O'Toole History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. 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 O'Toole or a variant listed above, including:

O'Toole Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Austin, Henry, James, John, Martin, Michael, Patrick, Thomas, and William O'Toole all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860

O'Toole Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• Ann O'Toole, aged 58, who settled in America from Tullamore, in 1906
• Alicia O'Toole, aged 27, who landed in America from Tusk, Ireland, in 1909
• Adeline O'Toole, aged 18, who immigrated to the United States from Dublin, Ireland, in 1912
• Alice O'Toole, aged 20, who settled in America from Castlecomer, Ireland, in 1912
• Anastasia O'Toole, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States from Manchester, England, in 1920

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

O'Toole Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

• Aggie O'Toole, aged 20, who immigrated to Conception Harbour, Newfoundland, in 1910

O'Toole Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

• Mr. Thomas O'Toole, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir George Pollock" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand in January 1863 2

• Peter Seamus O'Toole (1932-2013), Irish eight-time Academy Award-nominated actor best known for his performances in such films as "Lawrence of Arabia", "Becket" and others, recipient of three Golden Globes and an Emmy
• James Jerome "Jim" O'Toole (1937-2015), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1958 to 1967
• Maureen O'Toole (b. 1961), American silver medalist water polo player at the 2000 Summer Olympics
• Annette O'Toole (b. 1952), American actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter, best known for portraying Martha Kent, the mother of Clark Kent on the television series Smallville
• Joseph O'Toole, American Lawyer
• Martin Joseph O'Toole (1925-2013), Irish Fianna Fáil politician
• Jason O'Toole (b. 1973), Irish author and journalist
• Sergeant Edmund O'Toole VC, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross for his efforts at the Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Ulundi
• Joseph John "Joe" O'Toole (b. 1947), former Irish independent politician
• Peter O'Toole, Irish musician
• ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)