The original Gaelic form of Guilmartin was Mac Giolla Mhartain. This name denotes a devotee of St. Martin. This saint founded the first monastery in France c. 360 and was made Bishop of Tours in 372. He is the patron saint of publicans and inn-keepers and is also a patron saint of France.
Early Origins of the Guilmartin family
The surname Guilmartin was first found in County
Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) part of the province of
Connacht, located on the west coast of the Island, where they had been granted lands by
Strongbow after the
Norman invasion of
Ireland in 1172, and became one of the "Tribes of Galway." Kilmartin is a small village in Argyll and
Bute, in western
Scotland. It is best known as the center of Kilmartin Glen, one of the best examples of standing stones in Scotland. Kilmartin Castle, a small tower house, dating from about 1580, stands above the village and was the property of the Campbells.
Early History of the Guilmartin family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Guilmartin research.
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1652, 1722, 1600 and 1648 are included under the topic Early Guilmartin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Guilmartin Spelling Variations
The Middle Ages saw a great number of
spelling variations for surnames common to the Irish landscape. One reason for these variations is the fact that surnames were not rigidly fixed by this period because the general population had to rely on
local official's understanding of how their name should be spelt, hence spellings in records often changed through a person's lifetime. The following variations for the name Guilmartin were encountered in the archives: Gilmartin, Kilmartin, MacKilmartin, MacGilmartin and many more.
Early Notables of the Guilmartin family (pre 1700)
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Guilmartin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Guilmartin family to the New World and Oceana
Ireland became inhospitable for many native
Irish families in the 19th centuries. Poverty, lack of opportunities, high rents, and discrimination forced thousands to leave the island for North America. The largest exodus of Irish settlers occurred with the
Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. For these immigrants the journey to British North America and the United States was long and dangerous and many did not live to see the shores of those new lands. Those who did make it were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest and most powerful nations of the world. These Irish immigrants were not only important for peopling the new settlements and cities, they also provided the manpower needed for the many industrial and agricultural projects so essential to these growing nations. Immigration and passenger lists have documented the arrival of various people bearing the name Guilmartin to North America:
Guilmartin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- John Guilmartin, who landed in Savanna(h), Georgia in 1822 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Contemporary Notables of the name Guilmartin (post 1700)
- James L. Guilmartin, American Republican politician, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, 1953-59; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Florida, 1964 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Guilmartin Motto
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: Auxilium meum a domino
Motto Translation: My help is from the Lord.