MacManners History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Migration of the MacManners family

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name MacManners or a variant listed above: Bessie McManners settled in Boston in 1847; Bernard McMannis settled in Philadelphia in 1828; Andrew, Hugh, Patrick, Terrence McMannus all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.