done all the work and then simply insert your name - and your father's -  at the bottom of their carefully researched tree.

 

I chose the latter.

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