John Pentland DRANEY

                                                             JOHN PENTLAND DRANEY              RIN 5128


      John Pentland Draney was born the 17 March 1824, the son of Henry Draney and Mary Pentland, in Dromarn, Down, Ireland.

      His wife Mary Jane Park was born the 17 Sep 1827, the daughter of Samuel Park and Isabella Gray.

       The great Famine hit Ireland in 1845  and lasted till 1849, you will note that Grand Father lived till 1893 and died in Plain City, Utah.

      John, his wife Mary Jane, and Mary Jane's mother Issabelle Park joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints and wanted to come to Utah in 1856.  I wondered why they would leave Ireland if it was so beautiful.  Now the truth is found.  They would rather trust in the Lord and the L.D.S. missionaries and try to find peace from Irelands past .

        As I read the history about Ireland during this great famine, this great  and horrible problemed country it was now easy to understand why they believed that any thing they may have to go through would not be a horrible as the destitution  going on in Ireland.

       In 1848,
however, the Irish people were concerned with the basic problem of survival.  Between 1845 and 1849 the population fell from 8,175,124 to 6,552,386, over 20 per cent.  Total deaths (including deaths from natural causee) in the same period came to over 1 & 1/2 million; and an estimated million more emigrated --- mostly to America.  The direct cause was the persistent failure of the potato crop in the years 1845-49, and in the partial failure of the crops in almost every other year of the decade.

       By tradition, Sir Walter Raleigh is credited with the introduction of the potato to Ireland from America in 1586.  A century later, it had almost the sole vegetable table for of the peasantry.  It needed little labour to plant and harvest.  It yealded a large amount on small acreage, and so was ideally suited to the small tenant farmer.  By 1700 the potato had displaced grain as the stape food of the majority of the people providing enough nutrition with the addition of milk to sustain life and a reasonable state of health.

By 1847, three million people, nearly half the total population of Ireland, were being fed by private charities---often organized by the Quakers---or at public expense.  Mass graves littred the countryside.  Emigration soared from 61,000 a year in 1845 then to 250,000 in 1551.   In the ten yers after the start of the Famine some two million had left---abut a quarter of the entire population of Ireland in 1845
The shame of the famime was that the famine and all the people leaving it , it temporarily inproved the agricultural situation in Ireland by easing the pressure of population n the the land.   But,  There had been a decline in the numer of small farms and an increase of the prosperity of the larger farmer.

But the small tenant farmers, thought reduced in numbers, still lived very much as they had lived at the time of the Famine,  which meant that they were still dependent for survival, very largely on the potato. crop.

While reading several books on the famine, in reading " FOR THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY"  A THOUSAND YEARS OF IRELAND'S HEROES  BY Terry Golway,

   I found this personal story of Jeremiah O'Donavan Rossa.  I WANTED TO KNOW WHY 1856??????? WHAT HAD THEY LIVED THROUGH???  they had lived through many partial famines  1816  and 1842.
Again from the autumn of 1845 a new fungus desease - phytophthora infestans- struck the Irish potato, operating with cruel rapidity and unfredictability in moist, mild conditions, and reducing the crop to rotteness.  The blight redoubled in 1846, preventing a new crop being sown.  In 1847 incident of the disease declined, but it returned in 1848--9.  Within the laboring population the crisis was beyond their ability to control.

"Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa had seen the hand of death in the blackened potato fields of Ireland, and had witnessed the slow death by starvation of his father in 1847.  He was born in Ross Carbery, County Cork, and raised on a moderately prosperous farm, with twenty cows and an assortment of farmyard animals.  He discribed himself as " the pet of the house,"  whose mother so loved him that she breast-fed him until he was more than three years old.  He grew up on folktales of fairies lurking in the bogs (and believed in them into old age) and of great injustices perpetrated again the Irish through the centuries.  He would recall that his " fireside history" included stories of English soldiers putting infants on the tips of their bayonets and ramming them against stone walls in 1642.

The failure of the potato crops, distroyed what had been a fairly pleasant rural existance.  After his father died, he also became sick, he lived only to see his family broken up, when they were evicted from their farm.  He lived with other members of his family and would write of those terrible years that he had experienced " something that was worse than the hunger... and that was the degradation into which want and hunger will reduce human nature.   OUR FAMILIES EXPERIENCED ALL OF THIS

The Draneys moved to Scotland where Isabelle Grey Draney was born the 28 Nov 1855.

       The family left Liverpool, England on March 23, 1856 on the ship "Enoch Train" and arrived in Boston with 534 people on May 1, 1856.   Sleeping below deck.  Taking turns as families fixing their small meals.  Sea Sick most of the time.  I also believe, as I would have been, they were frightened when ever a storm came.   Would the ship sink??  What kind of bathrooms did they have?  Did they also have to watch others who died slipped into the sea??   Tiny Baby, two small children??  No showers  Salt water  everywhere

      They traveled by train to Iowa City.  On May 19th the company they had crossed the sea together with was divided into two handcart companies.  They departed from there with the Second Handcart company, the Daniel McArthur company, with 222 people at 11:00 A.M. on June 11th, 1856.

      They headed for Florence, Neb. and then to the Salt Lake Valley.  They arrived at Florence the 8th of July, where they stayed two weeks and left July 24, at 12:00 for the plains.  They arrived in Salt Lake on Sept 26, 1956.

      While crossing the plains, many of the people did not have enough supplies and they could barely get along.   Some of them ran completely out of food.  There was a certain type of bird, (called a partridge by some) that would fly down in front of the tents and the people would go outside and get the birds, then cook and eat them. ( this story was told by Eliza Kennington who traveled in the same handcart co.)

      When the hand cart company got to Henifer, Utah, some of the people were so near done-for that they fell back and could not keep up with the crowd.  Therefore some of the members of the company got to Salt Lake City sooner because the poor ones would fall back and others would push on ahead.  They were several days getting up over the mountain because it was such a hard pull.  They were weak and hungry.

      (Were John and his family part of those who fell back or were they part of the group to got into Salt Lake on the 26th??)

      The people in Salt Lake City came up to the foot of the mountain to have a watermelon bust and greet those who were coming first.  What a great treat.  Those that were late were only greeted by watermelon rinds on the ground covered by flies.  (Was Grandfather and his family hungry or full of watermelon?  )

       Did they wish they had stayed in Ireland or Scotland?  The mid 1870's, in Ireland, had seen good times, with farm prices high and even the small tenents enjoyed a greater measure of well-being than he was accustomed to.   But towrds the 1870s two shock waves hit the Irish social system.   Did Grand
father hear of this second famine.   Even tho they had a hard time when they reach Utah I believe he knew and understood he had  made the right choice for his family and Hiers

       First the Americans opened up the corn-growing areas of the American system. together with the developement of efficient transport by reail and fast steatship aross the Atlantic, had begun to flood the Euroupe with cheap grain, which meant the farm prices dropped and the small Irish tenant was soon unable to pay his rent.  Second a a disastrously wet season in 1877 began a series of failures of the potato crop again, so that by 1879  the potato had died making 1879 a real famine threat, and people were evicted from their farms, doubled by the year of 1879 and was even greater than the 1840s.

      John and his family were assigned to go to Lehi City, Utah.

      The following is a story, taken from diaries and church reports concerning how he came to America.

                                JOHN PENTLAND DRANEY 1824 RIN 5128


      John Pentland Draney my 3rd Great-grandfather was born on, St. Patricks Day, the 17 of March 1824, the son of Henry Draney and Mary Pentland, in Dromarn, Down, Ireland.  In the birth, marriage and death records of Tullylish, Down, Ireland we found his birth.  He was a mason by trade.

          Please read the history of Ireland Prior to 1824
                         Section A

         If you do so you will find the avenues that led to John Pentlands' life and troubles in his early years.  This story was taken from history books about Ireland. (As you read the history of Ireland think about the possibility of the things that were part of our Grandfathers, John Pentland, his father Henry and Henry's father, John, and John's father, John's, lives.)

      As a young child he sat at his fathers and mothers feet and listened to the many stories of their childhoods.  He heard stories of fairies and Leprechauns and changlings, of good luck and bad.  His father, Henry was born in 1791 in Guilford, Down, Ireland and was old enough to remember vividly the "Bloody Rebellion" of Ireland between the Catholics and the Protestants.  He heard how 50,000 people died before the rebellion was crushed.

      He listened how England set the Irish Catholics against the Protestants.  He heard his father tell how after the Protestants, in the 1700's, had ask for England to declare them an official part of England.  England finally saw the advantage of that kind of an arrangement, but only the Northern area became Protestants.
( If you have spent the time to read Section A, now spend some time now to think about the fighting that is going on to day, this year of 2003, still fighting among themselves because of all the things that happened to the Irish people through the ages.)

      On the 1 of January 1801 , the United Kingdom and Ireland were merged.  Henry born in 1791 and Mary Pentland born in 1801 were living when this merger was made and which was called the "Act of Union".   England told them it was to be somewhat like a marriage.  Knowing now what Henry could have been raised to believe, was he like some Irish who considered it forcible rape?

     In 1829, when John Pentland was five years old, a Catholic Emancipation act was passed.  Catholics could now hold public offices.  The man leading, named O'Connell, then began to push forward on his dream for Ireland, the repeal of the Act of Union.

       Being a Protestant, did John Pentland watch the terrible battles between the Catholics and his people?  Did Grandfather Henry take part in the rebellions?  Did John Pentland live and see, and go hungry during the Great Famine of 1845?  He would have been 21 at that period of time.  We find him being married to Mary Jane Park in Kilbirnie, Ayshire, Scotland the 31 of Dec. 1850

       His father Henry was born in Guilford, Down, Tyrone, Ireland in the year 1791,  yet married to Mary Pentland, who had been born in Gilford Down, Tyrone, Ireland, the 31 Dec. 1820 in Kilburnie, Ayrshire, Scotland returning to have his first son John Pentland born 17 Mar 1824, in Gilford, Down, Ireland.  Even the record we have on Henry's father, John Draney has him born 1771 in Gilford Down, Ireland and going to Old Parish, Greenock, Scotland to marry Sarah Seaton.  We have John's father and mother married about 1750 of Parkstoon, Ireland.

       I believe the Draneys, being in alliance with England, might have close ties with family or people in Scotland.  Were they sent there by England or did they just like Ireland better?  From studying the history of Scotland and Ireland we find the same Clan names showing up in Scotland.  Remember in the story "A" Ireland became free of ice long before Scotland did.

      If they were under England rule, the King would have the right to send anyone anywhere he liked.  After the King of England took over the northern part of Ireland it didn't take long for trouble to start, and even now in this year of 2003, there is still strife and killings among the people in Ireland.

      What was it that moved them back and forth between Ireland and Scotland.  We know they were from northern part of Ireland which was Protestant which means they accepted England's assistance and We know they fought valiantly by England's side in the First World War. All of Ireland was under bond to fight English war at that time.

      Did they go to England because of the potato famine of 1845.  As of this time in writing this history we have no clue as to the exact time Father Henry Draney and Mary Pentland Draney moved to England. We know John Pentland born 1824, the potato famine 1845, didn't come to Utah till 1856.  Did they live through the famine or were they in Scotland?  How did they live in England?.  England was also having problems beyond description.  In 2006 I found they were in the famine 

                 See the story of The Potato Famine
                          Section B

      John Pentland's wife Mary Jane Park was born the 17 September 1827, the daughter of Samuel Park and Isabella Gray Park, in Newton Stewart, Tyrone, Ireland.  Down County is separated from Tyrone County by Armagh County and only by about 10 miles.  Newton Stewart, in County Tyrone, was separated from Gilford, in County Down, by about 60 to 70 miles.  It would be interesting to know whether our two Grandparents knew each other in Ireland.

                       Map of Ireland 1


      Somehow, between John Pentland and Mary Jane's births and their marriage the 31 Dec. 1850, in Kilbirnie, Ary, Scotland, the Draney and Park families must have moved into Scotland.  As I study the maps of Ireland and Scotland I find that the easiest way for them to have gotten to Scotland was to sail from Belfast, Ireland to the county of Ayr, in Scotland.  Yet I find no town of Kilbirnie on the maps I have found so far.

      The Henry Draney and the Samuel Park families must have lived fairly close to each other in Scotland.  Did they all live in Kilbirnie, Ary, Scotland when John and Mary Jane were married the 31 of December 1850?

      In the latter part of 1851, as John was going home from work, he heard Mormon Missionaries preaching the gospel on the streets.  He felt their teachings were true and told his wife about it.  On further investigation, he was baptized January 8, 1852 into the church.  There was great persecution of the people who listened to the Mormons and accepted the gospel at that time, so baptisms were performed at night.  His wife Mary Jane was baptized March 24,1852 by James Jardine.

                        Map of Scotland  2


     It was in 1848, representative missionaries,--possible Wilford Woodruff or Heber C. Kimball had began preaching in England and Scotland.  Three years later out Draney and Park families conversions began to occurred.  It was about the time those powerful ambassadors of the L.D.S. Church (Morman) did their proselyting in the British Isles. Were they the ones who converted our family?

      Their first born child was a boy named Henry, born Feb. 1851.  The next, a son, named Samuel born the 8 of February 1953, Henry their first born died.  Because John and joined the Morman Church, he couldn't find employment.  This made it difficult for John and Mary Jane.  Eight months after Henry died, Sam