McGinness History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Often leaving from racial discrimination and colonial oppression, thousands of families left Ireland in the 19th century for North America aboard passenger ships. Many early immigrants found a plot of land to call their own, something unimaginable for most Irish families. Those that arrived later were often accommodated as laborers since there was a large demand for cheap labor. This was the fate for many of the families that arrived in North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Whether they became agrarian settlers or industrial workers, the Irish that came to North America were invaluable for rapid development of the infant nations of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name McGinness or a variant listed above:accommodated

McGinness Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Mary McGinness, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 2
• Stewart McGinness, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 2
• Owen McGinness, aged 16, who landed in New York in 1854 2
• Joseh McGinness, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1863 2

• Mike McGinness (1947-2025), American politician, Member of the Nevada Senate (1992-2012)
• John Edward McGinness (b. 1943), American physicist and physician, a specialist in organic electronics and nanotechnology
• Ryan McGinness (b. 1972), American artist in Manhattan
• Diane D. McGinness, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1960, 1964 3
• Squadron Leader Paul Joseph McGinness DFC DCM (1896-1955), Australian flying ace of the First World War credited with seven aerial victories