Compiled by

1
Magrann
Family Tree

• Compiled by
• Tracey Magrann
• 2005

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Ireland and the UK
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The History of Ireland
The Gaels arrived in 100 BC and set the Irish
Identity. Then a Romano-British missionary, St.
Patrick introduced Christianity, canceling out
pagan. Then in 795, the Norsemen, Danes, and
pirates invaded Ireland. They began
inter-marrying with the Irish and ending up
becoming Irish themselves. The people shunned
King Henry VIII. So he reclaimed every man's
land. In 1608, the Plantation of Ulster was
created. It was the idea of planting settlers
from England and Scotland in Ireland to establish
English government rule. In 1641, there was a
Great Catholic-Gaelic rebellion. They wanted
their land back from the Protestants. The most
atrocities occurred in Ulster.
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The History of Ireland
Catholics were moved to a barren province of
Connaught. A series of laws had penalized the
majority of the Irish population because they
were Roman-Catholics. These 'penal laws' that a
Catholic could not hold any office of state, nor
stand for parliament, vote, join the army or
navy, or buy land. Barely 7 of the land of
Ireland remained in Catholics hands. They were
living in extreme poverty. In 1720, Jonathan
Swift, Dean of Saint Patrick's Cathedral,
petitioned so that in 1782, the Irish Parliament
won Legislative independence from Britain. In
1800, the Act of the Union united the two
kingdoms of England and Ireland, abolishing the
Irish Parliament.
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Armagh, Ireland

• Many of the Magrann ancestors come from the city
  of Armagh, in the south part of Ulster County.

• Ulster is in Northern Ireland.

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Ireland Counties
Armagh Home of the Magranns
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Ireland County Flags and City Colors
Leinster
Ulster
Armagh Ard Mhacha Colors orange and white
Dublin Duibhlinn Colors Dark Blue and Light
Blue
Connaught
Munster
Tipperary Tiobraid Árann blue and yellow
Galway Gaillimh Colors Maroon and White
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Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It
occupies the northeast part of the island of
Ireland and is made up of six of the nine
counties originally forming the historic province
of Ulster.
Northern Ireland covers an area slightly larger
than the state of Connecticut.
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Northern Ireland
Armagh
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Armagh
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The County of Armagh
The spiritual capital of Ireland for 1,500 years
of both Protestant and Catholic, Armagh is the
most venerated of Irish cities. St Patrick
called Armagh 'my sweet hill' and built his stone
church on the hill where the Anglican cathedral
now stands. Two miles west of the city is the
great mound of Navan Fort, stronghold of the
kings of Ulster from 700 BC.
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Tourist Attractions in Armagh
Armagh County Museum, tells the History of County
Armagh through military, archaeological, railway,
costume and historical collections. Royal Irish
Fusiliers Museum tells the story of the regiment
from 1793-1968. There is a large model of the
capture of the Imperial French Eagle. The Armagh
Observatory Planetarium Archbishop Robinson
commissioned a local amateur astronomer to build
it. It houses the largest public telescope in
Ireland, an interactive 'Star Theatre', and The
Eartharium, which examines man's impact on our
environment. Palace Stables Heritage Centre, set
in the beautiful estate of an eighteenth century
palace, provides an award winning living history
of the year 1786. St. Patrick Trian, with award
winning exhibitions on the history of Armagh, the
life and works of Saint Patrick and the
enchanting land of Lilliput. Gosford Forest
Park, an example of mock-Norman architecture, and
traditional breeds of poultry in open paddocks, a
deer park, and a walled garden and trails. St
Patrick's Cathedral, founded in 445 AD by St.
Patrick, and rebuilt 1268-1270, and refurbished
in 1834 in Gothic style.
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St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick founded his chief church here on the
Hill of Armagh in 455AD and there has been a
Christian Church on the site ever since. The
present building dates from the 13th Century and
although undergoing many restorations over the
centuries, was last restored in 1834. It is a
modest building with interesting monuments and an
11th century carved stone high cross.
This imposing Cathedral, on an elevated site, was
started in 1840, but work was suspended during
the Great Famine of 1845-48 and recommenced in
1854, It was dedicated for worship in 1873 but
the magnificent interior decoration was not
completed until early in the 20th Century.
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The rock, less than a quarter of a mile wide, is
arguably the most extraordinary architectural
site in Ireland. It is also the place where St
Patrick is supposed to have picked a shamrock in
order to explain the doctrine of the Trinity.
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The Shamrock
The Shamrock acts as a badge to be worn on the
lapel on the Saint's feast day. In the 1770's,
the wearing of the Shamrock was considered
rebellious, and QueenVictoria's Irish regiments
were forbidden to display it. At that time it
became the custom for civilians to wear a little
paper cross colored red and green. But today,
on St. Patrick's Day, a member of the British
Royal Family presents Shamrock to the Irish
Guards regiment of the British Army.
Three is Ireland's magic number. Hence the
Shamrock. It represents such things as Past,
Present, and Future. Crone, Mother and Virgin.
Love, Valor and Wit. Faith, Hope and Charity.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  
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St. Patrick
St Patrick is known as the patron saint of
Ireland. True, he was not a born Irish, but he
has become an integral part of the Irish
heritage, mostly through his service across
Ireland of the 5th century.Patrick was born in
the later half of the 4th century AD, in either
Scotland or Roman England. His real name was
probably Maewyn Succat.  Patrick was the son
of a Roman-British army officer, and one day a
band of pirates kidnapped this boy along with
many others. Then they sold him into slavery in
Ireland, where he was for 6 years, mostly
imprisoned. This was when changes came to him.
He dreamed of having seen God. Legend says, he
was then dictated by God to escape with a getaway
ship. 
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When he escaped, St. Patrick went to Britain,
then to France. There he joined a monastery and
studied for 12 years. When he became a bishop he
dreamed that the Irish were calling him back to
Ireland to tell them about God.  There he
converted the Gaelic Irish, who were then mostly
Pagans, to Christianity. Patrick made important
converts even among the royal families, which
upset the Celtic Druids. He was arrested several
times, but escaped each time.  For 20 years he
had traveled throughout Ireland, establishing
monasteries, schools, and churches. By the end
of the 7th century Patrick had become a legendary
figure. He used the three-leafed shamrock to
explain the concept of the Trinity which refers
to the combination of Father, Son, and the Holy
Spirit.  Legend also has that Saint Patrick
drove all the poisonous snakes of Ireland into
the sea. He died on March 17, AD 461.  That day
has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever
since. 
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The Blarney Stone
The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of
the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of
Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring
the gift of persuasive eloquence (blarney). The
castle was built in 1446.  The origins of the
Blarney Stone's magical properties aren't clear,
but one legend says that an old woman cast a
spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved
her from drowning. Kissing the stone while
under the spell gave the king the ability to
speak sweetly and convincingly. It's tough to
reach the stone -- it's between the main castle
wall and the parapet. Kissers have to stretch to
their back and bend backward (and downward),
holding iron bars for support.
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The Blarney Castle
20
The Potato Famine
Potatoes can provide this sustenance to nearly 10
people on an acre of land, so, by the mid-1800's
the Irish had become so dependent upon this crop
that its failure provoked a famine. During the
summer of 1845, a "blight of unusual character"
devastated Ireland's potato crop. A few days
after potatoes were dug from the ground, they
began to turn into a slimy, decaying, blackish
"mass of rottenness." The cause was a fungus
that had traveled from Mexico to Ireland. In
the first year of the potato famine, half of the
crop was destroyed. But the next year was even
worse. To add to the misery, that winter was the
"severest in living memory".
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The Potato Famine
"Famine fever"--cholera, dysentery, scurvy,
typhus, and infestations of lice--soon spread
through the Irish countryside. Over the next
ten years, more than 750,000 Irish died and
another 2 million left their homeland for Great
Britain, Canada, and the United States. This
accounted for a 10 increase in the population of
the United States the single largest immigration
of people to the US in history. Within five
years, the Irish population was reduced by a
quarter.
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The Potato Famine
The majority of this first group went to Canada
because prices were very low--ships bringing
lumber to England were glad to receive paying
passengers instead of returning to Canada
empty. On board the emigrant ships, conditions
were sometimes shocking. These ships came to be
known as Coffin Ships because of the conditions
the emigrants are forced to live in. There was
little air in these over crowded below decks,
which carried the poorest class. Almost every
ship had a third of their passenger's die at sea
or upon their arrival.
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You CAN take a Magrann for GRANTed!
How the Magrann Name Originated

• It all started when three brothers,
• Tom, Jim, and Patrick McGrann,
• left Armaugh, in Northern Ireland
• to find work In England.
• It is RUMORED that the reason
• they left is because they
• were accused of stealing horses.
•  

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• They all got married in England
• Jim and Patrick changed
• their last name to Grant
• to appear to be English, to enable them
• to find work more easily.
• Tom kept his name as Magrann.
• Patrick got married and had
• a daughter named Mary,
• who became a nun Sister Mary St. Rafael.

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• They all came to Philadelphia
• in the 1950's and entered the textile business
  together.
• They worked at Kent Mills Textile, a cotton
  mill. 
•  
• The sons of Tom Magrann Sr
• (Tom Jr, John, Peter, and James)
• later owned their own textile mill at
• 24th and Green Streets in Philadelphia.
•  
•  
• They later moved the mill to
• Mascher and Turner Streets in Philadelphia.
•  

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• The brothers' mill operation was fairly large,
• with 150 looms that consisted of
• weaving, twisting, and winding.
•  
•  
• Tom and John eventually
• split the business with Pete and Jim. 
• It is said that all went broke,
• but John's son, also named Thomas Magrann,
• did fairly well in the business
• during the next generation,
• especially during WWI,
• when there was a large demand
• for their materials to make uniforms.

