Quinnell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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 Quinnell or a variant listed above, including:

Quinnell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• Mary Quinnell, who arrived in Virginia in 1717 2

Quinnell Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• Francis Quinnell, aged 24, who immigrated to the United States from Liverpool, in 1917
• Francis E. Quinnell, who landed in America from Ruddersfield, in 1919
• James Quinnell, aged 28, who settled in America, in 1920
• Charles Quinnell, aged 28, who landed in America, in 1920
• Cecil Quinnell, aged 21, who immigrated to America, in 1921
• ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Quinnell Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Mr. George Quinnell, British Convict who was convicted in Kent, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3
• James Quinnell, English convict from Southampton, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on October 22nd, 1824, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4

• Harry C. Quinnell, American Republican politician, Mayor of Sylvania, Ohio; Elected 1929; Elected unopposed 1931, 1933; Elected 1935 5
• Edward A. Quinnell, American politician, Circuit Judge in Michigan 25th Circuit, 1975-77 5
• Ken Quinnell (b. 1939), Australian screenwriter and director from Sydney, New South Wales
• A. J. Quinnell (1940-2005), pen name of the English thriller novelist Philip Nicholson
• Craig Quinnell (b. 1975), former Welsh Rugby Union player from Swansea
• Gavin Quinnell (b. 1983), former Welsh rugby union player
• Derek Leslie Quinnell (b. 1949), Welsh rugby player who won 23 rugby union caps for Wales, born in Llanelli
• Scott Quinnell (b. 1972), former Welsh international rugby league and rugby union player from Morriston, Swansea