All Standing: The Remarkable Story of the Jeanie Johnston, The Legendary Irish Famine Ship

by Kathryn Miles

The dramatic true tale of a boy born at sea during the Irish Potato famine and the “coffin ship” that saved him and thousands of others from one of the world’s greatest humanitarian crises.The nineteenth century Irish Potato Famine claimed the lives of more than 1,000,000 people. Many of these were Irish citizens who died on board ships carrying them away from Ireland. Promised jobs and a better life in North America, they emigrated, crowding onto aptly named “coffin ships,” whose gruesome conditions rivaled those of slave transports. But on one ship, decency prevailed, and each of the thousands of passengers who went aboard survived. Among these thousands was a baby boy born on the ship’s maiden voyage. That boy, Nicholas—Nicholas Richard James Thomas William John Gabriel Carls Michael John Alexander Trabaret Archibald Cornelius Hugh Arthur Edward Johnston Reilly, so named for the captain, doctor, and crew of the Jeanie Johnston—would go on to make his own remarkable voyage into the heart of America.

     All Standing chronicles the life of Nicholas, his fellow passengers, and the heroic crew members who conveyed them to safety. Using personal interviews, newspaper accounts, rare archival documents, and her own sailing experience, Miles takes readers back to another time and place that, for all its extremity, seems strangely familiar—a dire moment in history shaped by home foreclosures and company bailouts, seemingly untreatable pandemics, and the threat of immigrant labor. Against the backdrop of one of history’s greatest atrocities, Miles weaves a thrilling, intimate narrative, chronicling the sea-passage and birth of one Irish-American family.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland, Irish Literature, Book Club, Canada, 19th Century

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2012

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book because of a good review and the fact that I often pass the Jeanie Johnston bar in Jamaica Plain, MA. Yep, the bar's name made me want to know more.

Miles is such a good writer and much of her book reads like fiction. She's had to do a prodigious amount of research in order to tell the story of the Irish Potato Famine, shipbuilding, cholera and other diseases aboard the "coffin ships." She weaves in the story of a baby boy born on the Jeanie Johnston's first trip across the ocean:Nicholas Richard James Thomas William John Gabriel Carls Michael John Alexander Trabaret Archibald Corenelius Hugh Arthur Edward Johnston Reilly (named after all the men on the ship's crew).

The British don't come off looking good in this saga (British prejudice and policy are far worse than I'd remembered, or known) and it's sad to think that if the British government had thought of the Irish as more than servants to provide them with food and other necessary products, or been faster and more compassionate, thousands upon thousands might have lived.

The condition of most "coffin ships" crammed with Irish people desperate to leave their homes in hopes of survival makes the story of the Jeanie Johnston even more spectacular. In all their voyages back and forth to the USA, only one crew member died. A smart and compassionate captain, crew and doctor made the difference.

Miles' writing, as I said, is full of energy and verve. Here's one example of show she describes a tornado's affect:

"That's when pandemonium hit. The noise, Elsie said, was deafening. Part of that was the sheer force of the wind alone--wind so strong that it blew straw and slender weeds through six-inch boards, embedded clover in living-room plaster, and sucked checks out of bank drawers, depositing theme intact sixty miles away. The storm produced other oddities as well, stripping a flock of thirty chickens clean of their feathers, relocating a chest of drawer from one attic to a neighbor's, demolishing a house but leaving its piano without a scratch... (p.214)

