Kennan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Kennan or a variant listed above:

Kennan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• John Kennan, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 1
• William Kennan, who landed in Richmond, Va in 1767 1

Kennan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Alexander Kennan, who landed in New York in 1822 1
• Michael J Kennan, who arrived in Alabama in 1855 1

Kennan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Mary Kennan, aged 21, a house maid, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Marion" 2
• Patrick Kennan, aged 20, a farm labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1857 aboard the ship "Carnatic"

• Henry Francis Kennan (1848-1928), Novelist born in Rochester New York, enlisted in the National service during the civil war, and was wounded in action at Drury's Bluff, Virginia he entered upon journalism in 1868 as a member of the staff of the Rochester, New York, "Chronicle," and first attracted attention by a remarkable account of a balloon voyage that he was prevented from making. Afterward he was connected with various newspapers in Rochester, Indianapolis, Indiana, and New York city, and as a correspondent in Washington and in Paris. In 1883 he left journalism for general literature. He has published the novels "Trajan" (New York, 1884); "The Aliens" (1886); and " One of a Thousand" (1887) 3
• George Frost Kennan (1904-2005), American advisor, diplomat, political scientist, historian and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Ralph R. Kennan, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Ohio State House of Representatives from Cuyahoga County, 1897 4
• George Frost Kennan (1904-2005), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Soviet Union, 1952; Yugoslavia, 1961 4
• Frank Kennan Dutton SCOB (1949-2022), South African police officer who specialized in the investigation and prosecution of people guilty of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during South Africa's apartheid era