Hartney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Ireland saw an enormous decrease in its population in the 19th century due to immigration and death. This pattern of immigration began slowly in the late 18th century and gradually grew throughout the early portion of the 19th century. However, a dramatic increase in the country's immigration numbers occurred when the Great Potato Famine struck in the 1840s. The early immigrants to North America were primarily destined to be farmers tending to their own plot of land, those that came later initially settled within pre-established urban centers. These urban immigrants provided the cheap labor that the fast developing United States and soon to be Canada required. Regardless of their new lifestyle in North America, the Irish immigrants to the United States and Canada made invaluable contributions to their newly adopted societies. An investigation of immigrant and passenger lists revealed many Hartneys:

• Harold Evans Hartney (1888-1947), Canadian-born, World War I flying ace with the United States Army Air Service, recipient of American Distinguished Service Cross, French Legion d'Honneur and Croix de Guerre and the Italian Medal for Military Valor
• Brendan Hartney, former Australian rules footballer
• Jordan Davis Hartney (b. 1988), Canadian national swimmer