This site is a collation of descendants of Andrew White of Co. Derry or Co. Down, Ireland.

The information comes from various White descendants, both in my line and others.

The home of Andrew and his wife, Jean, in Ireland is not certain. Most sources identify it as County Derry while some place it in County Down.

Andrew and Jean may have come to American in response to the Irish Famine of 1740-1741. Unlike the Potato Famine of a century later, this famine was not the result of infections in the potato crops (coupled with harsh government policy). It was caused by the Great Frost that covered most of Europe and which was the last major gasp of the Little Ice Age (1400-1800). The winter temperatures during these years plunged to 10°F and the potato crops were destroyed. This was unheard of in Ireland which is warmed by the North Atlantic Drift extension of the Gulf Stream.

Despite the cold, there was little snowfall and the summers were times of drought, completing the destruction started in the winter. The death toll was high as dysentery and typhus raged through the country—estimates are that 38% of the Irish population died.

Normal weather returned in the summer of 1741. In fact, large harvests were recorded in the next few years. However, the damage had been done. The Irish economy had been shattered and wouldn't fully recover for almost 100 years...just in time to be destroyed again by the famine of 1845-1852. Many families had trouble finding enough work to sustain them and emigrated.