Posts Tagged ‘jeanie johnston’

The first Jeanie Johnston was built in the year 1847 on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada and was purchased in Liverpool by Donovans from Tralee. The famine was raging in Ireland in those years, driving many of the starving native population to leave Ireland. Donovans operated a lucrative trade between 1847 and 1855 bringing exiles from Tralee to North America and coming back with merchandise for Europe.
The Jeanie Johnston’s maiden voyage took place on 24th April 1848 when she set out from Blennerville near Tralee to Quebec with 193 passengers on board. During the subsequent years the ship made many more journies to North America carrying more than two and a half thousand emigrants. The Jeanie Johnston was one of the better run emigrant ships – many ships carried passengers in appalling conditions. Read the rest of this entry »