Kilbride History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Kilbride or a variant listed above, including:

Kilbride Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Andrew Kilbride and his three children arrived in Boston in 1849
• John (age 8) and Barnard (age 6) Kilbride, bonded passengers who arrived in Boston in 1849
• Owen Kilbride who settled in Texas with his wife and two children in 1852
• Cath Kilbride, aged 24, who arrived in New York in 1854 1
• Edward Kilbride, who landed in Texas in 1856 1
• ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Kilbride Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

• Mic Kilbride, aged 24, who arrived in Canada in 1812

Kilbride Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Elizabeth Kilbride "alias Eliza Bird", aged 23, Irish convict from Galway, who was transported aboard the "Andromeda" in 1834, settling in New South Wales, Australia 2

• Malachy Kilbride, American social justice and peace activist
• Ronald "Ron" Kilbride, American animator, known for his work on Osmosis Jones (2001), Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You (1999) and Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)
• Kerry Kilbride (b. 1952), American actor, known for Bandits (2001), The Net (1995) and Jimmy Hollywood (1994)
• Ashley Morgan Kilbride, American actress, known for Lottopalooza (2014), Pissed (2012) and Attack of the 50ft Cheerleader (2012)
• Thomas L. Kilbride (b. 1953), American jurist, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois
• Percy William Kilbride (1888-1964), American character actor, best known for his role as Pa Kettle in the Ma and Pa Kettle series of feature films
• Tom Kilbride, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Texas 11th District, 1982; Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 56th District, 2006 3
• Michael Kilbride, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Newtown 3
• L. J. Kilbride, American Democratic Party politician, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Candidate for U.S. Representative from Minnesota 2nd District, 1944, 1946 3
• Thomas Kilbride (1911-1986), Irish Fine Gael politician, who was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1973 to 1981
• ... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)