Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Irish in Chicago & Great Lakes Area!!

There is a presentation on YouTube that talks about the Irish who came to the Great Lakes area. The first speaker talks about the Irish in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York and mentions various record types available to search.

The second speaker talks in depth about the Irish who ended up in Chicago and area. She presents lots of great background information. She also talks about records available for the railroad workers and canal workers in 19th Century Chicago area. A couple details that struck me: the fact that the pre-famine Irish arrivals worked on the canals and later on building churches. They were more skilled as Ulster masons etc so had better jobs that paid well. Post-famine Irish were more likely to be from the Republic and had few skills. They worked on the railroad which included the RR yards - a dangerous place to work and live.

The presentation takes place in Ireland, and you can listen AND watch for FREE
here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iff0fyF_erY Both speakers are residents of the USA so there is no language barrier.


Cheers,
Pat

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