The Great Ferriter Family

The following is an excerpt from the story of James T. Ferriter as written some years ago by Leo Massei of Richmond, Virginia. This is an account of James Thomas Ferriter’s service in the War Between The States. In 1862 James T. Ferriter was working with his brother Thomas a “cooper” [barrel maker] in Richmond Virginia. James age 19 along with his cousins John Sullivan [Mary Ann Sullivan Ferriter’s brother] and *John Lynch [Johanna Lynch Sullivan was Mary Ann Ferriter’s mother’s maiden name] enlisted on Feb 17, 1862 in the Army of the Confederacy as privates with a newly organized “Company Virginia Light Artillery” being... Read More

Maurice FitzGerald, c1180 Muiris Feiritear (An Chéad Ainmneacha) Analysis of Irish genealogies via examination of naming patterns is a proven and recognized practice. Persistence of certain favored family names generation to generation also has recognition as a means of evaluating common ancestry and collateral bloodlines. Given name preferences show up in different ways within many Irish and Norman-Irish from the earliest period. This investigation will attempt to use these methods in treating an aspect of Ferriter Family history. One of the mysteries in the Ferriter Family’s history involves the nature of the relationship between Lucas na Srianta (Luke of the Bridles), and Piaras Feiritear (1),... Read More

Anyone reading this who might also read the occasional news update on Facebook's "The Great Ferriter Family" may recognize that work has commenced on compiling a "Red Book of the Ferriters" (Leabhar Deargh an Fheiritearaigh). Such a document would be a comprehensive family history, genealogy, reference and register.   The idea of such a book extends directly from the Irish, who kept such compilations within their septs, to chronicle and document the family history. These were not usually single volumes, but in some cases rolls of parchment, bound books, loose documents, all taken together and considered as one thing. Most such collections only exist in... Read More

Many members of the Ferriter Family today are aware of the legend that maintains Piaras Feiritear as the last of his tribe. The facts do not support Piaras as the last – certainly we know that his father lived to become a grandfather, with Piaras’ son’s furthering the line, and certain evidences exist that suggest Piaras may have had at least one brother or a cousin. Those things said, that the Ferriters were a rare breed during the early 1600s seems doubtless. With the family having been established in West Kerry for over 300 years before Piaras came along, the idea that there were only... Read More

Medieval life in Ireland was most often harsh, and frequently violent. The intrusion of the Normans and the follow-on attempts of the English monarchy to exert control within Ireland created extended periods of social, political and economic turmoil, and the constant friction between the Norman Lords and the Irish, as well as between the Norman Lords themselves led to a succession of minor wars that sputtered for centuries. English Law extended only to those of English birth, English Heritage (including the descendants of the Normans), and those few Irish who had been granted coverage by the crown. During the first 150 years following the initial... Read More