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kathryn Miles' All Standing takes us along on the perilous Atlantic journey undertaken by 1 million desperate Irish emigrants in the midst of what has become known simply as "the Famine", (as if there had been only one). Although the story of the famine is one most Americans are familiar with, since it was the impetus of so many of our ancestors, All Standing: The True Story of Hunger, Rebellion, and Survival brought to life parts of the story I'd never heard before. The Jeannie Johnston was one of the many famine ships that came to be known as coffin ships, due to the high incidence of deaths that occurred among the "huddled masses" in steerage. However, passengers aboard the Jeannie Johnston had the miraculous good fortune of voyaging on the one ship that could boast no moralities on board, in all of her many journeys to ports in Canada. The "miracle" was not the result of dumb luck or divine intervention, but of a combination of a well-planned design by a master shipbuilder in Quebec, the rigid habits of a meticulous captain, and the exceptional medical care of a doctor who somehow kept cholera at bay in horrible conditions at sea. Miles' breathes life into this often told story by taking the reader from the to the shipyards of Quebec and the quarantine hospital on Grosse Isle to the halls of Parliament in England, where English nobility decided the fate of millions of Irish sufferers through their control of the economy. At times the narrative read like a novel. The stories of the passengers didn't end when they reached North America. We learn of their fates as they struggle in logging camps in Canada, or migrate to the United States to be met with signs warning them "Irish need not apply". This story of the unlikely resilience of an entire people against nature, centuries of tyranny, and genocide is one that should be told again and again, and Kathryn Miles does it very well.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard a mention of the Jeanie Johnston, I decided I needed to read about her. I was amazed that an immigrant ship from this era could make all it's voyages and arrive with all her passengers alive. The Jeanie Johnston went from first launch to sinking in a storm with only one on board death (a crew member who died of an illness). This book does an excellent job explaining the conditions the ship sailed in. It also follows some key people who impacted the career of this ship, including a baby boy who was born on board and given 17 middle names to honor the captain and crew. This book is a quick read, and easy to follow. It gives a good summary of the Irish Potato Famine and the immigrant ships of the time. If you want a more detailed explanation of the Famine itself try "The Graves are Walking" by John Kelly.

[Dree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

Although the title of this book implies that it is all about the ship the Jeanie Johnston, it would be hard to write a book about one ship that sailed for 10 years 150 years ago. The Jeanie Johnston is noteworthy because even after 7 or 8 emigrant runs, no passenger ever died at sea--in an era when the ships carrying Irish emigrants were called "coffin ships".

What this book does do is give an excellent overview of the Irish potato famine, government policies in England, the rush of emigrants, the typhus and cholera epidemics that swept the world during these years, policies in Quebec (where many of the emigrant ships landed), shipping routes and, ships, and the world of the crews. All of this is looked at from the perspective of this one ship--from her building in Canada to her return to hauling timber.

The book also, in several short interspersed chapters, looks at the Reilly, family, who emigrated to Canada and then the US aboard the ship--and one of their sons, Nicholas, who was born in the hold (though still in Ireland's waters).

A fascinating book, great for general knowledge and would make a great read for anyone doing genealogical research on famine emigrants.

*I'm not sure if I have a proof/review copy--there is a printing error, some confusion in research (the doctor who delivered Nicholas had forceps, which he would need for the delivery, but the birth came off without complications--huh? forceps were a complication in the 1930s, let alone 1840s!) as well as several bad typos (hale for hail type stuff).

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important piece of history. It tells the story of my own people from my own part of County Kerry. My ancestral home of Brosna is not far from Tralee. We were at the epicenter of the Great Hunger. Kathryn Miles gives a vivid account of what it was like to come to these shores aboard the "coffin ships". And then the Jeannie Johnston stands out as one remarkable ship who safely brought hundreds of souls and delivered us to Quebec, New England, and New York. Her builder, Captain, First Mate, and ship's doctor were all heroic figures and their story is told with lyrical grace by Ms Miles. I am so grateful to know of how my flesh and bones managed to come to be here. As an added bonus, the swashbuckling language of fine sailors battling against the unforgiving gales of the North Atlantic, ice bergs and all sorts of hazards come into bold relief as we relive them in her story telling skills. You won't want to miss this fine book.
Fr Paul.

[Sara G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this look at the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1850s, framed around one noteworthy "coffin ship" that never lost a passenger. I think the specific details have been lost in time, but my dad's great-grandparents came from County Cork around this time along with a huge number of other displaced Irish people. That personal connection made more interested in reading this, but the author presented a good combination of facts and political policies alongside the lives of shipbuilders, captains, captains of industry, and others who were closely involved with the Jeanie Johnston. The macro and the micro level were both well written and engaging.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those nasty Brits... & all they did to drive the Irish into the sea- literally- This book covers a terrible period of history. The Irish Famine ranks with the Native American genocide and the Jewish Holocaust (not to mention the Turko-Armeninan genocide, the Ukrainian Famine of the 1930s, and others,) as a tragic case of state-engineered human misery & destruction. Ms. Miles describes the one 'famine ship" that managed to bring all its passengers across the Atlantic without a single death (one crewman, but not a passenger) in 11 voyages- owing to the good sense of the ship's physician & captain... Excellent story. Especially, read this if you're of Irish heritage.

[wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but meaty history of the Irish Potato famine and the efforts of people to escape its ravages. The study focuses on one boat in particular the Jeanie Johnston which had an unsurpassed record of bringing its passengers to North America safely. The boats engaged in bringing famine victims to North America were known as coffin ships because of the high death rates aboard them through cholera in particular but not on the Jeanie which had a stellar record. A neat compact history that will appeal to even the non historian.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this. All Standing is an incredible story of the Jeanie Johnston, an Irish ship that transported thousands of immigrants to North America during the potato famine, without having one passenger die. Not one. (A cook died on one of the later trips, but seemed to be of natural causes.) Other ships during this time were aptly named coffin ships, due to the number of people dying of typhus or cholera or even starvation.

Miles weaves throughout the ship's story, another story about Nicholas Reilly, the boy that was born on the ship's very first outing. He was also the boy with 17 middle names. Read the book to find out why. ;)

I freely admit that I know Kate Miles and probably wouldn't have read it if I didn't know her. I had never had much of an interest in Irish history, but my god, THIS was fascinating and gruesome and suspenseful and sometimes heart-wrenching.

I'm looking forward to Kate's next book, no matter what the subject.

[Teri Stich · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the title and synopsis suggest this is about the ship “Jeanie Johnston”, it really is about a whole lot more! It goes into the history of the great potato famine of Ireland, the ways in which the government handle (or should it be said, Mishandled) the crisis, the great exodus of the Irish people to America, as well as what they found when they arrived. The information was very informative and seems to be well researched. My issue with the book is the choppiness of the chapters. The author jumps from one area to the other and throws in bits of the life and times of the Reilly family from their struggles in Ireland through second generation in America but, as it seems, randomly. That being said, it made for an interesting read.

The history buffs out there would probably be interested in reading this as well as others who enjoy accounts of remarkable journeys.

I must add this was another great giveaway by GoodReads and Kathryn Miles! I thank you!

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am amazing and real story of tragedy, courage, determination, compassion and corruption with characters right out of a soap opera. Before reading this book I knew zilch about the Irish potato famine and resulting emigration to North America, but having read a previous book by the author (Adventures with Ari) I had to read it. The determination by the starving poor of Ireland to survive, the compassion of a few shipbuilders, Captains and doctors to do the right thing, and the insidious greed and corruption of the English Whig party who were basically trying to exterminate the Irish poor so that land could be gobbled up by the English 1%, has eerie parallels to what's happening in the USA today. I started loosing my taste for tea a few years ago but after reading this book I'm not sure I'll be able to ever drink Earl Grey again.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

How do you take a starving population and move them across an ocean without having them die on your ship? You take the healthiest, feed them just a tiny bit better, insist on cleanliness, and isolate anyone who gets sick. This helps stop the spread of typhus and cholera. How do you feed the population when a potato famine strikes? You don't, if you're English. You just label the Irish ignorant and lazy people who will happily lay around and do nothing if you feed them for free. Sound familiar?
Some history books are readable and some read more like a dissertation. This was a combination, not always so readable. Hence, only two stars.

[Karen W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 stars because it is a story that needs to be told and that people need to read. Over and over. As I delve into my own Irish roots, and discover stories of hardship, it is a wonder the Irish survived at all.

While I knew of the potato famine, it was so much more than a failed potato crop. It is a story of resilience and determination. It is a story of reprehensible behavior and genocide.

The worst of humanity and the bravest of humanity.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate the effort that it must have taken to put together this book.
This book was well written, and researched, on top of being a breeze to get through, unlike some non-fiction books.
I found myself being completely engaged while reading this piece of history, and saddened, and horrified to discover how so many Irish families suffered, and died during the potato famine.
This book is definitely worth a read if you love history.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The dramatic true tale of a boy born at sea during the Irish Potato famine and the “coffin ship” that saved him and thousands of others from one of the world’s greatest humanitarian crises.The nineteenth century Irish Potato Famine claimed the lives of more than 1,000,000 people. Many of these were Irish citizens who died on board ships carrying them away from Ireland. Promised jobs and a better life in North America, they emigrated, crowding onto aptly named “coffin ships,” whose gruesome conditions rivaled those of slave transports. But on one ship, decency prevailed, and each of the thousands of passengers who went aboard survived. Among these thousands was a baby boy born on the ship’s maiden voyage. That boy, Nicholas—Nicholas Richard James Thomas William John Gabriel Carls Michael John Alexander Trabaret Archibald Cornelius Hugh Arthur Edward Johnston Reilly, so named for the captain, doctor, and crew of the Jeanie Johnston—would go on to make his own remarkable voyage into the heart of America.

All Standing chronicles the life of Nicholas, his fellow passengers, and the heroic crew members who conveyed them to safety. Using personal interviews, newspaper accounts, rare archival documents, and her own sailing experience, Miles takes readers back to another time and place that, for all its extremity, seems strangely familiar—a dire moment in history shaped by home foreclosures and company bailouts, seemingly untreatable pandemics, and the threat of immigrant labor. Against the backdrop of one of history’s greatest atrocities, Miles weaves a thrilling, intimate narrative, chronicling the sea-passage and birth of one Irish-American family. "

This helped me to understand the plight of the poor Irish in Western Ireland, which included my ancestors from County Clare.

[Liz McMahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are times when a book moves you like nothing else and you will forever remember that book. All Standing: The True Story of Hunger, Rebellion and Survival aboard the Jeanie Johnston is that book for me. I love history and although not a historian or expert by any means, I am still fairly knowledgeable of history. However, what I thought I knew about the Irish Potato Famine and the resulting immigration was only the tip of the iceberg! Miles is a born storyteller and regales her readers with not only the facts of the potato famine, how it began, etc. but details the ships used for immigrants and cargo (they were viewed as one and the same!) but also the conditions in Ireland and the tragic cost in human lives and the profit to be made by the English as the famine progressed. The cold, calculating decision to "encourage" (i.e. coerce) Irish to immigrate to Canada for a better life was astounding because the better life was essentially forced labor in the forests around Quebec and the Irish would provide cheap labor for this vital industry! The political villains, British and Irish, abound with a few heroes to provide some balance. High among the heroes are the ship's Captain, doctor and builder, all of whom had heart, conscience the desire to care for their passengers. The Jeanie Johnston never lost a passenger in all the voyages to Canada under often perilous conditions, a true testament to their skills and care of crew and passengers. A must read especially with immigration issues once again a part of our present history. The parallels with the past will astound.

[elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing amount of research and I would recommend this book as long as you are willing to skim though details and see the bigger picture rather than trying to remember everything. I learned a tremendous amount about the famine years, the difficulty of emigrating (so many passengers were ill when they started the journey that the number who died at sea is staggering).

I didn't realize that in addition to immigration to the US, many Irish caught ships to Canada. This makes sense, as it is under the crown, but I had no idea before I read this book. Mostly England wanted these desperate and starving citizens as cheap labor for railroads and the lumber industry. Those that didn't die of starvation often succumbed to cholera and wave after wave of cholera broke out.

Format of the book was a bit challenging, and in the last 25 pages I thought the book would end at least 10 times. It was like a dying soprano, always back for one last aria!

Still, this book is well worth your time if you are interested in this period of history (mid-1800s), very well researched.

[Cornmaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, contained a lot of information, but I felt that the title was deceptive. The Jeanie Johnston definitely figures into the Irish Famine, especially its good outcomes. But there was a whole lot of luck involved, along with its captain and doctor aboard.

I learned a bunch about the famine, England's response to its colony, ship building, immigration laws/policies in Canada and USA at the time, the depth and breadth of suffering the Irish people had to undergo. Miles uses the device of a child born on one of the famine ships before it took off, and follows him at various points of his life. But there was a lot of narrative that wasn't necessary, other than to fatten the tale.

Miles also made a statement about the famine ships ending up being worse than slave ships, without providing any evidence/solid data on that, and it bothered me.

