Gilfoil History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Thousands of Irish left in their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries to escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, and in the search of a plot of land to call their own. These immigrants arrived at the eastern shores of North America, early on settling and breaking the land, and, later, building the bridges, canals, and railroads essential to the emerging nations of United States and Canada. Many others would toil for low wages in the dangerous factories of the day. Although there had been a steady migration of Irish to North America over these years, the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Gilfoil or a variant listed above:

Gilfoil Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Michael Gilfoil, who settled in Philadelphia in 1852
• John Gilfoil, who settled in Philadelphia in 1858
• Thomas Gilfoil, aged 24, originally from Liverpool, who arrived in New York in 1892 aboard the ship "Nomadic" from Liverpool, England 1
• H. Gilfoil, aged 31, who arrived in New York City in 1894 aboard the ship "Majestic (1890)" from Liverpool & Queenstown 1

Gilfoil Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• Frances Gilfoil, aged 18, who arrived in New York in 1917 aboard the ship "Havana" from Havana, Cuba 1

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gilfoil Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

• Sarah Gilfoil, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1833
• William Gilfoil, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1838