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1st Generation
Mr. McGrann
Mrs. McGrann
Mr. McGrann was born about 1800 in Armagh,
Ireland, and died there.
He married about 1820.
Jim Grant
Thomas Magrann
They gave birth to Thomas, Jim, and Patrick.
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2nd Generation
Married about 1855 in England
Married about 1840, in England
Mrs. Jim Grant
Elizabeth K. Butler
Thomas Magrann
Jim Grant
He moved to England, changed his name to Grant,
married there, and moved to PA.
Elizabeth Katherine Butler was born in 1829 in
England, and died about 1900 in Phila, PA
Jim was born in 1825 in Armagh, Ireland, and died
in Kellyville, PA about 1900.
Thomas Magrann was born in 1823 in Armagh,
Ireland, and died about 1900 in Phila, PA.
John Lawrence Magrann
James Grant, Jr.
Margaret Grant
They gave birth to John, Thomas, Peter, James,
and Mary.
They gave birth to James and Margaret.
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2nd Generation
Married about 1850s in England
Patrick Grant
Mrs. Patrick Grant
He moved to England, changed his name to Grant,
married there, and moved to PA.
Patrick Magrann was born in 1823 in Armagh,
Ireland, and died in Phila, PA.
Mary Grant
Mary became a nun Sister Mary St. Rafael.
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Thomas Magrann, Sr. and hisbrother, Jim Grant

• They moved together to England to look for work,
  where they both married and moved to Kellyville
  (now Darby), PA.
• Both worked in Kent Mills Textile, a cotton mill.
  
• The original Magrann name may have been McGrann,
  but "Mc" is Irish, so may have been dropped to
  find work in England. The prefix "Mac" is
  Scottish. Both Mac and Mc indicate the name
  following is "the son of" or indicates the city
  of an ancestor.

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3rd Generation
Married about 1879 in Phila, PA
John Lawrence Magrann
Elizabeth Devine
John Lawrence Magrann was born about 1858 in
Phila, PA and died there about 1938.
Elizabeth Devine was born about 1858 in Phila, PA
and died there about 1938.
Thomas Joseph Magrann, Sr.
They gave birth to Thomas and 9 other children.
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Magrann Family, 1908
Lizzy and John Lawrence Magrann, and their
children.
Thomas Magrann (the oldest) was not present.
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4th Generation
Married about 1909 in Philadelphia, PA
Thomas J. Magrann
Katherine Hogan
Thomas Joseph Magrann was born Nov 6, 1879, in
Phila, PA and died in Aug 1973, in La Palma, CA.
Katherine Kitty Hogan was born about 1779 in
PA, and died there about 1918, from the flu
epidemic of 1918.
James Magrann
They gave birth to James Magrann, after the death
of an infant daughter, Regina.
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2nd Wife of Thomas Magrann
Married about 1920 in Philadelphia, PA
Thomas J. Magrann
Jane T. Gray
Thomas Joseph Magrann was born Nov 6, 1879, in
Phila, PA and died in Aug 1973, in La Palma, CA.
Jane Theresa Gray was born Aug 7, 1900, in Phila,
PA, and died in Oct, 1989, in La Palma, CA.
John Magrann
Thomas J. Magrann, II
Margaret Peg Magrann
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Thomas andJaneMagrann
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Children of Thomas Magrann, Sr.
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5th Generation
Married on Feb 24, 1933, in Philadelphia, PA
Jim was born on Aug 15, 1910 in Philadelphia, PA
Eleanor was born on Dec 12, 1915 in Devon, PA
Eleanor Todd
James Magrann
They had children James, Dennis, and Phyllis
38
5th Generation
Married on Jan 23, 1943, in Philadelphia, PA
Peg was born on Mar 12, 1921 in Philadelphia, PA
Hank was born on Oct 13, 1918 in Philadelphia, PA
Margaret Magrann
Hank Jones
They had children Thomas, Janeanne, Eileen,
Kathleen, and Sandra
39
5th Generation
Married on Oct 23, 1943, in Philadelphia, PA
Thomas Joseph Magrann, Jr. was born on Sep 23,
1923, in Philadelphia, PA
Mary Jane Earley was born on April 18, 1925, in
Phila, PA, and died on Sep 3, 2001 in Placentia,
CA
Thomas J. Magrann, Jr.
Mary Jane Earley
They had children Patricia, Thomas, Timothy, and
Tracey
40
5th Generation
Married about 1980, in La Palma, CA
John was born on March 27, 1927 in Philadelphia,
PA
John Magrann
Diana Rasmussen
John had children Barbara Ann, John, Timothy,
Eileen, Colleen, and Michael
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Magrann
Family Tree

• Compiled by
• Tracey Magrann
• 2005