This book did, however, encourage me to learn more about what happened in Ireland, especially the British response.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Irish Potato Famine was a terrible time in Irish history. To add to this grim period, Kathryn Miles gives us a well-researched story of the Jeanie Johnston, the only famine ship that crossed the Atlantic with her crew and passengers All Standing. In a time when Ireland was struggling with a humanitarian crisis, her malnourished people were leaving for Canada and the US in the hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, many of these ships were known as coffin ships. Not only were several unseaworthy and overcrowded, their death rates were between 30 and 40%, upon arrival, many were deathly ill. When you take into account that one ship did not lose one life in her sixteen voyages, it was miraculous. From the Quebec shipbuilder John Munn, to maritime physicians, to the Irish refugees, Kathryn Miles brings us an incredible and overwhelming story. An excellent read.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book - full of history + interesting details about the perilous journey of Irish immigrants to North America during the potato famine. I learned a LOT reading this , and found myself sharing tidbits from the book with my family and friends.
The story of the Jeanie Johnston is incredible. My ancestors came over from Ireland in the mid-1800's...so as I read the book, I kept thinking to myself, it's a wonder anyone survived the trip at all.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in history, the Irish potato famine, Irish immigration.. and well, anyone else! It is a great read.

[Doris Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought Ms. Miles did an awesome job in portraying the plight of the Irish during the potato famine of the 1840 and 1850s. Her map was a great help in following the JEANIE JOHNSTON and her voyages to British America. I also liked her cast of characters at the beginning of the story and her index at the end. I was shocked to read about the horrors the Irish people endured under British rule, and the horrors they faced in trying to make it to America in substandard conditions. I admired the crew including the captain and the doctor, on board. She did an admiral job.

[Joseph Gendron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this well told historical account of the great Irish potato famine and the huge migration of Irish to North America. This was during the time when the world was experiencing a typhus pandemic, one of the worst in history, and resulted in the deaths of thousands of Irish immigrants. These events are presented through stories involving one of the ships used to transport the immigrants and brings to the reader a real appreciation of the dangers and discomforts of the Atlantic crossing during the mid-1800's.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

the history of the many Irish people who came to the United States and Canada because they were dying and starving in Ireland . This book is about how they came over on ship's that were inadequate and unable to transport the hundreds of humans they stuffed into these ships. Many died at sea there was one ship the Jeanie Johnston that took great care to provide food and medical attention . Those people survived .

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing story of the brave and committed crew of the Jeanie Johnston, and the brave and desperate Irish emigrants during the potato famine. This book gives the reader a good idea of what was happening politically in Ireland and England leading up to and during the potato famine without getting into the depths of the political struggles.

[Mary Shehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Irish uncle and his wife (from Ballylongford, County Kerry) crossed to Quebec in 1841. Harrowing trip even then. The rest of the family came in later years. One of the signers of the letter praising the JJ crew has our last name, who knows? Excellent references and documentation, interesting and easy to read.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read to me; I learned quite abit from it, and am very glad I read it. Some of it was jaw-dropping unbelievable concerning some of the historical facts. Author did a fabulous job and making history come alive. It appears to be extremely well researched. There were some 'dryer' portions, but for the large majority of the book, I found it well written and intriguing.

[Homerun2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Quite readable history of a particular "coffin ship" employed in transferring Irish emigrants, often famine victims, to Canada and the U.S. So the chapters alternate between different spheres: Irish and English history, nautical information, shipbuilding, a brief history of typhus and cholera, background on the Canadian port of Gross Iles where many of the ships landed, and the Irish immigrant American experience.

Fascinating and varied.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of a ship that managed to treat passengers in the worst of times in the best of ways. The Great Famine is a hard story to connect to at a macro level, but using the boat as an anchor it tells a lot of history at a personal level.

Some of the side quests can be a bit distracting, but a good entry point to a difficult and not very distance part of our past.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Serendipitously read this just after a tour of Ireland; was on a KMiles kick and this was waiting on my to-read shelf upon my return. Started off gung-ho, soaking up the Irish history, but lost the drive to finish about 2/3 through. Skipped to the end to see how it ended.

[Miles Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moving history of a famine ship. The narrative is slow at times but picks up. All in all a worthwhile read, particularly because it delves in to the details of how governments and medical professionals worked to deal with the famine's victims.