The real Jeanie Johnston suffered a grim fate – but not at the expense of her passengers.
The Jeanie Johnston was amazing for a variety of reasons, largely because it wasn’t able to be called a “Coffin Ship”. During the famine, most vessels leaving Ireland with people trying to flee the Famine were unhygienic, and beyond capacity. It was not uncommon for about a third of those onboard to lose their lives because of typhus and cholera. However, no such tragedy ever occurred on The Jeanie Johnston.
Famine Memorial – Image via Jennifer Boyer on Flickr
The Miracle Ship
Captain James Attridge was strict when it came to health and safety aboard his ship. He ensured that it would not be overloaded, at least by those days’ standards. To put it into perspective, our replica ship today is only allowed to carry 40 people, but oftentimes the real Jeanie Johnston was carrying 200+ in tiny, cramped conditions. Still, this was nothing compared to the 300-400 people other vessels at that time carried – this proves how desperate people were to leave Ireland at that time.
The captain also had a qualified doctor, Dr. Richard Blennerhassett, available to treat sickness, and prevent it from spreading. This, along with rigorous hygiene protocols, meant that despite everything, even a baby being born aboard the ship, no one fleeing the Famine on The Jeanie Johnston died. This was a miraculous feat given the disease and starvation many would have been facing.
From her maiden voyage in 1848, until 1855, The Jeanie Johnston ferried 2,500 Irish emigrants between Tralee and Canada over 16 journeys. In 1858, it was sold to William Johnson and returned to transporting cargo as per legislation. This restricted ships meant for merchandise from transporting passengers. It was in this year that The Jeanie Johnston embarked on its final journey.
Jeanie Johnston Tallship
The Jeanie Johnston’s Final Journey
Transporting lumber from Hull to Québec, the ship became waterlogged, it’s believed because of a leak. This occurrence wasn’t unusual for a wooden ship in difficult weather conditions, but it was catastrophic, and it soon became clear that the vessel wasn’t going to arrive at its destination.
In an act of desperation, the crew climbed the rigging as The Jeanie Johnston slowly sank. They remained like this for nine days, until salvation arrived in the form of a Dutch vessel, the Sophie Elizabeth. She managed to rescue the entire crew, despite all the odds. Even when the last of The Jeanie Johnston slipped beneath the water, it maintained its record of no deaths onboard.
The Replica Rigging the Crew of the Jeanie Johnston would have clung to
A Lesson in Resilience
The resilience of this ship, its crew, and its passengers is nothing short of remarkable. The horrors they faced, and the sheer devastation of leaving their homeland under the direst of circumstances and travel by significantly dangerous means, only makes it all the more impressive that no one was lost on The Jeanie Johnston.
Discover more incredible stories about the miracle ship. Put yourselves in the shoes of the survivors at The Jeanie Johnston replica ship, based beside the EPIC Museum.
Book tickets for The Jeanie Johnston online today. For a full picture of Irish emigration, choose a combo ticket with EPIC.
