Rafter History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name Rafter:

Rafter Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Dennis Rafter, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 2
• Michael Rafter, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1871 2

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rafter Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

• William Rafter, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1816
• Patrick Rafter, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1838

• Mark Rafter, American entrepreneur, speaker, author and technology consultant
• John Cornelius "Jack" Rafter (1875-1943), American Major League Baseball catcher
• William A. Rafter, American politician, Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention, 1867 3
• L. L. Rafter, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kansas, 1956 3
• James E. Rafter, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Herkimer County, 1920, 1921 3
• Seamus Rafter (1873-1918), Irish founder of the Gaelic League in Enniscorthy, Wexford and commander in the Wexford Brigade of the Irish Republican Brotherhood; he was incarcerated in England and sentenced to death but his sentence was later commuted to five years' imprisonment, eponym of the Rafter bridge in Enniscorthy, built in 1991
• Orlaith Rafter, Irish actor, novelist and playwright
• Kevin Rafter, Irish journalist and academic
• Thomas Athol Rafter (1913-1996), New Zealand teacher and nuclear chemist
• John Rafter, British actor, voice actor, professional narrator, and playwright
• ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)