First found in county Cork, where they were granted lands by Strongbow after the invasion of Ireland in 1172.

Ireland went through one of the most devastating periods in its history with the arrival of the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. Many also lost their lives from typhus, fever and dysentery. And poverty was the general rule as tenant farmers were often evicted because they could not pay the high rents. Emigration to North America gave hundreds of families a chance at a life where work, freedom, and land ownership were all possible. For those who made the long journey, it meant hope and survival. The Irish emigration to British North America and the United States opened up the gates of industry, commerce, education and the arts. Early immigration and passenger lists have shown many Irish people bearing the name Freeman: Ralph Freeman who settled in Virginia in 1622; along with Thomas, Bennett, Bridget, Francis, James, Jane, Richard, Thomas, and William Freeman, who all settled in Virginia between 1630 and 1670.

Motto Translated: Neither rashly nor timidly.

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