Leavy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Leavy family relocated to North American shores quite early:

• Bill Leavy (1947-2023), American NFL football official from the 1995 through 2014
• Edward Leavy (1929-2023), American jurist, Presiding Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (2005-2008), Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1997-2023)
• Thomas F. Leavy, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Hartford; Elected 1934 5
• Charles Henry Leavy (1884-1952), American Democratic Party politician, State court judge in Washington, 1926; U.S. Representative from Washington 5th District, 1937-43; Federal Judge, 1942 6