19th Century Emigration to the North Americas
A new life
Robert Hamilton and his wife Ester who were both born in Co. Armagh in the early 1800's. They emigrated to Canada sometime during the famine years. Ester died in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 1912. It is not certain when this photo was taken.
Between 1801 and 1900 approximately eight million people left Ireland, the majority of them going to the United States and Canada. This was the equivalent of the entire population of Ireland as recorded in the 1841 census.
Photograph of the home of President Andrew Jackson, Nashville, the 7th President of the United States of America. Jackson's parents emigrated from Carrickfergus, County Antrim, c. 1765, to South Carolina where Andrew was later born.
Most of these emigrants made a valuable contribution to their adopted homeland - their sons and daughters going on to achieve high office, with seventeen American presidents claiming direct Irish ancestry.
For some, however, the New World was a poor substitute for the one they had left behind. Con artists and thieves robbed many a new immigrant of what little possessions he had while young girls found themselves turning to prostitution to survive. Many others were simply not able to settle in a new and strange land and vowed to return home as soon as they could raise the fare.
A picture, taken c.1882 of James Slevin's horse and cart. The lettering on the side of the cart reads: 'Teas Coffees Spices Liquors &c. James Slevin & Co ' Mr Slevin was one of the successful Irish emigrants, running his own grocery emporium.
But it is impossible to end the story of Irish emigration on a depressing note. For every one who failed, thousands more went on to forge a new and better life. Many even sent money or tickets home so their relatives in Ireland could join them in the New World.
Mr Slee, originally from Belleek, County Fermanagh, outside his house in Boston, c.1882. The names of the three children behind the fence are not known.
Today, there are few North Americans who cannot boast of an Irish ancestor and every year hundreds of Irish Americans arrive at the Public Record Office in Belfast hoping to trace their family tree. More recent emigrants are able to keep in touch via the internet and follow events back 'home' through the online Belfast Telegraph. This constant exchange of people, views and culture can only serve to enrich us all.
