Welcome Family & Friends!
                                
The Nolan Family History website traces our Irish heritage back to our first Irish/American ancestors.  Starting with Matthew Nolan and Patrick Nolan, continuing down to the present-day family members.   Matthew and Patrick Nolan (Nowlan) emigrated from Waterford, Ireland in the mid 1840's with possibly a sister Francis (Anna). We have documented the two Nolan brothers (possibly cousins) who originally settled in Schuylkill County,  Pennsylvania... the heart of coal country.
    
Matthew Nolan married Mary Shea in 1850 in Minersville, Pennsylvania at St. Vincent De Paul's Catholic Church.  Matthew and Mary Nolan raised their family in the village of Greenbury, Pennsylvania just outside the village of Heckscherville, also known as the Irish Valley.  Both Matthew and Mary Nolan lived out their remaining lives in this small coal-mining community and are buried in the local Catholic Church cemetery at St. Kieran's in Heckscherville.   
    
Patrick Nolan married Ellen O'Neill in 1855 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania at St. Patrick's Catholic Church.  Shortly after marriage, Patrick and Ellen migrated west to Wabasha County, Minnesota and settled on a farm in Millville, Minnesota. The stone farmhouse still stands there today!

The information in the following pages traces Matthew Nolan and Patrick Nolan from Ireland down each family line to the present-day family members.  These pages include information on the Nolan name, Irish immigration, Patrick and Matthew family information, Nolan family trees of Matthew and Patrick, and family photographs.  

                     With your help, we can add to our Nolan family information for future generations.  Today, our families live around the world with several different last names, but this site can help us connect our roots, as we all have the common Irish heritage in our blood!

I invite all of you to sign-up for the Nolan Family Forum and participate in discussing several family topics from upcoming family reunions to the continuing genealogy research of our family.  Send us your Nolan family stories that has been past down from your Mother, Father Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and Great Grandparents.  As time quickly passes and our older generations pass, let's continue preserving our family stories for future generations.

Thank you for your contributions of family information for this Nolan Family History website!

Jack Nolan