Lannan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Lannan family relocated to North American shores quite early:

Lannan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Lorenzo Lannan, aged 50, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1829 1
• Patrick Lannan, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1865 1

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lannan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

• Michael Lannan, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1833

Lannan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Anastasia Lannan, aged 19, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Bucephalus"

• Patrick Lannan, President of the Lannan Foundation, best known for their Lannan Literary Awards
• John Edward Lannan (b. 1984), American left-handed starting pitcher in the Washington Nationals