Re: McInerney 1898 postcard from Killawinna to Belgium
Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 7:26 am
Hi Sheila,
Yes, the newspaper reviews for Mary Jane O'Donovan Rossa's readings often noted her beauty. "Mrs. O'Donovan is a lady of prepossessing appearances blonde, with dark hair and regular, pleasant features, while her countenance is draped in smiles, and now and then absolutely bewitching. As an elocutionist she has few superiors," reported the Dubuque Daily Times of 22 June 1869.
Below is a map of Iowa showing the numbers of Irish in 1870 by county and their rank among other foreign born groups. The county names are very tiny, but Dubuque is located on the eastern border of the state and in 1870 had 4,237 Irish born. The Irish were the second most populous compared to other foreign born groups in Dubuque; most likely behind the Germans. It appears that the Irish percentage for Dubuque County in 1870 from "The Irish in Iowa" from my last posting was incorrect. The total population of Dubuque County of 38,969 in 1870 (per wikipedia & ancestry search query), multiplied by 16.7 percent Irish does not equal 4,237 Irish born (this # agrees very closely to the results of an ancestry search query). I believe the correct % of Irish was only about 11 percent in Dubuque County.
Thanks for the interesting biography of Thomas Considine of Buchanan County. Sheila, I don't think you should compare the pioneer experience of the Considine's with those Irish who settled in Dubuque. Dubuque was a city on the Mississippi River where Irish would have been living since at least the 1830's and its main industry was the mining of lead, not farming. Buchanan County, two counties to the west of Dubuque, had 958 Irish born in 1870, the highest number compared to other foreign born groups. Whether or not a pioneer like Thomas Considine was included in the History of Buchanan County would be helped that he was still "hale and hearty" in 1914 when the book was published (and also if the Considine family paid the publisher for an advanced copy of the book).
Thanks also for the Little House on the Prairie connection to Winneshiek County where the family of Martin Maley of Glandree was living. On the Iowa map, Winneshiek is two counties north of Buchanan County, on the northern border with Minnesota. In 1870, there were 731 Irish born, ranked #3 of foreign born groups per "Irish in Iowa".
I find it interesting that by immigrating to America we often know far more about the individuals than if they had remained in Ireland. The 1870 Agriculture Census that accompanied the federal population census provides far greater detail than the 1855 Griffiths Valuation. Martin Maleagh of Winneshiek County had a 120 acre farm with a cash value of $2,000, farming implements valued at $40, two horses, three cows, and six swine. Compared to his Irish neighbors, Martin was not the most productive farmer. Of his 120 acres, 40 acres were still woodland, and 40 acres were "other unimproved". His spring wheat crop in 1870 was only 100 bushels (Patrick Nolan had 600 bushels), and, unlike his neighbors, he planted no Indian corn, oats, or barley that year. Martin also harvested 60 bushels of Irish potatoes; produced 350 pounds of butter; 15 tons of hay; and 40 pounds of wool. He sold farm animals for slaughter, valued at $290, which may have included all of his sheep.
Looking at the map of Iowa in 1870, the northwest of the state had the least population of Irish (as well as total settlers overall). This reflects overall western migration trends, but also the northwestern part of Iowa had greater risk in the 1850's. In the winter of 1857, the same year the Patrick Considine family arrived in Iowa, a band of 150 to 200 Sioux, from whom about 15 warriors killed about 40 white settlers and took four young women captive in what is known as the "Spirit Lake Massacre". From reading accounts of the massacre, none of the victims appear to have been Irish. Although within 40 miles of Spirit Lake, and half the distance to Fort Dodge, was an "Irish Colony" (later named Emmetsburg after Robert Emmet) that was the staging area for the troops sent from Fort Dodge as well as survivors from Spirit Lake. The troops and survivors "had eaten up all the provisions the poor Irish people at the Colony had, they sharing to the last with us, so I [Major Williams] concluded it would be prudent to push forward for home [Fort Dodge] and as soon as possible send back provisions to the Irish Colony as they must have some relief some way. (The History of Early Fort Dodge & Webster County, by Major Wm. Williams).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_Lake_Massacre
Sheila, with regards to the Irish in Minnesota we had previously discussed "Bishop Ireland's Connemara Experiment" in the Quinlivan of Kilrush thread (page 3):
http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... 3&start=30
Unfortunately, the link to the "On This Day" segment that mentioned the Connemara Experiment on Drivetime on RTÉ Radio 1 that Paddy Waldron provided is no longer working.
Edit: reload Iowa map that went missing; edit numbers of Sioux involved in Spirit Lake, the entire group was 150 to 200, this included men, women and children — from which about 15 men were involved in the fighting.
Yes, the newspaper reviews for Mary Jane O'Donovan Rossa's readings often noted her beauty. "Mrs. O'Donovan is a lady of prepossessing appearances blonde, with dark hair and regular, pleasant features, while her countenance is draped in smiles, and now and then absolutely bewitching. As an elocutionist she has few superiors," reported the Dubuque Daily Times of 22 June 1869.
Below is a map of Iowa showing the numbers of Irish in 1870 by county and their rank among other foreign born groups. The county names are very tiny, but Dubuque is located on the eastern border of the state and in 1870 had 4,237 Irish born. The Irish were the second most populous compared to other foreign born groups in Dubuque; most likely behind the Germans. It appears that the Irish percentage for Dubuque County in 1870 from "The Irish in Iowa" from my last posting was incorrect. The total population of Dubuque County of 38,969 in 1870 (per wikipedia & ancestry search query), multiplied by 16.7 percent Irish does not equal 4,237 Irish born (this # agrees very closely to the results of an ancestry search query). I believe the correct % of Irish was only about 11 percent in Dubuque County.
Thanks for the interesting biography of Thomas Considine of Buchanan County. Sheila, I don't think you should compare the pioneer experience of the Considine's with those Irish who settled in Dubuque. Dubuque was a city on the Mississippi River where Irish would have been living since at least the 1830's and its main industry was the mining of lead, not farming. Buchanan County, two counties to the west of Dubuque, had 958 Irish born in 1870, the highest number compared to other foreign born groups. Whether or not a pioneer like Thomas Considine was included in the History of Buchanan County would be helped that he was still "hale and hearty" in 1914 when the book was published (and also if the Considine family paid the publisher for an advanced copy of the book).
Thanks also for the Little House on the Prairie connection to Winneshiek County where the family of Martin Maley of Glandree was living. On the Iowa map, Winneshiek is two counties north of Buchanan County, on the northern border with Minnesota. In 1870, there were 731 Irish born, ranked #3 of foreign born groups per "Irish in Iowa".
I find it interesting that by immigrating to America we often know far more about the individuals than if they had remained in Ireland. The 1870 Agriculture Census that accompanied the federal population census provides far greater detail than the 1855 Griffiths Valuation. Martin Maleagh of Winneshiek County had a 120 acre farm with a cash value of $2,000, farming implements valued at $40, two horses, three cows, and six swine. Compared to his Irish neighbors, Martin was not the most productive farmer. Of his 120 acres, 40 acres were still woodland, and 40 acres were "other unimproved". His spring wheat crop in 1870 was only 100 bushels (Patrick Nolan had 600 bushels), and, unlike his neighbors, he planted no Indian corn, oats, or barley that year. Martin also harvested 60 bushels of Irish potatoes; produced 350 pounds of butter; 15 tons of hay; and 40 pounds of wool. He sold farm animals for slaughter, valued at $290, which may have included all of his sheep.
Looking at the map of Iowa in 1870, the northwest of the state had the least population of Irish (as well as total settlers overall). This reflects overall western migration trends, but also the northwestern part of Iowa had greater risk in the 1850's. In the winter of 1857, the same year the Patrick Considine family arrived in Iowa, a band of 150 to 200 Sioux, from whom about 15 warriors killed about 40 white settlers and took four young women captive in what is known as the "Spirit Lake Massacre". From reading accounts of the massacre, none of the victims appear to have been Irish. Although within 40 miles of Spirit Lake, and half the distance to Fort Dodge, was an "Irish Colony" (later named Emmetsburg after Robert Emmet) that was the staging area for the troops sent from Fort Dodge as well as survivors from Spirit Lake. The troops and survivors "had eaten up all the provisions the poor Irish people at the Colony had, they sharing to the last with us, so I [Major Williams] concluded it would be prudent to push forward for home [Fort Dodge] and as soon as possible send back provisions to the Irish Colony as they must have some relief some way. (The History of Early Fort Dodge & Webster County, by Major Wm. Williams).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_Lake_Massacre
Sheila, with regards to the Irish in Minnesota we had previously discussed "Bishop Ireland's Connemara Experiment" in the Quinlivan of Kilrush thread (page 3):
http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... 3&start=30
Unfortunately, the link to the "On This Day" segment that mentioned the Connemara Experiment on Drivetime on RTÉ Radio 1 that Paddy Waldron provided is no longer working.
Edit: reload Iowa map that went missing; edit numbers of Sioux involved in Spirit Lake, the entire group was 150 to 200, this included men, women and children — from which about 15 men were involved in the fighting.