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Magrath History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Magrath History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

All Irish surnames have underlying meanings that can be traced back to their fullest points when the names first appeared in a Gaelic form. The name Magrath originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Graith or Mag Raith; these are both derived from the personal name Craith which literally means "to weave" and in this case is an occupational name too. The Mac or Mc prefix would denote "son of the weaver." 1

Anciently the family claim descent through O'Sullivan Mor which explains the stag (or antelope) in the fourth quarter of the shield. In turn, the O'Sullivans descend from the Heber line of Irish kings. 1

Early Origins of the Magrath family

The surname Magrath was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times. They were the hereditary poets to the O'Briens of Thomond. The family is still found here, but present day descendants usually hail from Tipperary and Waterford. Another branch was located at Termon MacGrath on the borders of Donegal and Fermanagh. 2

The MacGraths were Chiefs in the County of Waterford since very early times. A sub-branch was located at Ballynagilty in Waterford where Philip MacGrath was the progenitor. 1

This latter branch of the family produced Thomas McGrath of Ardagh, near Youhal, co. Cork who had four sons and twelve daughters. Thomas was descended from the Ulster M'Graths of Clanaboy, who were of the race of Clan Colla and were men of influence in County Waterford. Two of the sons emigrated to the Americas: Alderman Thomas McGrath of Montreal (died 1864); and Denis MacGrath of New York (died in 1846.) 1

Early History of the Magrath family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Magrath research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1067, 1097, 1172, 1240, 1389, 1395, 1400, 1415, 1421, 1423, 1433, 1450, 1460, 1463, 1523, 1580, 1600, 1622 and 1650 are included under the topic Early Magrath History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Magrath Spelling Variations

Official documents, crafted by early scribes and church officials, primarily contained names that were spelled according to their pronunciation. This lead to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating an illusion that a single person was many people. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Magrath that are preserved in the archival documents of the time are MacGrath, MacGraw, MacGrauth, Magrath, Magraw and many more.

Early Notables of the Magrath family

Notable among the family name at this time was

Miler MacGrath (1523-1622), Archbishop of Cashel. Seán mac Ruaidhri Mac Craith (fl. 14th-century), later known as John Macrory Magrath, was an Irish historian known as the author of Caithréim Thoirdhe...
Mathghamhain Mág Raith, was Bishop of Killaloe, (1389-1400) and Donatus Mág Raith, O.S.A., was Bishop of Killaloe (1400-1421.) Continuing this line was Thaddaeus Mág Raith I, Bishop of Killaloe (1423-...
Maolmhuire Mag Raith (Miler Magrath, Miler McGrath, also Myler) (c. 1523-1622), was an Irish priest and archbishop born in County Fermanagh, Ireland. He came from a family of hereditary historians to...

Magrath migration to the United States +

In the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of Irish people immigrated to North American shores. The early settlers were enticed by the promise of their own land, but they were moderately well off in Ireland when they decided to emigrate. Therefore, they were merely carrying out a long and carefully thought out decision. The 1840s saw the emergence of a very different trend: thousands of extremely desperate people crammed into passenger boats hoping to find any type of opportunity. The Irish of this decade had seen their homeland severely stricken by crop failures which resulted in widespread disease and starvation. At whatever time the Irish immigrants came to North America, they were instrumental in the rapid development of the emerging nations of the United States and what would become known as Canada. An exhaustive search of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many persons bearing the name Magrath, or one of its variants:

Magrath Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Catherine Magrath, who landed in Maryland or Virginia in 1678 3
Morrish Magrath, who landed in Maryland in 1678 3

Magrath Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edmond Magrath, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1765 3
Thomas Magrath, who arrived in America in 1798 3

Magrath Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. Laurence Magrath, aged 22, Irish groom who arrived in New York in 1846 aboard the ship "Stephen Whitney"
Miss Bridget Magrath, aged 18, Irish settler who arrived in New York in 1846 aboard the ship "Stephen Whitney"
Mr. Thomas Magrath, aged 22, Irish labourer who arrived in New York in 1846 aboard the ship "Stephen Whitney"
Francis Magrath, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1849 3
John Magrath, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1852 3

Magrath migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Magrath Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Johanna Magrath, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1810
Mary Magrath, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1829
Andrew Magrath, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1829
Maurice Magrath, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1831
Thomas Magrath, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1832
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Magrath migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Magrath Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Catherine Magrath, (b. 1788), aged 30, Irish servant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for felony, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 26th July 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. James Magrath, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. John Magrath, (b. 1802), aged 36, Irish labourer who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 11th May 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Miss Cathrine Magrath who was convicted in Mold, Flintshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 16th November 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Dennis Magrath, aged 31, a farm labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "David Malcolm" 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Magrath migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Magrath Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Ensign Magrath, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 24th June 1854 9
Mr. James Magrath, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Lincoln" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 19th July 1867 9
Patrick Magrath, aged 21, a farm labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Salisbury" in 1876

Contemporary Notables of the name Magrath (post 1700) +

Andrew Gordon Magrath (1813-1893), the last Confederate Governor of South Carolina from 1864 to 1865
Private First Class John D. Magrath (1924-1945), American soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945
Cornelius Magrath (1736-1760), Irish giant and performer who stood seven feet three inches
John Richard Magrath (1839-1930), British academic and administrator at the University of Oxford
Charles Alexander Magrath (1860-1949), Canadian politician and explorer who conducted foundation surveys of the Northwest Territories (1878 to 1885), eponym of Magrath, Alberta
Cassandra Magrath (b. 1981), Australian actress

Historic Events for the Magrath family +

SS Atlantic

Patrick Magrath, Irish traveler aboard the ship "SS Atlantic" when it struck rocks off Nova Scotia in 1873, survived the sinking

Citations +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 31st March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
South Australian Register Wednesday 5th January 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) David Malcolm 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/davidmalcolm1854.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html