Brenen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much perseverance and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Brenen family in North America:

Brenen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Fred Brenen, aged 29, originally from Cork, Ireland, who arrived in New York in 1892 aboard the ship "Germanic" from Liverpool & Queenstown 2
• Algernon Brenen, aged 25, who arrived in New York in 1895 aboard the ship "Saint Louis" from Southampton, England 2

Brenen Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• Mark W. Brenen, aged 46, who arrived in New York in 1907 aboard the ship "Cedric" from Liverpool, England 2
• William Brenen, aged 25, who arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Panama" from Cristobal, C. Z. 2

• Albert "Bert" Brenen (1915-1995), English footballer who played for York City from 1938 to 1950