McKone History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name McKone or a variant listed above, including:

McKone Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Hugh McKone, aged 22, who landed in New York in 1812 2

McKone Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

• Mr. Patrick McKone, British Convict who was convicted in Sussex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
• Margaret McKone, aged 25, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Glentanner" 4

• John McKone (1835-1882), Australian cricketer who played three first-class matches for New South Wales between 1855 and 1858
• Michael "Mike" McKone, British comic book artist, known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel