Arrival of Anne Meenan Rowan

Sailing vessel in the 19^th century

182 years ago today my paternal 3x great-grandmother Anne Meenan (Rowan) arrived in the Port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!  

What was that like for her?

print by John Casper Wild

This print was done about the same time period and I wonder if this is what it looked like when Anne’s ship first came in to the harbor?

92 ships reportedly arrived in Philadelphia that year

6 ships arrived on Aug 4^th

 Anne arrived, listed as a Spinster at the age of 25, in Philadelphia on the 4^th of August 1837 onboard the British Ship Emmanuel. The Master of the ship was John Dearness. She left from Londonderry, Ireland (Northern Ireland today) and the trip took 45 long days (leaving on 21 June 1837).

What was happening at the time:

·        In 1837 an oratory by Daniel O’Connell to the British Parliament helped focus Europeans’ attention on Ireland stating, “The Irish poor-a third of the population-had no food except the potatoes they grew, and not enough clothing to cover themselves.  They went hungry for two months of the year, and half-naked for all the year.”  Yet this would be their last “good” decade before more than a million of them would vanish into unmarked graves in the 1840s.

·        4 March 1837 Martin Van Buren became the 8^th President of the United States

·        10 May 1837 (Panic of 1837)  NY Banks fail and unemployment reaches record levels

·        20 June 1837 -Queen Victoria gained the British throne

How did this affect Anne’s decision to leave Ireland and how would this affect Anne’s new life in America?

Originally an Emigrant Savings Bank Record (See post- SUCCESS!! Emigrant Savings Bank-Ann Meenan Rowan) stated that Anne had arrived in 1837 from County Monaghan, Ireland.  An Immigration card for Anne documented her arrival in Philadelphia, not New York as I had believed:

Eventually the ship’s passenger was discovered:

Transcription from the top of the Passenger List:

Transcription from the top of the Passenger List:
Report or Manifest of all the Passengers taken on board the Ship Emmanuel whereof John Dearness, is master, from Londonderry, Ireland, burthen 430 tons and owned by ____________ of _____________ and bound to Philadelphia.

• Further investigation showed that the ship was from the port of North Shields, England and the owner of the ship was E. Taylor.

Columns represent: Names, age, occupation, the country to which they severally belong, the country of which they intend to become inhabitants, and baggage

• All passengers came from Ireland and intended to reside in the United States.
• Passenger List contained 172 names

On an earlier manifest from July 1837 for the Emmanuel I found the following statement by the Master of the ship. I assume he would have declared the same for the arrival on the 4^th of August:

*I, John Dearness, do solemnly, sincerely, and truly swear, that the within REPORT and LIST, subscribed with my name and now delivered by me to the Collector of the District of Philadelphia contains, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the Names, Age, Sex, and Occupation of all Passengers, together with the name of the Country to which they severally belong, and that of which they intend to become Inhabitants, which were on board the Ship Emmanuel whereof I am at present Master, at the time of her sailing from the Port of Londonderry or which have at any time since been taken on board said vessel. And I do likewise swear, that all matters whatsoever in said Report and List expressed are, to the best of my knowledge and belief, just and true.

From book Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping. From 1^st July 1837 to the 30^th June 1838. Established 1834. Published London 1837 Page- 128
From Key to the Register:
Ship Master: John Dearness

Tons: 424
Build: Where - Timber of ship-S nd rld- S-Spruce, nd-new deck, rld-?
           When - September 1835
Owner: E. Taylor
Port belonging to: North Shields

Destined Voyage: Sld.N.Brns
                               Sld (Sunderland) N. Brns.-?

Character for Hulls & Stores: vessel last surveyed 1 (Jan) 35 (1835)

Lingering questions:

• Still no idea of the connection of Biddy, Patrick and Michael to Anne, if any? (See post Who were Biddy, Patrick and Michael Meenan?)
• What town/village in Ireland is Anne from?
• Who were her parents?

Learning about the ship and what was happening at the time Anne arrived in America gave me so much more of a feel for what it must have been like for her.  Oh, how I wish there was a diary or letters to tell of her daily experience on the ship.  I know she made it safely from great poverty in Ireland to a fresh beginning in America 182 years ago today.

If you have any corrections, additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby