Guest Anne- "Chantey as in church. I haven't heard that for maybe 50 years."

Chantey is frequently pronounced that way in the USA. It is common enough that Webster's Collegiate Dictionary maintains it as an alternate.
Was chant(e)y pronounced 'shanty' in mid-19th c. or as in the English word chant, or the earlier one chaunt? I don't have access to early 19th century dictionaries or guides to pronunciation, so I can't answer that.