Gilind History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland

Early Origins of the Gilind family

Early History of the Gilind family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gilind research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gilind History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gilind Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, a standardized literary language known by the general population of Ireland was a thing of fiction. When a person's name was recorded by one of the few literate scribes, it was up that particular scribe to decide how to spell an individual's name. So a person could have several spelling variations of his name recorded during a single lifetime. Research into the name Gilind revealed many variations, including Gillan, Gillinan, Gillen, Gillon, Gillfinan, Gillion and many more.

Early Notables of the Gilind family

More information is included under the topic Early Gilind Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gilind family

In the 18th and 19th centuries, thousands of Irish families fled an Ireland that was forcibly held through by England through its imperialistic policies. A large portion of these families crossed the Atlantic to the shores of North America. The fate of these families depended on when they immigrated and the political allegiances they showed after they arrived. Settlers that arrived before the American War of Independence may have moved north to Canada at the war's conclusion as United Empire Loyalists. Such Loyalists were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Those that fought for the revolution occasionally gained the land that the fleeing Loyalist vacated. After this period, free land and an agrarian lifestyle were not so easy to come by in the East. So when seemingly innumerable Irish immigrants arrived during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s, free land for all was out of the question. These settlers were instead put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Whenever they came, 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 Gilind or a variant listed above, including: Hugh and Jane Gillan who settled in New York State in 1823; James Gillan settled in New York in 1803; John, Patrick, Thomas and William Gillan settled in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.