McKennan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Irish families left their homeland in astonishing numbers during the 19th century in search of a better life. Although individual reasons vary, most of these Irish families suffered from extreme poverty, lack of work opportunities, and exorbitant rents in their homeland. Many decided to travel to Australia or North America in the hopes of finding greater opportunities and land. The Irish immigrants that came to North America initially settled on the East Coast, often in major centers such as Boston or New York. But like the many other cultures to settle in North America, the Irish traveled to almost any region they felt held greater promise; as a result, many Irish with gold fever moved all the way out to the Pacific coast. Others before that time left for land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula, or the Maritimes as United Empire Loyalists, for many Irish did choose to side with the English during the American War of Independence. The earliest wave of Irish migration, however, occurred during the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has revealed many people bearing the McKennan name:

McKennan Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• John McKennan, who landed in Perth Amboy, NJ in 1685 1

McKennan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• James McKennan, who arrived in America in 1795 1

McKennan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Alexander McKennan, who landed in New York in 1823 1

McKennan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

• Mr. John Mckennan (Mckinnon), (b. 1842), aged 22, Scottish shepherd from Perthshire travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "William Miles" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 22nd October 1864 2