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![Show Contents]() Shera History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Most of the old Irish surnames that can be found throughout the world today have their roots in the Gaelic language. The original Gaelic form of the name Shera is Mac Giolla Phadraig, denoting a devotee of St. Patrick. This is the only native-Irish surname with the prefix "Fitz", as all others descend from the Normans.1 Early Origins of the Shera familyThe surname Shera was first found in Ossory (Irish: Osraige), the former Kingdom of Ossory, now county Kilkenny, located in Southeastern Ireland in the province of Leinster, where they were the traditional Princes of Ossary, claiming descent from the O'Connors 2 and Giolla Padraig, a warlike chief in Ossary who lived in the second half of the 10th century. 1 Early History of the Shera familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shera research. Another 122 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1535, 1558, 1581, 1585, 1612, 1652, 1727 and 1774 are included under the topic Early Shera History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Shera Spelling VariationsBecause early scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded, a person could have many various spellings of his name.Many different spelling variations of the surname Shera were found in the archives researched. These included Fitzpatrick, Fitzpatricks, Kilpatrick, Shera, Sherar, Sherra, Patchy, Patchie, Parogan, Parrican, Fitz, MacGilpatrick, McGilpatrick, MacIlpatrick, McIlpatrick, MacSherra, McSherra, McShera, MacShera, Sheera, McSheera and many more. Early Notables of the Shera familyNotable amongst the family name at this time was - Over in Scotland, John Sherar was Commissioner of the royal burgh Stirling in 1612
 Shera migration to Canada | + |
In the 18th and 19th centuries, thousands of Irish families fled an Ireland that was forcibly held through by England through its imperialistic policies. A large portion of these families crossed the Atlantic to the shores of North America. The fate of these families depended on when they immigrated and the political allegiances they showed after they arrived. Settlers that arrived before the American War of Independence may have moved north to Canada at the war's conclusion as United Empire Loyalists. Such Loyalists were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Those that fought for the revolution occasionally gained the land that the fleeing Loyalist vacated. After this period, free land and an agrarian lifestyle were not so easy to come by in the East. So when seemingly innumerable Irish immigrants arrived during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s, free land for all was out of the question. These settlers were instead put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Whenever they came, 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 Shera or a variant listed above, including: Shera Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century- Thomas Shera, who landed in Quebec in 1831
| Shera migration to New Zealand | + |
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: Shera Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century- W. Shera, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "City of Auckland" in 1871
| Contemporary Notables of the name Shera (post 1700) | + |
- Shera Threet (b. 1982), American actress from Seattle, Washington, known for her work in Truth Hurts (2009), Pie Head: A Kinda' True Story (2012) and Absent Minded Inventions and the Search for Flubber with Bill Nye the Science Guy (1997)
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: Ceart laidir a boo
Motto Translation: Might is Right
- MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
- O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
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Shera migration to Canada 
Shera migration to New Zealand 
Ireland
Scotland
