Doolittle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Under the rule of England, land ownership in Ireland changed dramatically, and many native Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of Doolittle or one of its variants:

Doolittle Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Abraham Doolittle, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1640 5
• John Doolittle, who landed in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1643 5
• John Doolittle of Lynn Massachusetts who settled there in 1643 and became Constable of Boston

Doolittle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Albert Doolittle, who arrived in New York in 1820
• G. Doolittle, who arrived in San Francisco California in 1850
• A B Doolittle, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
• O J Doolittle, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5

• General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle (1896-1993), American aviation pioneer; he served as a general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War, American Commanding General of the Eighth Force, Okinawa (1945), awarded the Medal of Honor as commander of the Doolittle Raid
• Amos Doolittle (1754-1832), American engraver and silversmith, known as "The Revere of Connecticut"
• Charles Camp Doolittle (1832-1903), American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War
• Justus Doolittle (1824-1880), American Board missionary to China
• W. Ford Doolittle (b. 1942), American biochemist, member of the US National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
• Bev Doolittle (b. 1947), American watercolor artist
• Russell F. Doolittle (b. 1931), American biochemist at the University of California
• Melinda Marie Doolittle (b. 1977), American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol
• Sean Robert Doolittle (b. 1986), American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics
• James Rood Doolittle (1815-1897), American politician, United States Senator from Wisconsin (1857-1869)
• ... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)