Meaghan 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 Meaghan or a variant listed above, including:

Meaghan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

• Ellen Meaghan, aged 22, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Maria" from Cork, Ireland

Meaghan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Judith Meaghan, aged 38, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Surge" 3
• Judy Meaghan, aged 24, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Sea Park"

• James J. Meaghan, American politician, Mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1960 4
• Meaghan Simister (b. 1986), Canadian Olympic luger who has competed since 2003 and later in the 2006 Winter Olympics
• Meaghan Rath (b. 1986), Canadian film and television actress
• Meaghan Sittler (b. 1976), Canadian ice hockey player from Mississauga, Ontario, daughter of Darryl Sittler
• Meaghan Delahunt (b. 1961), Australian-born, Scottish novelist