This Strapp Family begins in Lismoynan townland,Tipperary County Ireland. My research includes ancestors in Ireland and those that emmigrated to the North American continent. Most came to escape the Great Famine in Ireland 1846-1850,however cousins who landed in Newfoundland in 1805 were fishermen and traders of sorts and I presume cousins of my direct line who came to the United States in the 1850's and 1860's The first arrivals were to New York in 1854. The first two were my Great Grandfather Walter and his brother Michael. Nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters followed later in the 1860's. Brother John died in Ireland in 1864 and his widow Catherine and five children joined Walter and Michael in Pleasant Valley Ohio. Another brother William and wife Catherine Bartin and son John settled in Worcester, Massachuetts in 1865.
There were other branches in the central Tipperary county area of Cashel, Thurles, Drangan, Fethard and Killenaule. It is the opinion of most family genealogists that we are all related by a common bond to the O'Meara Clan of Tipperary County in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The Ireland Clan were farmers and there are still a good number of descendents in Tipperary but most have pursued different occupations and have abandoned the farming. There are pictures of the ruins of the old farm near Hoare Abbey around Fethard, which was most probably my Newfoundland cousins farm. In this year 2008 there are two cousins living just down the road from the old farm. My gggrandfather Michael had an eight acre farm in Lismoynan about 8 miles from Fethard. I have no idea what happened to this farm but my research continues.
I have no proof of the origin of the family name but it has been suggested that when the Normans invaded Tipperary some remained and married into the O'Meara clan. The spelling of the name in Ireland and North America was Strappe, Strap and Strapp but once records were taken, such as census etc. the spelling settled to Strapp. Whatever genes we have the predominant trend was fair skin, dark hair and blue eyes and a lust to travel.
Marrying into this family from Lismoynan were Mahers, Duffys, O'Sullivans, O'Briens, Bartins, Hessians, Campbells, and Lahys. It is my intention to research the ancestors prior to 1717 but time and travel in not on my side. So, unless the National Library of Ireland releases their data to the world wide web I must depend on others to finish what I started back in 1979.
There are many descendents still in central Ohio and there are many who have moved on to other states so it is my aim to provide this vehicle for family members who may be curious enough to carry it forward.
SLAINTE!
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