Nolin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Nolin family relocated to North American shores quite early:

Nolin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Thomas Nolin, who landed in Tippecanoe County, Indiana in 1837 ^[1]
• Ulric Nolin, who arrived in Texas in 1850-1906 ^[1]
• Alice Nolin, aged 23, who arrived in New York in 1893 aboard the ship "Etruria" from Liverpool & Queenstown ^[2]

Nolin Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• James Walter Nolin, aged 51, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Vestris" from Liverpool, England ^[3]
• Ivy Ruby Nolin, aged 11, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Vestris" from Liverpool, England ^[4]

• Michael Nolin, American motion picture producer, studio executive, writer/director and educator
• Gena Lee Nolin (b. 1971), American actress and model
• Rebecca Nolin (b. 1983), born Rebecca Hall, an English professional footballer
• Pierre Claude Nolin (1950-2015), Canadian politician and Senator, Speaker of the Senate (2014-2015)
• Marie-Paule Nolin (1908-1987), French Canadian high-fashion designer
• Julie Nolin, Canadian journalist
• Joseph Octave Nolin (1866-1925), Canadian Métis provincial politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
• Charles Nolin (1837-1907), Canadian Métis farmer and politician who opposed the North-West Rebellion of 1885, first cousin Louis Riel, MLA Batoche (1891-1892)