Mellon
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Mellon Surname Genealogy
There are three possible origins of the Mellon surname, one English, one Scottish, and one Irish:
England and Scotland. A Norman de Melville family apparently made their way to Scotland by the 13th century. The family held lands in Midlothian and later in Fife. Mellon was one corrupted form of Melville as that was how Melville was pronounced in NE Scotland. Some Mellons found in the Cumberland registers in the north of England in the 1700's seem to have been MacMillians with the "Mac" lopped off.
There were Mellons in the 1881 census in Scotland, but not many of them - less than 200 - and most of them around Glasgow. England had a few more, mainly in Lancashire.
Ireland. Mellons in Ulster could be Scots Irish (such as the American Mellon family) or Irish. The O'Meallain surname originated near Dungannon in SE Tyrone. O'Meallain was generally anglicized as Mellon in north Tyrone and county Derry and as Mallon in south Tyrone and county Armagh. There were also O'Mellons who came from Clonmellon, a small village in Westmeath.
America. One Mellon family in Ireland was Scots Irish. These Mellons had come into Ireland from Scotland around the middle of the 17th century and settled in Castletown in county Tyrone. In 1816 Archibald Mellon emigrated to the United States and his son Andrew and his family were to follow two years later.
Andrew's son Judge Thomas was the patriarch of the Mellon family in America, founding the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh in 1869. Mellon Bank was to be the driving force in the financing of the new industries that sprung up in America in the next fifty years - in oil, aluminium, consumer electronics, and financial services. The Mellon family often used the bank as a proxy for their own investments in these companies.
Thomas's son Andrew became one of the wealthiest Americans of his time. He is remembered not only as an industrialist and financier but also as an art collector. He served as the Secretary to the Treasury from 1921 to 1932. His brother Richard Beatty (RB) was also a major financier and his line has continued to be important in Pittsburgh's civic causes. William Larimer Mellon co-founded the Gulf Oil company in Pittsburgh in 1907.
Buron Hersh's 1878 book The Mellon Family chronicled the family history.
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Harriet Mellon was an English actress who starred at Drury Lane in London in the early 1800's. She was widely celebrated for her beauty and married a wealthy banker.
Thomas Mellon founded the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh in 1869 and was the patriarch of the Mellon family in America.
Andrew Mellon was an industrialist and financier who served as Secretary to the Treasury from 1921 to 1932.
Select Mellons Today
There are three possible origins of the Mellon surname, one English, one Scottish, and one Irish:
- The English (and also possibly Scottish) origin of the name is the place-name Malaville in Normandy, with Mellon being a Norman name as an alternative to the more common Melville surname.
- Mellon could also be a corruption of the MacMillan name where MacMillans were far from the home base in NW Scotland.
- and the Mellon name found in Ulster can be a shortened anglicized form of the Gaelic O'Meallain, descendant of Meallain. Meallain is a personal name, a diminutive of meall meaning "pleasant."
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Mellon Resources on
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- Mellon from Macmillan. The Mellon as a form of Macmillan.
- The Mellon Family. The Mellon family of Philadelphia.
England and Scotland. A Norman de Melville family apparently made their way to Scotland by the 13th century. The family held lands in Midlothian and later in Fife. Mellon was one corrupted form of Melville as that was how Melville was pronounced in NE Scotland. Some Mellons found in the Cumberland registers in the north of England in the 1700's seem to have been MacMillians with the "Mac" lopped off.
There were Mellons in the 1881 census in Scotland, but not many of them - less than 200 - and most of them around Glasgow. England had a few more, mainly in Lancashire.
Ireland. Mellons in Ulster could be Scots Irish (such as the American Mellon family) or Irish. The O'Meallain surname originated near Dungannon in SE Tyrone. O'Meallain was generally anglicized as Mellon in north Tyrone and county Derry and as Mallon in south Tyrone and county Armagh. There were also O'Mellons who came from Clonmellon, a small village in Westmeath.
America. One Mellon family in Ireland was Scots Irish. These Mellons had come into Ireland from Scotland around the middle of the 17th century and settled in Castletown in county Tyrone. In 1816 Archibald Mellon emigrated to the United States and his son Andrew and his family were to follow two years later.
Andrew's son Judge Thomas was the patriarch of the Mellon family in America, founding the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh in 1869. Mellon Bank was to be the driving force in the financing of the new industries that sprung up in America in the next fifty years - in oil, aluminium, consumer electronics, and financial services. The Mellon family often used the bank as a proxy for their own investments in these companies.
Thomas's son Andrew became one of the wealthiest Americans of his time. He is remembered not only as an industrialist and financier but also as an art collector. He served as the Secretary to the Treasury from 1921 to 1932. His brother Richard Beatty (RB) was also a major financier and his line has continued to be important in Pittsburgh's civic causes. William Larimer Mellon co-founded the Gulf Oil company in Pittsburgh in 1907.
Buron Hersh's 1878 book The Mellon Family chronicled the family history.
Select Mellon Names
Harriet Mellon was an English actress who starred at Drury Lane in London in the early 1800's. She was widely celebrated for her beauty and married a wealthy banker.
Thomas Mellon founded the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh in 1869 and was the patriarch of the Mellon family in America.
Andrew Mellon was an industrialist and financier who served as Secretary to the Treasury from 1921 to 1932.
Select Mellons Today
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