Coltsmane History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coltsmane research.
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1667 and 1668 are included under the topic Early Coltsmane History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Names during the Middle Ages were often recorded under several different spelling variations during the life of their bearers. Literacy was rare at that time and so how a person's name was recorded was decided by the individual scribe. Variations of the name Coltsmane include Garry, Garrihy, Hare, O'Hare, O'Heihir, MacGarry and others.

Many destitute Irish families in the 18th and 19th centuries decided to leave their homeland, which had in many ways been scarred by English colonial rule. One of the most frequent destinations for these families was North America where it was possible for an Irish family to own their own parcel of land. Many of the early settlers did find land awaiting them in British North America, or even later in America, but for the majority of immigrants that arrived as a result of the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s the ownership of land was often a long way off. These Irish people were initially put to work on such industrial projects as the building of bridges, canals, and railroads, or they worked at manufacturing positions within factories. Whenever they arrived, the Irish made enormous contributions to the infant nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the earliest immigrants to bearer the name of Coltsmane were found through extensive research of immigration and passenger lists: Henry Garry who settled in Virginia in 1635; Claud Garry, who settled with his wife in Virginia in 1714; Barbason O'Hare, who arrived in Boston in 1770.

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Fear garbh ar mait
Motto Translation: Here is a good rough man.

• Family Crests: the Heraldic Artist
• Family Crests: Timeline
• Family Crests: Elements
• Family Crests and Genealogy: how they relate
• Spelling variations
• Family seat
• Connacht
• Great Potato Famine
• Irish families